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Announcing Dieline Awards 2019 Winners: The Finest in Packaging Design

by Natalie Mouradian on 05/08/2019 | 5 Minute Read

Now in its 9th year, Dieline Awards has handed out a grand total of 397 coveted trophies. And while that might sound like a lot, this competition is truly the most competitive in the packaging design industry. This year alone, we received more than 1,400 entries from over 20 countries around the world, and only 94 of them received an award.

Submissions go through multiple rounds of judging based on criteria like creativity, marketability and execution. You might recognize a few of the Jury members—people from agencies like JKR and brands like Chobani, and all the design gurus you love like Debbie Millman, Pum Lefebure, and Ken Lo. 

You know, no big deal.

So sit back, pour yourself a cup of coffee and take a gander at all of this year's top winners.(You can find our First Winners here, Second Place Winners here, and our Third Place Winners here.)


Best of Show

Lind & Lime Gin

CONTAGIOUS - UNITED KINGDOM

Editorial photograph

We all like pretty things, but here at Dieline we especially love pretty things. That’s kind of our jam.

And this thing? Well, it’s the prettiest thing of all.

This year, our panel of judges waded through over a thousand packaging submissions from agencies all over the world. After a few rounds of thorough consideration and much head-scratching, our judges finally landed on this year’s overall Best In Show winner-Lind & Lime Gin by Scotland branding agency Contagious. This beautiful, bespoke bottle was more than two years in the making for Scottish distillery Port of Leith and drew inspiration from the industrial buildings and old kilns that once dotted Leith’s shores. Plus, it quite literally stands out on the top shelf of any bar with its elegant silhouette and illuminating presence.

Case Study

Editor's Choice

Identité

SEYMOURPOWELL - UNITED KINGDOM

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The hard part of having an awards show with a jury is that you never get to pick a winner. Everything is scientific and democratic, and awards are doled out to the most deserving as reviewed by a panel of industry veterans and professionals.

Well, we got tired of that long ago, because what’s the fun in having an awards show if you can’t pick a winner?

That’s why we have our Dieline Editor’s Choice award, and this year’s winner Identité exemplifies everything we love—a sustainable, plastic-free beauty regimen focused on your skin care that could be the future of how we design cosmetics. Better still, it all comes in a hyper-connected package that relies on your own personal data—where you live and your environment, the latest style trends you’re following, and even your own schedule, tailor making your skin care routine one week at a time.

“Identité is a complete vision of the future of packaging design,” says Dieline Founder Andrew Gibbs. “A future where technology meets sustainability, a future of extreme customer personalization powered by AI and big data, and 100% Plastic Free, sustainable bio-based and biodegradable materials.”

“It’s an incredible example of what designers can do to create new, unique and proprietary brand experiences without contributing to the growing plastic pollution crisis,” he adds.

Case Study

Studio of the Year

Jones Knowles Ritchie

UNITED STATES, UNITED KINGDOM, CHINA, SINGAPORE

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There are countless branding and design agencies that dream up some of our favorite packaging design. Too many, in fact, but there can be only one studio of the year, and this agency consistently wowed us all year long. 

Dunkin’. Budweiser. Those delightful Miller Harris perfumes wrapped in silk scarves topped with a whimsical pompom. They even dreamed up some delicious canned sardine packaging for Tesco that draws on old European charms, but with their typical modern flair. 

Jones Knowles Ritchie works with some of the most enduring and instantly recognizable global brands, and they have created a breadth of work that is bold, playful and genuinely iconic. Why do you think we turned to them when we redesigned Dieline from the ground up? Their work is quite simply that good. But you knew that already.

Case Study

Rebrand of the Year

Dunkin'

JONES KNOWLES RITCHIE - UNITED STATES

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Stop us if you’ve heard this one before, but did you see the Dunkin’ rebrand JKR did this past year? With its custom, proprietary typeface and beautiful facelift, consumers everywhere got a real taste of what it means to “run on Dunkin’.” 

As our own Theresa Christine wrote this past year, “what JKR discovered is that typography is key to the brand. Unlike an apple which can represent technology or a domino which represents pizza, “Dunkin’” is a verb, and considerably more difficult to express in one icon. Since Dunkin’ can stand for a lot of different things (coffee, donuts, breakfast sandwiches, and more), it made sense to dig into the typeface.”

“The tricky thing for us was how to communicate what is iconically Dunkin’ Donuts if you don't have the donuts anymore,” says JKR Global Chief Creative Officer Tosh Hall. “So first thing was to redraw the Frankfurter typeface because it only existed in uppercase and it was hard to use.”

Case Study

Neenah Paper Award

Zoma Cannabis

PAVEMENT - UNITED STATES

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Every year, Dieline recognizes the best use of Neenah paper. 

And why? Designers love the stuff, and they’re the go-to provider for premium looks and elegant packaging design.

This year’s award goes to Zoma, a California based cannabis brand that offers vapes, flower and pre-rolls. Designed by Pavement, they made this wonderful cannabis product look like something both refined and luxurious, but also like it was straight out of the Evil Dead if it channeled mother earth instead of evil spirits.

As the team at Pavement wrote earlier this year, “with a blind emboss illustration of Mother Earth paired with gold foil flourishes, the brand feels opulent and indulgent, yet grounded and calming. An overall sense of balance and sophistication is established for Zoma that positions the products at the forefront of refinement in the California recreational market.”Case Study

Connected Packaging Award Presented by HP & Digimarc

Arbora

JISU KIM - ART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN

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What if instead of flowers, you could give the gift of a tree?

Well, that’s just what Art Center College of Design student Jisu Kim proposed for this year’s Connected Packaging Award Presented by HP & Digimarc.

Kim’s concept design seeks to motivate people to plant flowers and trees as well as preserve our fragile, natural environment. Consumers receive a memorable gift while trees and flowers get planted throughout National Forests and Grasslands, but it’s the connectivity aspect that sold us on the project; when you purchase the product, you'll receive a GPS code so you can find the location of your planted tree.

The concept raises awareness with how natural disasters, wildfires and climate change adversely affect our environment, and the packaging comes printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paperboard, printed with soy-based inks.