For the 15th year in a row, the French edition of PIDA – Packaging Impact Design Award, was held in Reims, and this year, sustainability and recycling were in focus. The contesting design students from France and Germany, presented creative and fun ideas on how to package clothes, accessories and beauty products in a more environmentally friendly way. And the design that had the best concept according to the jury, was Save the bees, created by students from Hochschule der Medien, in Stuttgart.
The students behind the design, Daniela Betz and Sophia Huber, held an engaging presentation and invited all the people in the audience to help save the bees. Their design is shaped like a watering can and contains flower-seeds, when planting becomes food for the bees.
“It feels crazy, we never expected this because our design is so simple. Save the bees is not just a packaging, it´s a message” says Daniela Betz who together with teammate Sophia Huber won the Gold Award of PIDA France – Germany 2019.
“We think that help saving the bees and saving our planet is a really important topic and everyone
can relate to this” says Sophia Huber. Save the bees is now qualified for the European final in Monaco this fall, at Luxe Pack – the world’s largest luxury packaging fair.
A glimpse of the future
This year’s brief was “Bring the future” and the students’ challenge was to develop a sustainable packaging concept for the year 2030. The jury looked at the innovation, sustainability, user-friendliness, concept and communication of the contributions. Save the bees received high marks on all points and the students were praised for their engagement and clean design.
The motivation of the jury:
“2030 is tomorrow! I realized that it takes almost 10 years between the emergence of a great idea and their concretization on the markets. What would like major brands in 10 years from now? Rethinking their packaging to make them more user-friendly, more sustainable and always more attractive. A recent study from L.E.K. Consultant (Boston) on the needs in packaging of 250 brand-owners, 57 percent of them want to develop more easy-opening packagings, and 85 percent of them want easier recycling of materials. And finally, 90 percent declare the packaging is key to their commercial success. If I was the owner of this project, I would definitely be confident because this packaging is matching all the criteria.”
In addition to the PIDA Gold Award, winners were elected in three more categories. The prize for the Highest Level of Innovation went to the design Layers and care, for the minimalistic design and the concept of the product. Winner of Highest Level of Sustainability was Number, for their futuristic approach on todays healthcare and the prize for Highest Level of User Friendliness went to the design Aube, for the compact, functional and advanced construction.
“The brief presented to students at the PIDA 2019 was ambitious. Imagining the packaging of the future seems simple at first sight, but that is without counting the current trends that are the new technologies, the sustainable development and the aging of the population. The work provided by the students was unanimously greeted by the members of the jury” says Christophe Delrive, project leader PIDA France, at BillerudKorsnäs.
Young talents become tomorrow’s packaging designers
The international competition PIDA is arranged by BillerudKorsnäs and is carried out in collaboration with leading universities and colleges in Sweden, the UK, France and Germany. Each year, over 200 design students participate. The jury consists of a mix of industry professionals – designers, converters, brand owners and other specialists.
“With PIDA we achieve several different purposes at the same time,” says Anders Gathu, Marketing Manager at BillerudKorsnäs. “We aim the spotlight on the importance of packaging for brands, consumer benefits and the environment. We want to shine light on the young talents who will become tomorrow’s packaging designers and bring them together with industry professionals. By offering a meeting place for ideas, innovation and inspiration, we help push industry development forward.”
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