Innovative skin care packaging wins the PIDA design competition

The winning contribution is an innovative package design for a facial skin care product, where the open/close mechanism perfectly mimics the snapdragon flower.

”We can’t believe we actually won,” says Annika Wahler. “All the projects and the other finalists are so amazing so we really think we are all winners, but we are so, so happy that you liked our project.”

“We came up with the idea of a snapdragon flower because I used to love that flower when I was a kid,” says Lisa Frey. “I played with them as a child, pretending they could talk to each other by pushing them open and closing them. When I heard about the It’s a wild life theme I knew that was where I wanted to get my inspiration from. We brainstormed and discussed a lot together but kept coming back to the snapdragon.”

“Packaging impact today is about much more than merely shelf appeal,” says Lena Dahlberg, Manager Application Development Paperboard, Billerud. “It’s very gratifying to see the industry band together on the growing importance of environmental aspects and sustainability. That shift in mindset is just one of the ways that PIDA can help effect change, and partly why we settled on the 2022 theme It’s a wild life.”

The international jury voted with a clear majority for “SnapDragon”, pointing out that the concept really marries the two worlds of packaging and It’s a wild life. “Interesting and discrete, this seemingly normal box does not reveal its surprise until interacted with. The interpretation of the flower’s mechanism is stunningly similar to the real deal and carefully designed using the flexibility within the material.”

As PIDA has evolved and grown considerably in recent years, the final stage in Monaco showcased the best from a record 350 contributions – a starting field that included more schools (and more countries) than ever before. The other finalists were “Bite Botanical Bitters” from Brobygrafiska in Sweden (Herman Rydholm, Sofi Hansson and Julia Abrahamsson), “Lavash” from the Fashion Institute of Technology in the USA (Emily Frieden), “Ritini” from Ravensbourne University in the UK (Josh Curtis), and “Nori Cosmetics” from LUCA School of Art in Belgium (Marjolein Delva).

Billerud arranges PIDA in cooperation with leading universities and design colleges in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Sweden, the UK, and the USA. The competition gives the students an opportunity to gain real-world experience on a packaging design project, and allows them to showcase their considerable talent in front of industry professionals who attend PIDA for ideas and inspiration.

“It’s especially rewarding to have our Grand Finale at such an incredible venue,” says Anders Gathu, Marketing Manager Cartonboard, Billerud. “Luxe Pack Monaco is just about the perfect place for PIDA – introducing a new generation of packaging designers to thousands of brand owners from all over the world.”

This year’s International Gold Award winner: “SnapDragon” an innovative concept for a facial skin care product, where the open/close mechanism of the package perfectly mimics the snapdragon flower.
It was designed and made by Lisa Frey, Annika Wahler, and Tabea Kasparian from Hochschule der Medien, Stuttgart.

Competing for France/Belgium, the design project “Nori Cosmetics” – a packaging concept for a bar of luxury soap – was made by Marjolein Delva from LUCA School of Art in Gent, Belgium.

The UK contribution “Ritini” – a packaging concept for natural chewing gum – was made by Josh Curtis from Ravensbourne University in London.

From the US, we saw “Lavash” – a packaging concept for a volcano-inspired shower set –created by Emily Frieden of the Fashion Institute of Technology, FIT, New York.

Last but not least, the Swedish contribution: “Bite Botanical Bitters” – a packaging concept for a set of drink mixer flavours. The design team from Brobygrafiska comprised Herman Rydholm, Sofi Hansson and Julia Abrahamsson.