Entries are now open for Europe’s annual packaging design competition aimed at young talent — the 2020 Pro Carton Young Designers Award. As well as inspiring the next generation of designers, the Awards help to promote the use of sustainable materials through its focus on eco-friendly cartonboard.
Last year’s Young Designers Award was the most successful competition since its launch in 2012, with a total of 461 entries from 70 schools and universities across 24 countries. This year is expected to be even bigger, as teachers look to plan the Awards into the academic curriculum.
The Awards offer four separate categories for entrants to submit their innovative ideas before the deadline of 14 May 2020:
- Creative Cartonboard – Food & Drink Packaging;
- Creative Cartonboard – General Packaging (excluding Food & Drink);
- Creative Cartonboard Ideas (non-packaging) – Think outside, and without, the box;
- Save the Planet – ideas that replace less sustainable materials with cartonboard;
- Newcomer’s Award – a new award to be given to a student at a university that has not won before
The initial entry needs to be submitted on-line, after which a short list of contestants will then be selected to submit fully mocked up 3D prototypes for evaluation by the expert jury.
The winner of each category will be awarded the prize of a trip to Italy to visit the Reno de Medici (RdM) cartonboard mill and a carton converter. In addition to this, all ten finalists and their teachers will be invited on an all-expenses paid visit to Krakow in September 2020, where they will attend the Gala Awards dinner at the ECMA Congress.
Tony Hitchin, General Manager of Pro Carton said, “After the incredible success of last year’s competition, we are looking forward to welcoming even more entries for the 2020 Pro Carton Young Designer Awards. The competition has gone from strength to strength with the standard of entries now incredibly high and approaching professional standards. We are delighted that the Awards are now part of many universities’ annual curriculum. The event has become a pivotal platform in demonstrating the importance of cartonboard and its sustainability benefits.”
