By: Berlin Packaging Specialist
Date: October 20, 2019
CHICAGO – (June 9, 2015) – Leading full-service packaging supplier Berlin Packaging announced today that its Studio One Eleven design and innovation division has won a prestigious 2015 Core77 Design Award for its 100% custom packaging for Patricks Men’s Hair Styling Products, a luxury line that sells for $60 per SKU and up. The package, one of only 13 winners in the global design competition’s packaging category, has an unusual rectilinear structure, aluminum plate appointments, minimalist branding, and other bold design choices that reinvent every aspect of hair care packaging to instantly communicate Patricks’ premium positioning.
The 2015 Core77 Design Awards honored 210 designs across 14 categories ranging from commercial equipment to consumer products, furniture & lighting, and transportation. Jury teams were comprised of 56 design experts from eight countries, with winners from around the world.
“Our assignment in developing this package was to create a ‘beautiful little object’ with the look and feel of a durable goods product,” said Scott Jost, VP of Innovation & Design at Berlin Packaging. “We collaborated with the customer to deliver a truly original design that elevates Patricks’ products to the level of status symbol, in keeping with the premium price point. The result is such a radical departure from conventional hair care packaging, so well-matched to Patricks’ high-end formula, and such a stunning solution in its own right that it is opening doors for the brand in some of the world’s top luxury retailers.”
Inspired by elements from both personal electronics and automotive design, the Patricks package features a rectilinear form factor in which the front edge and base are fused with thick plate aluminum to create a durable goods aesthetic. Labels are silk-screened onto the aluminum surfaces, adding to the upmarket image and avoiding cheapening the package with paper labeling. The front edge functions as the closure latch, swinging forward to free the lid and reveal a well containing the product, while a double-lock system ensures the package will not open in storage or transit.
Equally important and unique is the user’s sensory interaction with the package. A thin rubber gasket seamlessly integrates into the aluminum base to create an audible solidity when putting the package down as well as to prevent slippage in wet areas and protect bathroom surfaces. Other sensory examples include the audible engagement of the lid when it locks, the heft of the package in the hand, and the tactile feel of the matte finish.
The Studio One Eleven-designed visual branding reinforces the upscale appearance with a minimalist Patricks brandmark debossed on the cover, a sophisticated visual identity system with abbreviated product descriptors, and a tie back to a ‘Patricks Product Matrix’ that guides men to the SKU best suited to their hair and styling types.
Within just two months of launch, this obsessive attention to detail earned Patricks coverage in GQ magazine, placement in the carefully curated ranks of luxury goods retailer Mr. Porter, and at least one reviewer’s praise describing it as one of ‘the finest grooming products known to man.’ Since then, Patricks has gained distribution ranging from Neiman Marcus USA and Sephora Australia to Joyce and Lane Crawford Hong Kong/China.
“This is a very interesting package from the point of view of graphics and the detailing of the package, especially with its positioning that the designer is designing and the manufacturer is aiming at,” according to the Core77 jury. “It's very male and also takes care of a functional aspect.”
A comprehensive description of Studio One Eleven’s winning entry is posted at http://designawards.core77.com/Packaging/33087.