Award-winning design projects from the Münsterland region

The topics of sustainability and environmental friendliness are occupying the packaging industry like never before. So it's no wonder that this development is also having an impact at universities and universities of applied sciences. Two design projects by students at the Münster School of Design, for example, show that they are rethinking cardboard as a material and tackling problems that everyone is sure to recognise from their household.

The project by design students Kristina Scheld and Farina Nagel shows how picture frames can be well protected and sustainably packaged at the same time. Developed as part of a semester project All-round protective packaging „Frame it“ is made entirely of cardboard and dispenses with the usual plastic film. For this, they have now been honoured with a Pro Carton Young Designers Award. The design is clever because it offers an additional benefit and the execution is simple, according to the jury.

„In the picture frame segment, you almost exclusively find plastic packaging. At most the corners are protected with cardboard, the thin film usually does not protect the frame optimally. Our packaging should be practical and sustainable, protect the product well and help to avoid waste. “ Farina Nagel

Design projects put cardboard at the centre

The result is cardboard packaging that is not immediately thrown away, but offers an additional benefit: After unpacking and separating the edge protectors a template remains, with which the new frames can be test-positioned on the wall without having to mark them.

„The template can be used to find the best position on the wall - it then adheres via soft adhesive pads that can be easily removed again. Once the desired position has been found, it can also be used to hammer the nail into the wall in the right place.“ Kristina Scheld

If you want to hang several picture frames at the same distance, the Ruler integrated into the packaging helpful. „Frame it“ is available as a packaging series for the standard picture frame sizes of 10 x 15, 13 x 18 and 20 x 30 centimetres. „We have also developed paper inlays to provide optimum protection for the glass. The complete packaging can then be disposed of later with the waste paper,“ says Farina Nagel.

Detailed information on material, frame size and handling can be found in the form of self-explanatory pictograms, which the two students also designed, on the back of the packaging.

Sustainable repair with Fillær

The three budding designers Kim Bujak, Giulia La Spina and Suh-Kyung Choi, on the other hand, have tackled a problem that is probably particularly familiar to those who move around a lot: To fill a few holes in the walls, you have to buy a whole bag of wall filler. With Fillær, the three women from Münster have now developed a sustainable All-in-one solution in a disposable carton developed.

„It was clear to us that we wanted something practical that many people would come into contact with in everyday life. And that's how we quickly came across the wall filler,“ explains Kim Bujak. „Our target group is people who only need small amounts of levelling compound for minor repair work,“ adds Giulia La Spina. „Students in particular often move house and have little space for materials and tools. With Fillær, you don't have to buy large containers and, above all, no additional tools.“

Mix the levelling compound in the box

The three students' packaging contains 330 grams of levelling compound - enough to fill ten dowel holes or small cracks. The box has a perforation where the packaging can be opened. At the same time the cap transforms into a practical spatula with integrated slope for easy scraping of the levelling compound. The cardboard packaging itself becomes a bowl-shaped container with an ergonomic handle in which the dry levelling compound is mixed with water.

„We carried out material studies with four cartonboard grades provided by Pro Carton and were surprised ourselves at how well all the grades coped with the water without becoming soggy.“ Suh-Kyung Choi

Finally, a 300 g/m² thick Cardboard that works without plastic or coating and can be disposed of in an environmentally friendly way via waste paper.

When designing the packaging, the students made sure that all the information on handling was easy to understand, with pictograms explaining how to do it. Above all, however, it was important that All components for repair in one package stuck. With their project, the design students took part in this year's Pro Carton Young Designers Award and made it to the finalists.