The snapdragon has been growing in our gardens as a colourful summer flower since the 15th century. Three young designers from the Stuttgart Media University have taken the opening mechanism of the eye-catching flowers as a model for a smart cardboard packaging. The three recently received two awards for their project, “SnapDragon”.
Behind the winning design are Lisa Frey, Annika Wahler and Tabea Kasparian. The three are studying for a Master’s degree in Packaging Development Management at Stuttgart Media University, which focuses on project-oriented, interdisciplinary work in packaging management, packaging development and production as well as packaging printing. Last semester, the students joined forces to take part in the PIDA (Packaging Design Impact Award) competition, which BillerudKorsnäs organises every year in cooperation with universities and colleges.
“When I heard about this year’s theme, ‘It’s a wild life’, I immediately thought of snapdragons, because the flowers have fascinated me since I was a child,” says Lisa Frey. “This flower inspired our work, but we didn’t expect our opening mechanism to be so well received. ” The idea of transferring the mechanism of the snapdragon flower to a package also convinced the PIDA jury. If you press the snapdragon’s petals together, the flower snaps open like a little mouth. SnapDragon works in the same way:
“If you hold the packaging with one hand and press two points on the side, the closure elements pop open like the flower of a snapdragon and create a surprise effect when you open it. At the same time, it is also a first-opening protection, because a perforation only tears open when pressure is applied.”
Tabea Kasparian
This not only won the PIDA Gold Award, but also the User-Friendliness Award for the special opening function and handling.
“The first briefing by PIDA took place last semester. We wanted to take part in the competition, but we didn’t have much time for the project because we had a busy semester ahead of us. In the end, we had to invest a lot more time than we had planned, and in the meantime, we were in despair because it didn’t work the way it was supposed to. We tried out a lot to optimise the opening mechanism and made many samples until we were finally satisfied with the result.”
Lisa Frey
BillerudKorsnäs provided the cardboard material for all participants in the competition. The three designers chose the material, CrownBoard Craft – an unbleached kraft cardboard – because the packaging should look sustainable and natural. In addition, the cardboard packaging for a fictitious cosmetic product does not use any plastic, is 100 per cent recyclable and its shape enables efficient transport.
Annika Wahler, who studied product design in the bachelor’s programme, is responsible for the design.
“But then we developed the design together and considered whether it appeals to the customer and fits our fictitious product. From the outside, the packaging should look simple and serious so that it appeals to everyone. When opened, however, the user should then be surprised with a colourful flower meadow inside. “
BillerudKorsnäs, the company behind PIDA, organises the competition in cooperation with leading universities and colleges in Germany, Austria, France, Belgium, the UK, China and the USA. The competition offers students the opportunity to work on a packaging project under the same conditions as you would find in a typical customer order. At the same time, they can demonstrate their talent and impress established professionals looking for ideas and inspiration at PIDA.
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