The Glass Packaging Institute (GPI), in partnership with Michigan State University (MSU) School of Packaging, has announced the winners of the 2023 Glass Packaging Design Competition. The first-place team includes Lydia Cooper, Katie Dozek, Jacob Graybeal, Abby Ludtke and Fardowsa Omar. The team’s concept design of a whiskey bottle features the iconic Detroit Tigers logo embossed into all four sides of the glass container.
“The project gave me a better understanding of how much thought really goes into the design of glass packaging,” said Katie Dozek, an MSU Packaging Design student on the winning team. “It was something I enjoyed very much, and I hope to pursue design in my future career.”
Fellow teammate and student Jacob Graybeal added, “To be a great packaging team, team members listen to each other and contribute with what they are best at. Visually, it is like a jigsaw puzzle. If even one piece of the puzzle is lacking, the puzzle won’t be complete.”
Ardagh Glass Packaging-North America (AGP-NA) hosted the MSU competition winning team and their instructor Angela Brann for a tour of their Winchester, Ind., glass manufacturing facility and visit to their corporate office, which included presentations from AGP-NA leadership on safety, the glassmaking process, quality and product design. Ardagh also presented the team with a Lucite model of their bottle design, which will be displayed alongside models presented to past winners of the competition.
“The GPI Academic Program and the annual MSU glass design competition are key to ensuring that the next generation of packaging professionals understand the important role of glass in the food and beverage industry,” said Gina Behrman, Vice President, Marketing, Communications and New Product Development, AGP-NA. “This year’s winning design found the right balance between creativity and manufacturability, while capitalizing on brand loyalty, and we were honoured to host the student design team and their instructor at the Ardagh facilities.”
The 44 student teams, all randomly assigned, from the Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 Packaging with Glass and Metal class participated in the competition, working on the project throughout the semester as they learned about the design and manufacture of glass bottles and jars.