Hasta La Ideas

Designing Davids dominate this year’s Fast Company Masters of Design, an annual salute to design visionaries. The magazine’s October issue spotlights a mix of legends and legends in the making: David Butler, vice president of global design for Coca-Cola; architect David Adjaye; creator of immersive enironments David Rockwell (who we learn is the son of a vaudeville dancer); Pentagram information architect Lisa Strausfeld; and Alberto Alessi, who helms the eponymous factory of shiny design covetables and has recently taken up winemaking [cut to shot of him patiently pressing grapes individually using a Philippe Starck-designed Juicy Salif].

The profile of Butler offers details on Coke’s new Pininfarina-styled Freestyle fountain. Developed in a top-secret project (codename: Jet) led by Butler, it dispenses “more than 100 different Coca-Cola variants, including exotic hybrids such as Minute Maid Raspberry Lemonade, Caffeine-Free Diet Coke With Lime, Orange Coke, and Fanta Peach.” Fanta Peach!? Be still our hearts. “It’s an audacious move for Coke, representing the largest investment in equipment innovation in the company’s history—hundreds of millions of dollars—and a big bet by CEO Muhtar Kent,” writes Linda Tischler. “Kent, a Formula One fan, not only approved the project but also urged the team to make the machine look ‘like a Ferrari.'”

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