Innovative concept won BillerudKorsnäs’ packaging design competition PIDA France/Belgium

The design project “Nori Cosmetics” – a packaging concept for a bar of luxury soap – won the PIDA Gold Award at the France/Belgium PIDA 2022 event. The winner is Marjolein Delva from LUCA School of Art in Gent, Belgium.

Ms Delva’s winning entry Nori Cosmetics is a packaging design for a bar of luxury soap, inspired by shapes from marine life. “It took me by surprise to win this prize,” says Marjolein Delva. “I didn’t expect this at all. It was difficult to come up with an idea but eventually I found inspiration at the bottom of the ocean. I wanted to achieve a subtle play of light and colour and I think I succeeded.”

The jury was full of praise, commenting:
“A concept that was innovative, sustainable, user friendly, and beautifully designed and executed. We were impressed by the way the seashell was represented and the original way of hiding the product inside. Very aesthetic concept inspired by the sea. More of a display package but we really like the innovative concept. The school asked for a packaging for solid soap, but we could imagine other types of products in this shell as well. It really looks organic!”

An international challenge

Every year, the PIDA contestants get a new brief. The title of the 2022 brief is “It’s a Wild Life”, encouraging the students to find inspiration in nature for their packaging concepts. Design students from universities and colleges from seven countries compete with their creative packaging designs. The competition is organized as five separate events: Sweden, the USA, the UK, Germany/Austria, France/Belgium, and China*. 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.

“WINK” was awarded the Highest Level of Innovation Award. It’s creative packaging for confectionery. The entry was designed by Amandine Etard, Marie Goutagny, and Noémie Guyot from ESEPAC in St Germain Laprade, France.

The award for Highest Level of Innovation went to “WINK”, an interesting eye-shaped pack for confectionery, designed by Amandine Etard, Marie Goutagny, and Noémie Guyot from ESEPAC in St Germain Laprade, France. The jury liked the “original twist opening that invites to curiosity and playfulness. With a shape of an eye and chocolate inside this package surely attract the consumer.”

The Highest Level of User Friendliness Award went to “Paöntöne”, an interesting packaging concept for colour pencils. Designed by Anaëlle Soubien and Clément Gueniffey from FSPACK in Cognac, France.

Anaëlle Soubien and Clément Gueniffey from FSPACK in Cognac, France, won the Highest Level of User Friendliness award. Their entry “Paöntöne”, a bold pack for a set of colour pencils, was praised by the jury for its high visual impact: “With the Wildlife inspiration from a Peacock, this package really stands out and will be a user-friendly tool for the creative user. The jury really liked the nice way to present the products.”

The design project “ALOE” won the Highest Level of Sustainability Award – a packaging solution for aloe cactus soap. The design team from IUT Reims in France comprised of Camille Allouard, Zoé Menetrier, and Romain Lede.

The Highest Level of Sustainability prize was awarded to “ALOE”, a package design for an aloe cactus soap, consistent with the aloe shapes and colours. The jury’s notes read: “The simplicity of this package was really appreciated by the whole jury, a sustainable pack with minimum waste and no over packaging. The hanging idea was great and make it reusable. The cactus shape really is inspired by nature.” The design team from IUT Reims in France comprised Camille Allouard, Zoé Menetrier, and Romain Lede.

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.”