Pentawards Meets: Jury Edition

Last week, our Strategy Director, Alex Murrell, and our Marketing Manager, Ricardo Martins, were invited by the folks at Pentawards to attend their first Pentawards Meets: Jury Edition in Twickenham.

Founded in 2007, Pentawards is the leading global platform and community for packaging design. Receiving over 36,000 entries into their annual competition since launch from more than 95 countries, they represent global brands, design agencies, students, as well as suppliers and manufacturers.

The idea behind Pentawards Meets was simple: share with a selected room of people the insights, themes, and surprises found by the judges whilst judging this year’s entries, as well as revealing firsthand the projects shortlisted for this year’s award.

We were very happy to be invited to take part in that conversation with great names such as Maisie Benson (JKR), Chloé Templeman (Pearlfisher), John Glasgow (Vault49), Claire Robertshaw (Design Bridge), Alex Center (Center), and many others.

As expected, the shortlisted projects were meticulously crafted and outstandingly beautiful, but what really grabbed our attention was the design themes found across the room, of which we highlight three.

Deli & bodega style

This theme was particularly found in the FMCG, dried foods, and confectionery category.

Bold colours, big type, windows into the inside of the pack, handcrafted elements, and that feeling of it being ‘just thrown together by a non-designer’ that just works perfectly.

It incites nostalgia, community, and belonging.

Bold minimalist

Found mostly in the body, health and beauty category, where Scandi minimalism meets heavy type and bold, block colours. Think brands like Simple and Ordinary with a little bit of a design twist.

Tech activations

QR codes and NFC codes are here to stay, and on this year’s shortlist, many brands have taken advantage of this technology to expand their customer experiences. Be it by adding a QR code to the front of pack with a call to action to a website or to create a whole constellation using VR through the glass of a bottle – we know, it’s bonkers!

It’s worth mentioning that sustainability, which until a few years ago was a separate theme and trend, seems to be incorporated into most designs effortlessly, which makes us wonder that maybe in the future it will be a criteria rather than a stand alone category.

Thank you Pentawards for inviting us, it was a pleasure taking part.