Three Durban University of Technology (DUT) Graphic Design students recently won top awards at the Student Gold Pack Competition Awards in Johannesburg.
Kaurin Reddy, Tamia Fynn, and Mandy Phumelele Mngoma impressed judges with their creative and innovative packaging projects, earning them several accolades in the Design, Packaging Technology, and Food Science categories.
The Student Gold Pack Competition is an essential part of IPSA’s education mission. It allows students to engage in projects that showcase the skills and challenges of the packaging field. The competition offers project briefs that encourage students to demonstrate the role of packaging in the supply chain and product marketing, as well as its functionality and benefits. It includes three categories: Graphic Design, Packaging Technology, and Industrial Design, with prizes awarded based on individually judged projects.
Kaurin Reddy was announced as the overall winner in the Design Category (Project one) for his work titled Pritt’s Refillable 2 In 1 Tape Dispenser. Reddy explained that his idea was to use the invisible tape packaging as a dispenser, incorporating a serrated blade on one side for cutting the tape. This design would eliminate the need to purchase a separate tape dispenser and make scissors unnecessary for cutting the tape. Additionally, the design allows the tape’s opening to rest on the serrated edge, solving the common issue of locating the tape’s starting point. The Pritt invisible tape dispenser packaging uses recyclable unbleached paperboard, functioning both as a container and a dispenser with a serrated blade, and it can also be refilled.
Tamia Fynn and Mandy Phumelele Mngoma took home second and third place in the Packaging Technology category (Project three), respectively.
Fynn won for her work, Freshpak Goldpack. Her solution, inspired by local talent Karabo Poppy, introduced a limited edition of Freshpak Rooibos packaging celebrating South African heritage.
Mngoma, who won third place in the same category as Fynn, said her work was called the Lego X Piet Mondrian Collaboration. She explained that she had designed Lego packaging to celebrate and derive from the work of Piet Mondrian. The packaging features five differently sized boxes, each containing different-coloured Lego pieces that allow users to create their own art. She added that these individual boxes come together to form one large box, capturing the modular and artistic essence of the collaboration.
Graphic Design lecturers Marlene Wasserman and Frank Kalala said they are very pleased and proud of the students for continuing to build on DUT’s excellent reputation in the prestigious competition.
Pictured: (Left to Right )Mandy Phumelele Mngoma, Kaurin Reddy, Frank Kalala and Tamia Fynn.
Sthembile Ndlovu
