The work of the two designers Annie Kuschel and Julia König from the LEONHARD KURZ Design Management Packaging and Print department was once again recognized. Their innovative design tool Boxes No. 2 won a Red Dot Design Award and a German Design Award. Read this article to find out what makes this packaging concept so special and why it is so popular with designers.
It is a very special honor for those responsible for the packaging concept to be recognized once again and receive not one, but two awards. The previous versions of Boxes No. 2 had already won several Red Dot Design Awards and German Design Awards in various categories since 2019. The fact that Boxes No. 2 received awards again this year speaks not only for their popularity but also for its high design quality and distinct added value.
LEONHARD KURZ’s Boxes No. 2 were introduced for the first time in October 2022 at Luxepack in Monaco. The unique tool is very high-quality and elaborately designed. It combines four different KURZ trends, which emerged from previous trend research, with inspiration for packaging designs and exciting effects for surface design. At the same time, it shows various possible uses of the new KURZ trend colors and KURZ products such as LUXOR®, COLORIT®, LUMAFIN®, and LIGHT LINE®. It is a playful, comprehensive concept that shows where ideas come from and how design and product development go hand in hand. The trends presented by Boxes No. 2 are not general trends but an interpretation by KURZ’s own cross-industry trend team.
The concept consists of four packages that are contained in an outer packaging. When opened, the outer packaging unfolds like a flower, offering a very special unpacking experience. Incidentally, the outer packaging can also be used as shipping packaging, as a label with an address field is affixed to it, which has been finished with TTR. The print run of the outer boxes is limited and individualized, so each outer packaging is marked with a number from 1 to 1200. The four smaller boxes inside can be removed individually and each represent a different trend. There are not only transparent, semi-transparent, and metallic effects to discover but also special tactile embossing created using the stamping technology of KURZ subsidiary H+M. Detailed information on the four trends can be found in the article ‘Reflections of Society.’
Great success for the small team: You are probably all familiar with the Red Dot Design Award from a wide range of products you buy. The seal of quality for good design can be recognized by the ‘red dot’ on excellent packaging. The Red Dot is an internationally renowned award for high design quality and well thought-out concepts. The German Design Award is equally well-known and renowned. Since 2012, it has honored outstanding design at an international level and is awarded annually by the German Design Council. For both awards, an international expert jury chooses the recipients. Both awards are sought-after, and the number of national and international submissions is growing every year. Winning both at once is, of course, a very special achievement.
The Orofin editorial team asked the two designers what the atmosphere is like at the award ceremonies and how it feels to have won alongside renowned major agencies: “The atmosphere at the award ceremonies is always very festive. It’s always a special moment for us to hold the certificate in our hands. Only then do we realize what we have achieved once again at the international design level and that the KURZ company operates at the very highest design level,” says Annie Kuschel, Head of Design Management Packaging and Print at KURZ. Julia König, Senior Designer at KURZ, adds: “Our work is not characterized by pitches, commissions, or precise customer briefings. We work independently, with a high degree of critical reflection on our own design, strong motivation, and the aspiration to work on contemporary topics that affect our industry. So, the prizes show us that we’re on the right track.”
The concept of the trend boxes is so successful that the Design Management team is already working on the next version.
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