2017 Pentawards Winners Announced

Two Japanese designs amongst Platinum award winners

The Pentawards is a worldwide competition dedicated to packaging design. The 11th edition of the Pentawards was held at the W Hotel in Barcelona, Spain. The gala ceremony played host to over 300 people from the global packaging design community, from all around the world as 27 countries represented.

The 2017 edition of the Pentawards received 2,013 entries from five continents and 54 countries, an increase of nearly 10% in enrolment over the previous year.

Amongst the five platinum Pentawards meted out, two went to Japanese designs.

The Standout Sake

The Beverages Platinum award went to Japanese designer, Ryuta Ishikawa, for the Kirinzan sake bottle design. The sake bottle is made instantly recognisable due to the beautifully bold Momiji gold maple leaf feature. Together with the embossed, frosted glass exterior, the gold leaf plating detail and string tied at the top exuded a luxurious feel, reflective of of the high-grade, luxurious sake product within.

The Invisible Toilet Paper

The Body Platinum award was given to Japanese design agency Interbrand, for a series of packaging for Matsukiyo toilet paper. The packaging design aimed to tackle an age old Japanese stigma in purchasing toilet paper openly.

The toilet paper is designed to look like everyday objects by displaying the full-size image of the objects on the packaging exterior. This created the illusion that the consumer is carrying something else, like groceries or a boom box, instead of toilet paper.

Best in Show – Simplicity and Fluidity

The award’s highest honour, the Diamond Pentaward, goes to Spanish-based agency Perfumes y Diseño, for their design for Starck Paris perfume collection.

The product is a collection of three perfumes; feminine, masculine and neutral. The concept was to create three distinct and independent designs that when put together would interlink to form one sculpture.

The fluid nature of the design creates a connectivity between the three fragrances. The complex design of the bottles meant that the production had to be executed perfectly to ensure that all three fragrances ebbed and flowed between each other, as conceptualised in the design phase.

In addition to the Diamond Pentaward and Platinum Pentawards, the international jury also awarded 46 Gold Pentawards among the 55 categories competing this year. Silver and Bronze Pentawards were also presented. In total, 32 countries are represented among the winners.

The entire range of award winners can be seen at: www.pentawards.org.