Flowery cosmetics packaging concept wins double at BillerudKorsnäs’ design competition PIDA Germany/Austria

A double winner! The design project “Snap Dragon” – a packaging concept for a skin care product –won the PIDA Gold Award at the Germany/Austria PIDA 2022 event. The winners are Lisa Frey, Annika Wahler, and Tabea Kasparian from Hochschule der Medien, Stuttgart. “Snap Dragon” also received the award for Highest Level of User Friendliness.

“As a child I was fascinated by the snapdragon flower, and that became our inspiration,” says Tabea Kasparian. “We are honoured and happy for our awards. And we are glad that the opening mechanism was so appreciated.”

In the cosmetics business, brands must rely on the impact that their packaging makes on the store shelf. “Snap Dragon” delivers on that count. It’s an eye-catching package for a flowery facial serum, a skin care product. But the most fascinating thing about the packaging design is how the open/close feature of the pack mimics the snapdragon flower in a perfect way.

Every year, the PIDA contestants get a new brief. This year, the title of the brief is “It’s a Wild Life”, encouraging the students to find inspiration in nature for their packaging concepts. “The Snap Dragon project has fulfilled the brief in a perfect way. The inspiration from the snap dragon flower transported into a packaging opening mechanism which works surprisingly in the same way, convinced the jury completely,” says Thomas Reissig, Chairman of the German/Austrian jury.

At PIDA, design students from universities and colleges from seven countries compete with their creative packaging designs. The competition is organized as five separate events: the USA, Sweden, France/Belgium, the UK, China*, and Germany/Austria. The winners of the Gold Award at each event will meet in a Grand Finale at Luxe Pack Monaco in October.

More awards

Besides the PIDA Gold Award, three other prizes were presented – for innovation, user friendliness, and sustainability. The winners were selected by a jury of prominent industry professionals, who were amazed by the overall high quality level of the entries.

“Piranha Bites”, was awarded the Highest Level of Innovation Award. A creative packaging concept for a toothbrush and toothpaste kit. The entry was designed by Emma Schüttoff, Kevin Semjancuk from Hochschule der Medien in Stuttgart.

The award for Highest Level of Innovation went to “Piranha Bites”, a pack for a dental care kit designed by Emma Schüttoff, Kevin Semjancuk from Hochschule der Medien in Stuttgart. “The transfer from the Piranha fish with its sharp teeth to a packaging concept for toothpaste drops and a toothbrush, convinced the jury. A very good combination of product and packaging with a well-done functional design.”

A double winner! The design project “Snap Dragon” – a packaging concept for a skin care product –won the PIDA Gold Award at the Germany/Austria PIDA 2022 event. The winners are Lisa Frey, Annika Wahler, and Tabea Kasparian from Hochschule der Medien, Stuttgart. “Snap Dragon” also received the award for Highest Level of User Friendliness.

Gold Award winners Lisa Frey, Annika Wahler, Tabea Kasparian from Hochschule der Medien in Stuttgart also won the Highest Level of User Friendliness award for their entry “Snap Dragon”. The jury’s notes read: “The reduced graphical design from outside and a more colorful backside print fits pretty good to the product. The opening function and handling fulfills, in a perfect way, the user's expectations.”

The design project “Basilisk Tequila” won the Highest Level of Sustainability Award – an eco-friendly packaging solution for tequila bottles. The winners from WDA (WerbeDesign Akademie) in Salzburg were Alexa Cach and Magdalena Unterholzer.

The Highest Level of Sustainability prize was awarded to “Basilisk Tequila”, an inventive package design for tequila bottles, inspired by the basilisk, a mythological creature. The jury “was surprised how effective and cool a transport packaging for Tequila bottles can be designed. Less material arranged in an intelligent way and a very attractive optical effect with the moving chameleon eye focused through the glass bottle.”

The design team behind the entry was Alexa Cach, Magdalena Unterholzer from WDA (WerbeDesign Akademie) in Salzburg.

A creative arena for the packaging community

BillerudKorsnäs, the company behind PIDA, arranges the competition in cooperation with leading universities and design colleges in Austria, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Sweden, the UK, and the USA. The competition gives the students an opportunity to work on a real packaging design project under the same conditions as an authentic assignment. It’s also an opportunity for design students to show their talent to established professionals who attend PIDA for ideas and inspiration.

“No wonder that many industry professionals see PIDA as the highlight of the year”, says Anders Gathu, Marketing Manager Cartonboard, BillerudKorsnäs. “It’s truly amazing to see so much thoughtful and creative packaging design and so much valuable talent. These are the designers of the future who will shape tomorrow’s brand perceptions, and we are proud of being part of the development of good packaging design. We are very much looking forward to the Grand Finale at Luxe Pack Monaco in October.”