Metsä Board organized the international packaging design competition ‘Better with Less – Design Challenge’ to discover new environmental-friendly and functional packaging solutions for some of the world’s most frequently used and fastest growing types of consumer packages. The competition began in November 2017 and the initial round ended by March 2018. A total of 302 design concepts entries from 38 different countries were observed in the competition. The competition was also open to students.
package’ by Abdullah Cam
As the final round of selection, the competition provided an opportunity to public to vote for their favorite design concept from the ten finalists on their website. Metsä Board released the results on 31 May 2018 along with three honorary mentions.
The first prize was awarded to Iiro Numminen’s design concept ‘Stretching Inner Part’ that replaces bubble wrap by allowing the corrugated cardboard inner part to pack variable sized products. The designer combined scalability, adaptability, and aesthetics in a concept that might have the potential to widely impact the packaging industry.
The winning student entry was ‘Playing nature’ by Alessandro Grossi. Furthermore, the three honorary mentions by the board were: ‘Moisture face creme cosmetic package’ by Abdullah Cam; ‘Twist’ by Pawel Krawczugo; and ‘Plastic banning toilet roll’ by Jeroen Caelen.
The winner of the competition received EUR 10,000 and the student winner was awarded a two-month internship by Metsä Board with its packaging services team in Shanghai.
Marianne R Klimchuk, professor and chair at Communication Design Pathways Department of Fashion Institute of Technology, and one of the jury members, said, “The winner has the potential to impact the paperboard packaging industry with a design solution that serves to protect the product while enhancing the consumer experience.”
