Packaging and Design Students Stand Out Among the World’s Best
Teams of Cal Poly packaging, business, and design students received two of the top three awards at the 2017 World Packaging Organisation (WPO) WorldStar International Packaging Design Student Competition that featured innovative package designs from university students from more than two dozen nations.
In addition, two other Cal Poly teams received WorldStar Student Certificates of Merit given to the next 10 highest scoring entries.
The Cal Poly students were honored for designing creative, functional and eye-catching packaging systems for food, healthcare and sports products. The interdisciplinary teams combined industrial technology and packaging students with art and design students to develop a physical prototype of their product complete with branded graphics.
SticKit
The Cal Poly team behind “SticKit,” a two-in-one packaging system to dispense disposable syringes and safely store the empties, was among the top three entries. A pull tab on the bottom of the package dispenses boxed syringes; a hinged-lid on the top of the container can be opened and locked for safe syringe disposal. A plastic divider separates compartments, moving down with gravity as syringes are dispensed until it finally closes the container when all the cartons have been consumed. The entry was designed by graphic communication student Dana Shell (San Ramon, Calif.), art and design students Gina Agapito (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Ashley Vong (San Jose, Calif.), and industrial technology and packaging students Paul Woodman (Atascadero, Calif.) and Michael Lowe (Pleasanton, Calif.). The university’s highest scoring entries were named as WorldStar Student Winners.
Tea Stems
The other top award went to the team behind “Tea Stems,” an innovative way to package tea. The tea leaves are placed at the end of a cassava-starch-based compostable stick that makes it easy to stir the tea in the drink without using any utensils. The stems are packaged within a die-cut paperboard folding carton that “blooms” when the box is opened. The package was designed by art and design students Alexandra Rosado (San Francisco, Calif.) and Lucia Astiazaran (Valencia, Calif.), and industrial technology and packaging students Brendan Smyth (San Jose, Calif.), Simeon Comanescu (Pleasanton, Calif.) and Ryan Marrs (San Luis Obispo, Calif.).
Cal Poly’s Student Certificates of Merit honorees included:
“Vera Cruz,” a packaging system for surf wax that integrates a wax comb, a shell that minimizes sun exposure of the wax and a magnetic feature to store a surfer’s car keys. The design is made of injection-molded compostable PaperFoam. Its unique triangular shape offers an ergonomic grip. The dispensing mechanism was inspired by ChapStick packaging, which can contain and reshape a melted product. The package was designed by art and design students Daniel Blenkinship (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) and Zach Baker (Rocklin, Calif.) with industrial technology and packaging students Brooke Billmeyer (Solana Beach, Calif.), Grant Badstubner (Danville, Calif.), and Sai Domanico (Hillsborough, Calif).
“La Habra” houses avocado oil in a recyclable plastic pouch encased by two molded-fiber shells. The package’s shape was inspired by the shape of an avocado. A pour spout with a drip return prevents the oil from spilling on the package. The product was designed by art and design students Jessica Ferguson (San Jose, Calif.) and Deric Shindledecker (Temecula, Calif.), and industrial technology and packaging students Katie Exum (Torrance, Calif.), Michael Moorehead (Walnut Creek, Calif.) and Patrick McCaffrey (Irvine, Calif.).
The student projects were developed in Professor Mary LaPorte’s ART 437: Graphic Design III class and Professor Javier de la Fuente’s IT 435: Packaging Development class. Professors LaPorte and de la Fuente served as student advisors.The competition considered hundreds of packaging design submissions, including structural design and/or graphic design projects, from award-winning undergraduate and graduate student teams from countries around the world including Brazil, China, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Korea, Oman, Yemen, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, South Africa, Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom. Cal Poly’s teams were entered into the global competition after sweeping the top four awards at the 2017 Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) Ameristar Student Packaging Competition for the second consecutive year.