For the second consecutive year, four teams of Cal Poly students took first-, second- and third-place awards and an honorable mention in the 2017 Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) Ameristar Student Packaging Competition.
Interdisciplinary teams combined industrial technology and packaging students with art and design students to create packaging solutions for a variety of consumer needs. Each team developed a physical prototype of their product complete with branded graphics.
Industry experts judged entries on environmental impact, marketing, product protection and economics. Award-winning teams will be honored at the PackExpo industry conference in November. Top entries will also represent the United States in a global design competition, the WorldStar Student Awards, hosted by the World Packaging Organisation.
Organizers called these honorees “tomorrow’s packaging leaders.”
Cal Poly’s first-place award was given to “Tea Stems,” a convenient alternative to tea bags. The tea stem is a cylindrical wooden dowel attached to a polymer mesh material filled with tea leaves functioning as a tea bag and stirring stick. The stems are packaged within a die-cut paperboard folding carton that “blooms” when the box is opened. The package was designed by industrial technology and packaging students Brendan Smyth (San Jose, Calif.), Simeon Comanescu (Pleasanton, Calif.) and Ryan Marrs (San Luis Obispo, Calif.), and art and design students Alexandra Rosado (San Francisco, Calif.) and Lucia Astiazaran (Valencia, Calif.).
Second place went to SticKit, a two-in-one packaging system that dispenses insulin syringes and safely houses used syringes. A pull tab on the bottom of the secondary container dispenses a boxed syringe while a flap on the top of the container can be opened and locked for safe syringe disposal. A durable plastic divider separates the compartments, moving down with gravity as syringes are dispensed. The entry was designed by industrial technology and packaging students Paul Woodman (Atascadero, Calif.) and Michael Lowe (Pleasanton, Calif.), graphic communications student Dana Shell (San Ramon, Calif.), and art and design students Gina Agapito (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Ashley Vong (San Jose, Calif.).
Vera Cruz Surf Wax earned the third-place award. The packaging integrates a wax comb, a protective shell to minimize sun exposure of the wax and a discrete compartment to store the user’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 chap stick packaging, which can contain and reshape a melted product. The package was designed by industrial technology and packaging students Brooke Billmeyer (Solana Beach, Calif.), Grant Badstubner (Danville, Calif.), and Sai Domanico (Hillsborough, Calif) with art and design students Daniel Blenkinship (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) and Zach Baker (Rocklin, Calif.).
La Habra Avocado oil earned an honorable mention. The oil is housed in a recyclable plastic pouch encased by two paper pulp shells molded in 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 industrial technology and packaging students Katie Exum (Torrance, Calif.), Michael Moorehead (Walnut Creek, Calif.) and Patrick McCaffrey (Irvine, Calif.), and art and design students Jessica Ferguson (San Jose, Calif.) and Deric Shindledecker (Temecula, Calif.).
The student projects were developed in Professor Javier de la Fuente’s IT 435: Packaging Development class and Professor Mary LaPorte’s ART 437: Graphic Design III class. De la Fuente and LaPorte served as student advisors.
For more information about this year’s teams, visit IoPP’s website at https://www.iopp.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=4335.
Cal Poly Students Sweep National Packaging Design Competition
Four teams of Cal Poly students took home first-, second- and third-place awards and an honorable mention in this year’s Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) Ameristar Student Packaging Awards Competition
The interdisciplinary teams combined industrial technology and packaging students with art and design students to create packaging solutions for a variety of consumer needs. Each team developed a physical prototype of their product complete with branded graphics.
“[Cal Poly’s] work is truly inspiring to our student community and packaging professionals,” said Jane Chase, chair of the AmeriStar competition judging panel and IoPP board member. “It gives students at the other packaging schools something to shoot for when we conduct our AmeriStar Packaging Awards 2017.”
The teams will be honored at IoPP’s industry conference PackExpo in November.
The first-place team created Jimmy Hats, a new approach to traditional condom packaging. Jimmy Hats feature a new design of the condom wrapper itself, and a sleek, branded box that differentiates it from competitors on the store shelf. The concept was created by industrial technology and packaging students Nacho Montez, Nick Kriley and Sean Gorman with graphic design students Remy Miller, Jade Zuspan and Pedro Rodriguez.
Another Cal Poly team took second place for The Merry Seedsters. The product featured seeds embedded in compostable paper strips to make planting easier. The design also doubled as garden labels to identify the planted vegetables. It was created by industrial technology and packaging students Emily Mallett, Nicholai Busch and Wilson Packard with graphic design students Skye Rainey, Ally Bender and Allison Freeman.
A third Cal Poly team earned third place for its sushi packaging concept, Oishi. Made of low-cost, biodegradable materials such as paper-molded pulp, Oishi is a convenient and sustainable package that protects the sushi roll and doubles as a stackable tray with compartments for sauces and chopsticks. It was designed by graphic design students Doug Huynh, Mari Eguchi and Mariana Lopez as well as industrial technology and packaging students Alex Yeo, Tom Hickel, Jack Hoffmann and Eric Findley.
Cal Poly students also received an honorable mention for their product, Cowler, which provides a convenient and easy way to spread cream cheese on the go with single-serving packages of different flavors. The lid of the package doubled as a disposable spreading tool. Industrial technology and packaing students Rebecca Kisch, Sarah Ma, Ben Bassett and Austin Turner collaborated with graphic design students Lauren Miller, Chris Ross and Jenna Castillo on the design.
