Smart popup packaging wins PIDA Germany 2017

This year’s PIDA Germany gathered more than 160 people – students, designers, brand owners and converters. And the participating students impressed greatly with their innovative and smart solutions. The level of this year’s entries can only be summarized as the highest ever and the jury had a hard time selecting the winners,” says Lena Dahlberg, BillerudKorsnäs.

Of the thirteen contesting teams at PIDA Germany 2017, the grand prize was scooped by Andra Frair, Ellen Vieth, Jessica Raich and Marina Hochstrasser from Stuttgart Media University.

Their contribution WatchOut is a sustainable popup packaging with a nature theme and a surprise effect for wristwatches and other luxury items. In awarding the prize, the jury said:

In ”Watch out” all the requirements of the brief are perfectly matched. The substitution of a plastic box by a creative cartonboard box solution with a simple but functional product presentation, developed with a clear graphical design and good product protection – and all this without over-packing. In total a very clever and sustainable solution.

Congrats Andra, Ellen and Jessica! How does it feel to win PIDA Germany 2017?

“It feels great to win such a prestigious competition. We have all been very surprised that the jury chose our packaging concept as the best overall packaging design. Of course, we hoped to be good, but as we saw all the other creative and smart packaging solutions we weren’t sure how our performance would be. At this time, we didn’t hold out too much hope on winning a prize. This is why we are really happy that our concept convinced the jury the most.”

What was the greatest challenge for your team?

“The greatest challenge was to comply with all requirements of the briefing. On the one hand the package should challenge the conventional by creating a unique and creative package. On the other hand the packaging solution should be sustainable and feasible. Mostly an elaborate construction is either a sustainable or a feasible solution. It was really hard to find a concept that fulfilled all of these characteristics.”

What can you say about the work process?

The beginning of the working process was quite hard and took a long time. First of all, we couldn’t agree on which concept we should continue to work on. Furthermore it was complicated to find times for meetings because everyone were very busy with their studies, as the biggest part of our group already started to write their thesis. But nevertheless, we developed a strong team spirit and made a clear split up of responsibilities, so each of us tried to use their skills as best as we could. Finally, we could achieve our internal and the jury targets and expectations. To be honest, we are proud that we took this challenge and managed it that well.”

More Winners

In addition to the total winner, winners were also named in the following categories:

Sustainability Winner was ”Interdent”, an environmentally friendly packaging solution for interdental brushes, by Eva-Marie Frank, Sebastian Spörer, Vanessa Hoffer och Gabriel-Marius Popescu from Stuttgart Media University. In awarding the prize, the jury said: In “Interdent” the products are packed with a minimum of cartonboard material but still in an attractive and consumer friendly way. As little as possible – by a clever structural and graphical design.

Best level of Innovation Winner was ”The ShellBox”, a packaging solution that combines opening, dispensing and recycling of pistachio nuts, by Ramona Rabl, Leonie Strohbeck, Jessica Hofmann, Antonia Krapf och Caroline Jaap from the University of applied science in Munich. In awarding the prize, the jury said: “The ShellBox” impressed the jury team with its highly sophisticated functional mechanisms. In the concept two compartments with flexible volumes are integrated to give the consumer a place for e.g. pistachio shells or other waste in a very clever way. A completely new pack-style with a high level of convenience.

Shelf Impact Winner was ”ReMove”, a glueless carton design with a built-in handle designed to eliminate plastic as far as possible when packing exotic fruits, by Hagen Neugebauer och Jürgen Schuster from the University of applied science HTWK in Leipzig. In awarding the prize, the jury said: “Remove” convinced the jury in the category “Shelf Impact” as the idea and realization was very impressive. A completely cartonboard-based handbag for exclusive fruits, with a die-cut structure that makes a bag an interesting shelf object, was totally unexpected in this product segment.

People’s Choice. Last but not least, the winner of the new category PIDA People’s Choice Award was ”The ShellBox”. The entry won with a total score of 945, of which 749 votes came from ‘likes’ and 196 from ‘shares’.