The ninth edition of the Pentawards received 1,668 entries from five continents and 52 countries. Despite the global economic crisis and the widespread cost reduction that goes with it, this year’s Pentawards competition shows an increase of nearly 10% in enrolment over the previous year. In addition to the Diamond Pentawards and the five Platinum Pentawards, the international jury also awarded 46 Gold Pentawards among the 55 categories competing this year. Silver and Bronze Pentawards were also presented. In total, 28 countries were represented among the winners.
In London on 26 September 2015, the international jury of the Pentawards, the first worldwide competition devoted exclusively to packaging design, chaired by Gérard Caron, announced its 2015 winners. This year’s winners received these global trophies in front of nearly 300 designers and brand managers from 33 countries in the packed auditorium of the Royal Institute of British Architects in London.
The prestigious Diamond Pentaward 2015 Best of Show was won by the design agency Established in New York, for a Marc Jacobs signature range of lipsticks. The Platinum Pentawards awarded to the best in packaging in five major categories were: Beverages
– Horse (United Kingdom) for a range of Chinese mineral waters; Nongfu Spring – mineral water from Changbai Mountains; Food – Prompt Design (Thailand) for packaging JL Fruit – Signature; Body – Latona Marketing (Japan), for a series of four gift toilet rolls – The Fruit Toilet Paper; Other Markets – Otvetdesign (Russia) for the packaging of Ingro DIY equipment; and Luxury – Partisan du Sens (France) for the box celebrating the tricentenary of the Martell House (Pernod Ricard Group). The Diamond Pentaward 2015 for the new collection of lipsticks for the Marc Jacobs Beauty Line created by Established consisted of a design that speaks of simplicity for Twinkle Pop Eye Stick, Kiss Pop Color Stick and Smart Wand Tinting Face Stick. The design of the line with allusions to crayons creates new and playful ways to put color on your face.
Looking at the ninth Diamond Pentaward and the eight awards which have preceded it since 2007, each time the Pentawards international jury crowns a packaging design that stands out for its simplicity. The jury of 12 indisputable professionals of packaging design and their president, echo Mies van der Rohe and his famous motto was ‘less is more’ as well as Antoine de St Exupéry who wrote, ‘‘Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to remove.’’
The designs for lipsticks and lip liners in the shape of stylized pencils, made of sublime metallic material, plainly demonstrate the unique specificity of the product. In addition to
the Diamond Pentaward trophy, Established received a valuable copy of the Esko Suite 14 software for design and visualization, specially created for high performance packaging.
Beverages Platinum
The international jury chaired by Gérard Caron was also awarded the five ‘Best of the Category’ prizes. The beverages Platinum went to the splendid bottles of Nongfu Spring Chinese mineral water created by Horse (United Kingdom). Nongfu Spring is a leading bottled water manufacturer in China. Produced for high-end hotels, bars and restaurants, the design conveys the quality of the water and tells the story of its unique source – an underground spring at the foot of Changbai Mountains, a volcanic region at China’s border with North Korea.
The screen-printed design pays homage to the source by depicting indigenous species, including the Siberian Tiger, Chinese Merganser and the Pinus Koraiensis, and is accompanied by a Chinese script that reveals facts about the region. A range of flora is
used to decorate the still variants and fauna for the sparkling ones, not only to educate but also build a sense of collectibility across the different designs. The shape of the bottle has been designed to resemble the soft and elegant lines of a water droplet to show the purity and clarity of the product.
Food Platinum
The Food Platinum was won by the Prompt Design agency of Thailand for the packaging of Signature fruit. In the Thai city of Chantaburi lives a farmer who loves growing fruit and
because of the care given at each step of production, his farm products are recognized as premium grade quality. A large company bought all the fruit from his farm and unfortunately his farm products were mixed and packaged together and sold with lower grade fruit, much to his disappointment. This prompted the launch of JL Fruit in 2014 to enable consumers to enjoy the authentic taste of the premium grade fruit from his farm.
The packaging is made of a clear thermoform box showing the fruit contained inside, and a label displaying a beautiful close-up image of the fruit’s skin. From a distance this design is
wholly distinctive on the shelf, with a strong appetite appeal which helped its successful market launch.
Body Platinum
The Body Platinum was awarded to Latona Marketing (Japan) for a series of four toilet paper rolls – The Fruit Toilet Paper. Many companies and stores throughout Japan give a roll of toilet paper to customers as a novelty gift to show their appreciation. The Fruit Toilet Paper has been designed to wow customers with its cute style, which is perfect for such occasions. There are four designs to choose from – kiwi, strawberry, watermelon, and orange. The range is sold exclusively on the internet and has achieved huge success.
Other Markets Platinum
The Other Markets Platinum was awarded to Russia’s Otvetdesign for a range of packaging designs for the Ingro brand of household equipment. The design brief was how to bring to market low-priced household pumping equipment under the Ingro brand name as an effective substitute for European brands. Sales managers of special purpose hardware stores where goods are generally not packaged, as well as do-it-yourself customers who buy single pumps in small hardware stores comprise the target audience.
Otvetdesign created clear characters who are as close and vivid as a next-door neighbour. A pushy Russian woman, needing a pump working at depth or two funny guys needing a pump for wells – it turned soulless machines into stand-up guys who never let you down by speaking the same language to sales managers and customers alike.
Luxury Platinum
The Luxury Platinum was awarded to Partisan du Sens of France for the luxurious box of Martell cognac produced for its tricentenary. The oldest of the great cognac houses, Martell celebrates its tricentenary with the release of ‘Martell assemblage exclusif de 3 millésimes’ – a unique blend of three exceptional eaux-de-vie – Grande Champagne, Fins Bois and Borderies. The brief – enhance loyalty to Martell and reward the best consumers with an exclusive offer.
Martell 3 millésimes is presented in a wooden box decorated with a three tone inlay symbolizing lifelines and the harmony of the 3 eaux-de-vie, with a bottle which is a faithful reproduction of the traditional ‘montre’ flasks that were used to present samples to the
Cellar Master. The gift box uses three types of wooden marquetry and each of the 3,708 limited edition bottles is numbered for loyal connoisseurs and distributed directly and privately by a VIP sales manager.
2016 Pentawards in China
Enrolment in the 10th Pentawards will be open from 7 March to 22 April 2016. All relevant information to register for this international competition dedicated solely to packaging design is available on the following website – www.pentawards.org. The 10th edition of the Pentawards will be presented in Shanghai.
