Washington, D.C. – The Paperboard Packaging Alliance (PPA) today announced the winners of its 2018 Student Design Challenge. The winning teams presented their designs to executives from the top paperboard packaging manufacturers in North America alongside the winners of the Paperboard Packaging Council’s (PPC) Annual Carton Competition at PPC’s semi-annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.

The 2018 challenge was to design packaging for the contents of a subscription box package that enhances the customer experience and can be reused for storage. All submitted designs can be viewed at www.paperboardpackaging.org/university-features/2018-sdc-winners-and-entries. 

“Congratulations to the 2018 Student Design Challenge winners,” said American Forest & Paper Association President and CEO Donna Harman. “Two hundred students from 13 universities submitted 58 designs, showing remarkable ingenuity.”

“We hope the Student Design Challenge provides a meaningful contribution to the portfolios of these young designers,” said PPC President Ben Markens. “By connecting employers with the workforce of the future, we can create a stronger, more innovative, and forward-moving industry.”

2018 PPA Student Design Challenge Winners

1st Place: Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)
Entry Name: Packin’ Heat
Team: Nicole Longford, Kelly Fellner, Andrew McMahon & Dylan Fisher
Advisors: Bill Wynkoop & Lorrie Frear

2nd Place: California Polytechnic State University (CalPoly)
Entry name: Harvest
Team: Amanda Truong, Mitchel Salles, Audrey Gerughty & Andrew Fulton
Advisors: Irene Carbonell, Javier de la Fuente & Mary LaPorte

3rd Place: Chowan University
Entry name: Moment
Team: Shelby Barlowe & Gabrielle Wilson
Advisor: Dr. Mitchell Henke

Winners were chosen by a team of paperboard packaging industry professionals who rated submissions based on their response to the competition scenario, innovative structural and graphic design, functionality, and the quality of the finished product.

The winning student teams received a cash prize to share among their team members and their respective schools received a cash award to support their academic programs. First place: $5,500 to the team, $5,000 to the school; second place: $3,300 to the team, $3,000 to the school; and third place: $1,650 to the team, $1,500 to the school.

For more information about the PPA Student Design Challenge, like the Paperboard Packaging Alliance on Facebook and visit paperboardpackaging.org.