Creativity with Cardboard

Some 60 design students at the Université de Reims (IUT) took part in Korsnäs’ Packaging Impact Design Award 2009 competition in mid-May, resulting in an impressive exhibition of packaging and displays.

Since 1994, Korsnäs (formerly Frövi) has been arranging design competitions for students with a focus on packaging design. In conjunction with the Swedish Year of Design 2005, when the Swedish government was actively promoting design projects, PIDA (Packaging Impact Design Award) was born and several universities became involved. Spurred on by popularity, the competition has grown and is held in Sweden, Germany and France. In the UK, Korsnäs collaborates with Marks & Spencer in sponsoring a category of the Student Starpack Award.

The 2009 competition in France was closely fought, with many very high quality entries. The first prize, designed by Julie Chevalier, Marine Le Noach and Joseph Simonutti, went to a cosmetics concept with a display that wasn’t much bigger than the pack, but which combined dramatic impact with a high “wow factor”.

For its 2009 French edition Korsnäs asked students of the IUT in Reims - Packaging Engineering and Packaging Design - “to create a package and its display, all in harmony, able to persuade consumers to open their wallets.” The challenge, to create both a pack and a display for an imaginary chocolate or cosmetic brand, was based on the insight that consumers make most purchasing decisions in the shop, and that is where they can be influenced.

The results reflected the creative dimension of the students who had to work with Korsnäs White. The first prize was awarded to “Beauty Care”, created by Julie Chevalier, Marine Le Noach and Joseph Simonutti. A display that wasn’t much bigger than the pack, but which combined dramatic impact with a high “wow factor”, It highlights the jar of cream which sits in the hollow-points enhancing the flexibility of the board through its very stylized cuttings. The second prize was won by Geraldine Beauvais, Lise Marecat and Axel Levert for “Oya, the art of chocolate”. Their creation highlights another way of consuming chocolate.

The 2009 meeting gave Korsnäs also an opportunity to highlight its cardboard made from renewable raw materials from the Swedish forest (75 to 80%). The company is certified with ISO 14001 since 1997. And today, it supplies FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified products and under the PEFC (Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) schemes. This means the establishment of a traceability system.

The packaging is plantable! Out of the box and into the garden, The moulded fibre box is the first of its kind. A 100% compostable, biodegradable and plantable product packaging. It is manufactured with zero waste and created from 100% post-consumer paper board, without glues and dies. Soak the box for one minute and plant it about 1” deep in soil. Before you know it, medicinal herbs will spring up right before your eyes!
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