Just having a good product is not enough. Design has become the crucial factor for success. In order to strengthen “ brand Sweden” and to encourage industry to create new networks, the Swedish government has initiated the project “Designåret (design year) 2005”.
This is a bold venture where Swedish enterprises are invited to create their own projects focusing on design. Frövi is contributing with the project PIDA – Packaging Impact Design Award.
For more than ten years Frövi has initiated design competitions with students focussed on packaging design. This year we take a step forward with the PIDA project, where we invite students from a number of Swedish universities to participate in a competition where they should choose a product within the segments Luxury Drinks, Chocolate, Beauty Care, Pharmacy and IT/ Multimedia. For the chosen product they shall produce two different packaging solutions for different target groups – a task that focuses on the “packaging language”. 15 groups have been selected to participate and on 1st June there will be an award ceremony in Frövi.
This year we are also participating in the Student Starpack Awards in the UK. Frövi and Marks & Spencer are joint sponsors for one of the nine categories in the competition and have received almost 30 entries. The brief is to create a chocolate pack for Christmas 2005, aiming at children in the age of 5 – 12 years. The shape and structure should have a high “novelty factor” where shelf impact and product awareness is essential. The winner will be announced on 7 April.
A very inspiring co-operation that has now come to an end is the Escola Massana Packaging Seminar in Barcelona. For ten years this seminar has been run in cooperation between Frövi, the art and design centre Escola Massana, the converter Grafopack and Nestlé in Spain. Now Pro-Carton has taken over the sponsorship. In connection with their 75th anniversary, on the 30th November 2004, Escola Massana highlighted our long-lasting co-operation and presented us with an award for the continuous and effective support, environmental awareness and for highlighting the importance of design. The prize was a sculpture of a fist – symbolizing strength and victory.