Collegiate Design Awards

FIT Students Rise to the Challenge And Take Home Packaging Awards Sponsored by Robinson Paperboard

Robinson Paperboard Packaging, manufacturers of boxes and talc shakers for a wide range of products, announced the winners of the first annual Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) Packaging Design Awards competition on July 1st. By sponsoring the competition, Robinson hoped to bring a fresh, innovative approach to their packaging by tapping the talents of young designers ready to enter a professional package design career.

The contest, held during FIT's spring semester, was open to sixth-semester students in the Packaging Design Department at FIT. The winning students are Carlo DiRusso, Malvina Yampolsky, and Si Yin Wu, and each received a cash award of $750. DiRusso designed an unusually shaped spray bottle with the liquid holder and nozzle in the center, Yampolsky designed a swiveling canister for aromatic powders, and Wu created hollow spheres to hold scented liquids and beads.

"This was a wonderful professional experience," said Marianne Klimchuk, Associate Chairperson of FIT's Packaging Design Department. "The students learned firsthand the importance of each phase of the design process and how to present their work to a client." FIT offers a four-year program leading to the BFA degree in Packaging Design. Students learn concept development, three-dimensional structural design, and brand design. At the same time, students develop an understanding of the marketing of consumer goods.

Robinson Paperboard Packaging could not have been happier with the results. "It's about giving the students visibility," said Ron Zieske, president of Robinson Paperboard Packaging. "We wanted to find a way to help bring their ideas to fruition and commercialize them."