Ralph Wiegmann, the forum’s chief executive officer told FoodProductionDaily: “Packaging design is a design discipline which is sometimes treated as something of a poor relation. Usually, it is the product which is the center of attention, and the packaging is merely viewed as its wrapping. Thanks to competitions such as the iF packaging award, packaging now receives the attention it deserves.“
The winning entries were:
- Optilift Pull Top from Ardagh Group, Ireland
- Gize 1 Glass bottle from CMW Canadian Mineral Water Development, Luxembourg
- Wild Bag Box product packaging from Winwood48 KG, Germany
- Holyfields Take-away Packaging, Germany
- Redcube, printer component for packaging machines, Switzerland
Sustainability
Wiegmann said: “What all winning entries have in common is that they show a new concept and that they create a harmonious whole. A common trend is packaging that takes into accout substainability and conservation; an interaction between content and packaging.“
A joint statement from the judges added: “Packaging doesn’t necessarily man a waste of resources and materials. Simply cutting down doesn’t always bring the best results but you can clearly see that there is a real effort to develop environmentally friendly packaging. The winning products often achieve their results because they are based on a minimalistic idea.“
Award judge, Guido Axmann, managing director of the Berlin-based think-tank Thema1, added: “It’s nice to see that the simplest ideas improve the world the most. Today’s problems are due to design mistakes in the past. And today’s design solutions provide the basis for the future. If we want to solve today’s problems we need to improve the design to improve the future.“
Of the Optilift Pull Top, the judges commented: “An indentation for your finger underneath the tab makes it really easy to open cans: A simple and efficient design solution. This simple design feature enormously increases the functionality of packaging without increasing costs.“
Gize’s entry was said to be “an esthically pleasing glass bottle used for high quality water that is available in several different flavours.“
Wild animals
The Wild Bag Box product was said to be a great idea. “The wild animals on these bags are kept in check thanks to the packaging. The product is partly visible while also being protected.“
Holyfields Take-away packaging graphics won an award because the “Colourful, inviting informative photos with hand-painted illustrations and small informative explanations create a haromonious whole, invitting you to read and linger.“
Redcube’s printer component contained fuctions that are “Obvious and clearly arranged with smooth – and therefore hygenic – surfaces.“
The Gold Award winners were selected from 203 entries from 114 particpants from 24 countries. 59 entries won an iF packaging award 2011.
The awards were open to manufacturers, developers and designers of packaging, packaging graphics, packing materials and packaging machines .
There were six categories: Sales packaging, display and transport packaging, packaging graphics, packaging materials, packaging machines and packaging concepts.