The student projects were developed in Professor Javier de la Fuente’s IT 435: Packaging Development class and Professor Mary LaPorte’s ART 437: Graphic Design III class. De la Fuente, LaPorte, and industrial technology and packaging instructor Irene Carbonell served as student advisors.
For more information about this year’s teams, visit IoPP’s website at http://www.iopp.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=4160.
Cal Poly Student Teams Place High at National Packaging Design Competition
(Clockwise from top left) Contact Solution and Lens Case; Ergonomic Pill Bottle; EZ Pour Funnel; No Mess-Scara
Four Cal Poly student teams placed high in the recent Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) AmeriStar Packaging Awards Competition.
The teams developed consumer packaging designs for health, beauty, pharmaceutical and other products through the Orfalea College of Business Packaging Fundamentals courses.
A Cal Poly team earned second place in the student competition for its design of an all-in-one contact lens case and solution bottle. The product was designed by business administration majors Kevin Chiu of Fremont, Rachel King of Granite Bay, Elaine Cohen of San Luis Obispo, and Rachel Berman of San Diego. In the design, the contact lens case sits directly above the bottle of solution, and a one-way straw delivers the solution to the lenses by simply squeezing the bottle.
Cal Poly students Mariah Barnum, a business administration major from Loomis; Tyler Beaty, a business administration major from San Diego; Arek Boloyan, an industrial technology major from El Cerrito; Scott Burbach, a business administration major from Mission Viejo; and Kathryn Cassidy, a graphic communications major from Santa Clarita, won third place for their redesign of a pill bottle that is both childproof and ergonomically designed for those with arthritis. By requiring palm strength to open, the bottle reduces stress on the wrist joint.
Two other teams from Cal Poly earned honorable mentions. Taylor Crump, a journalism major from Elk Grove, Rachel Day, a graphic communications major from Bonsall (San Diego County), Galen Dresser, a business administration major from San Luis Obispo, Sean Gorman, an industrial technology major from Atascadero, and Jonathan Han, an industrial technology major from Napa, developed the No-Mess-Scara, a flexible mascara bottle and wand that prevents clumps. Business students Aline Schmitz of Carlsbad, Jordan Sligh of Atascadero, Stephen Smail of Copperopolis (Calaveras County), Devadasi Stuart of San Luis Obispo, and Blake Tillery of McMinnville, Ore., also earned honorable mention for the EZ Pour Funnel, a sleeve-style plastic funnel built into the packaging of a standard motor oil bottle.
Cal Poly packaging Professors Javier de la Fuente and Koushik Saha advised the student teams throughout the year on their projects.
Cal Poly Students Earn Praise in National Packaging Design Contest
Four teams of Cal Poly students earned recognition in the AmeriStar Awards Competition, a national contest sponsored by the Institute of Packaging Professionals that highlights the year’s most innovative packaging designs. Among 28 student entries from university packaging programs throughout the nation, Cal Poly students stood out with projects relating to the health and beauty, food and beverage, and electronics industries.
Susanna Hintergardt, Anita Ho, Brandon Holle, Neil Holliday and John Zeolla took second place in the contest’s student division with the “iPackage,” a coated cardboard insert that turns tablet packaging into a convenient carrying case. The insert features a tablet tilt support and compartments for accessories like charger cables and headphones.
According to the students, the iPackage’s functionality would encourage buyers to reuse the packaging instead of disposing of it. The team, comprised of Orfalea College of Business students in various majors and concentrations, was awarded a trophy and $500 at the contest’s awards banquet. The students intend to enter the iPackage in the WorldStar Competition for global packaging innovation this fall.
Three other Cal Poly student teams received an honorable mention from AmeriStar for their product designs. Jacob Garber, Taylor Severn and Wes Zimmerman designed a spherical sunflower seed container that mimics the appearance of a baseball.
The “Coat N’ Clean,” developed by Maddie Back, Dylan Burau, Mary Butcher, Kelly Harding and Andrew Morey, fuses a nail polish bottle cap with a small nail polish remover reservoir and wand for touch-ups.
Rebecca Kisch, Emily Mallet, Megan Smith and Michael Stracey were recognized for creating a waterproof, shatter-proof makeup case with customizable color options.
“This is Learn by Doing at its best,” said Koushik Saha, assistant professor in the packaging program and advisor to three of the four winning teams. “Our packaging program has cemented itself in the industry on a national and global scale because our students feel empowered to apply their skills collaboratively and solve problems right now, not just after they graduate.”
The teams developed their designs during Packaging Fundamentals courses led by Saha and Cal Poly Packaging Program Director Jay Singh. This is the second consecutive year that Cal Poly students have placed highly in the competition. In 2013, Cal Poly teams swept first and second place honors from AmeriStar’s student division.
About the Orfalea College of Business and Cal Poly
The Orfalea College of Business, one of six academic colleges at Cal Poly, is a nationally ranked, four-year, comprehensive public university in San Luis Obispo, halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the Central Coast. Cal Poly is a distinctive learning community offering academically focused students a hands-on educational experience that prepares them for today’s scientific and technical world.