Show-Stopping Designs at Starpack Student Awards

Nottingham Trent University product design student, Matt Ledger, combined elegance, and practicality to create a show-stopping winning entry and scoop the top prize of £600 (approximately $760) from category sponsor, Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association (MPMA), in this year’s Starpack Students Awards organized by IoM3.

Design students were invited to design a luxury promotional metal pack to hold a 100ml bottle of perfume, aftershave, or cologne.

Matt created a fictitious brand name for his winning design, ‘Verdure’, which represents ‘an essence of flourishing vegetation’, and a cleverly designed pack recognising both elegance and environmental consciousness.

Matt Ledger receives a check from MPMA consultant, Robert Fell.

The striking green colored tin incorporates sophisticated design elements, such as embossing and an eye-catching ribbed element, which help create stand out shelf appeal. Regardless of the contents, the tin itself is a unique design which would have a much-extended life as a beautiful tin in its own right.

William Stenning from Nottingham Trent University was awarded runner up with ‘Aegir Voyager’, a creative and unique ship design using the cologne bottle as the ‘sail’ and the inspired by the Norse God of the sea ‘Aegir’.

Aegir Voyager: Runner-up entry from William Stenning from Nottingham Trent University

Highly Commended awards were made to Rahat Rai from Ravensbourne University, London, with his pack ‘Cheri’, Adam Shrewsbury from Loughborough University with his pack ‘Hampshire’; and Nivedh Sujith from Nottingham Trent University with his pack ‘Eclissi del Cuore’.

MPMA judges, Debbie Clements and Jason Galley; plus Corrina Korrubel and Mark Hurst, both designers at Eviosys; and Graham Smith, TALA; examined 19 entries from universities and colleges. 

Jason Galley commented, “Specialty packaging brings out the best in innovation spanning design, use of different finishes, print techniques, and shaping. This year, Matt's design blew us away with its intricate and carefully thought-out shaping and gave us a concept which was uniquely his own. Every aspect of the design was meticulously considered, leaving a lasting impression.

“Seeing so many fantastic entries from different universities across not just the UK but the world has been inspirational, and we can't wait to see the entries for next year!”

Winners were presented with their prizes at the IoM3 Starpack Students Award ceremony held in London on June 19. 

During the awards ceremony, the sponsors of the 2024 Starpack Students participated in a discussion about 'Design and packaging for the whole of life', which was led by Jude Allan, Chair of the IOM3 Packaging Group. This was followed by a Q&A session with the competition entrants.

MPMA offers universities and colleges a bespoke, personal lecture/session on designing and manufacturing in metal. Any institution wishing to take up this offer should contact [email protected].