Dutch Packaging Design

At Dutch website Groene Offerte you’ll find loads of interesting packaging design related articles, opinions and other stuff (all in Dutch). Especially the serie ‘Food for Thought’ gives entertaining and remarkable examples of packaging design in all its aspects, good or bad.
Groene Offerte is established for the complete design industry. The site is set up to grow: more and more contacts, knowledge and new insights. In this way Groene Offerte wants to help and encourage the design industry with their key role of this industry in the sustainable development of society and economy.

Food for Thought at Groene Offerte (all in Dutch).

The iF product design award was introduced in 1954. Each year the iF award attracts more than 2000 entries from 37 countries, which are then judged by experts in the respective fields. This Product and Material yearbook features the best in international product design, focusing on newly developed materials and the innovative use of existing materials.

Buy here, here or here.

This years Dutch Design Week will take place from the 20th until the 28th of October. This eleventh edition offers a unique glimpse into the future of design thanks to the endless creativity of hundreds of renowned designers and young talents from The Netherlands.
Over 1,500 designers display their work ranging from graphic design, industrial design, packaging design, spatial design, textiles, fashion, architecture, sustainable responsible business design and design management & trends. There are 85 different locations housing more than 300 events. Besides exhibitions, there are numerous lectures, workshops, fashion shows and seminars.

This year 200,000 visitors are expected to visit the Dutch Design Week.

Dutch Designweek 2012, Eindhoven – The Netherlands

A compilation of yearly design awards, this book features the best in communication and packaging design from around the world. The iF communication design awards have been conferred since 2004 by a panel of design experts from across the world. Showcased in this volume are the most outstanding examples of communication and packaging design. This yearbook presents trendsetting achievement in advertising, media, campaigns, packaging, and websites.

Read more here, or buy here.

Stepfive creates new distinctive retail and catering concepts for food and beverage brands on a daily basis. We develop new concepts, recipes, brands and packaging design together with our clients. We also revitalise existing products on our own initiative, because we are convinced many products could have a more successful brand appearance with the right adaption and repositioning. For example, we have created this new concept for Bloody Mary.

This Bloody Mary concept can be used for the catering and retail sector. The bottle has two facings (meant for standing and hanging) and can therefore be placed on a shelf, perhaps in a retail environment, or can be suspended within catering establishments. You also have the option of attaching a connecting piece with a hose, allowing drinking glasses to be filled with Bloody Mary from a bottle hanging on the bar.

The event for everyone who admits that packaging is ”more than just a box around a product”. If you’re responsible for your company’s goods, such as SRP, shelf standout, the development of new designs or a product’s life span, then PACKAGING INNOVATIONS 2012 is your number one must-see exhibition of the year.
Wednesday 28 / thursday 29 november 2012, Passenger Terminal, Amsterdam

An entertaining and yet educative app for the iPhone and iPad is launched by ‘Plastics Make it Possible‘. The name? Bin It! A fun and addictive new game that challenges you to recycle your packaging and other stuff in a fun way! Bin It is a free game. Download it in the app store.

A fine example of what pakaging can do besides just containing and/or selling a product, given by Designworks Melbourne. These air-instruments are part of a ‘Play Air Campagne’, a campaign which helped raise money for an organisation called The Song Room. The Song Room is a charitable organisation who help ensure that underprivileged schools can allow their students to partake in creativity. Deservedly nominated for a Cannes Lions award for Promo & Activation.