Ballots Have Been Tallied!

by Christopher Lyons

What a year it was for the Package Design Makeover Challenge!!! Thousands of votes and direct input from consumers have made this year's challenge a true treasure for all involved. We want to thank each design team for their inspired efforts and beautiful designs, and we ask you to join us in congratulating the team from Brand Engine for their winning designs.

The Makeover Challenge is inspiring to witness. The artistic and strategic influence that package design and development professionals have on package and brand development makes the covering of such work a pleasure. Designers bring so many disciplines and talents to the table—structural design, graphic design, brand positioning savvy, knowledge of materials, color management, software expertise, workflow solutions, etc.—when determining the end-result package for every product.

Other features in this issue cover new printing technologies introduced at Print 05, the Finnish affinity for recycling, design research strategies and tools, and a collection of luxury package insights in this month's Designer's Corner column. In addition to the November/December issue that you are holding, we have included an industry calendar of events that identifies all of the major events, conferences, and expos that will occur during 2006. We hope you enjoy this issue, the calendar, and we hope that you will join us at the 3rd annual design conference, Package Design 06, in Clearwater Beach Jan. 31 — Feb. 1. As always, we thank you for your continued interest and support.

Enjoy!

Chris Lyons
Publisher
clyons@lyonsmediainc.com