Since its founding in 2007, Dieline has celebrated the best in packaging design, raising awareness to the enormous value of both consumer product packaging design and branding.
Now, in its 12th year, Dieline Awards 2021, presented by Adobe and sponsored by Neenah, Designalytics, and Manter, continues to be one of the world’s leading packaging design competitions, recognizing some of the world’s best creatives and agencies.
This year, we received nearly 1,600 entries—the most we’ve ever been sent—with winners hailing from 28 countries across the globe. Taken together, the prize-winning recipients offer a snapshot of where the packaging industry is heading, not only with bold and innovative designs but with many brands committing to plastic-free materials. Here, you’ll find some of the best design agencies and studios in the game today, but also in-house design teams and independent designers.
The awards’ jury features a who’s who from the world of design. Luminaries like Design Matters’ host Debbie Millman, Design Army co-founder and CCO Pum Lefebure, A Plastic Planet’s Sian Sutherland, Swedish agency Grow’s Isabelle Dahlborg Lidström, Tom Szaky of TerraCycle, Made thought co-founder and creative director Ben Parker, Pearlfisher VP executive creative director Hamish Campbell, Wolff Olins CCO Forest Young, Stamp Works co-founder Jin Fujiwara, independent designer Badal Patel, and COLLINS CCO Brian Collins. Basically, the people you want eyeballing your work.
Awards were judged across five categories—creativity, marketability, innovation, execution, and on-pack branding, ultimately going through two rounds of rigorous critique and appraisal.
What you’re about to see here is the best of the best. So get the coffee on, sit back, and buckle up because we’ve got quite a few awards to hand out. And lastly, please join us at Dieline Awards Live, a 1-day, complimentary virtual event presented by Adobe on Tuesday June 8th celebrating the big winners of Dieline Awards 2021.
BEST OF SHOW
Your Way, Way Better
Client: Burger King
Creative Agency: Jones Knowles Ritchie
UNITED STATES
Y’all knew this was coming, right?
There was one project that was on the tip of every designer’s tongue this past year, and that was JKR’s redesign for Burger King.
JKR took us back to the ’70s with the kind of burger logo that made for good times and ironic t-shirts, the perfect homage to their beloved, juicy heritage. Insignias aside, even the packaging assets shine with the new proprietary “Flame” typeface that takes inspiration from the shapes of their food, as it genuinely looks like retro-fun when you tear into a Whopper. The refresh also extends to other parts of the QSR, with new store designs and bold swaths of color. Even the uniforms dazzle, incorporating the crack illustration shown throughout the identity.
“An ‘aha’ moment was when we landed on the idea of making the Burger King brand literally as crave-able as the food,” said Lisa Smith, executive creative director at JKR, at the announcement of the refresh. “That meant making every single element inspired by the food—from the Flame typeface which evokes the natural, organic shapes of ingredients and looks so mouthwateringly delicious, to the colors, which are inspired by the Whopper and BK’s trademark flame-grilling method of cooking the burgers.”
Burger King has spent years removing preservatives, coloring and flavors from artificial sources out of their food… but you’d never know it. Because before you bite into a Whopper, you see a 20-year old brand identity that screams convenience, not craveability. The challenge is, how do you turn Burger King’s bold, flavorful, irreverent personality into a brand identity without sacrificing ‘Have it Your Way?’
EDITOR’S CHOICE
Planned Parenthood Birth Control Refill Delivery Program
Werner Design Werks
UNITED STATES
It’s not much fun hosting an awards competition if your esteemed jury of experts gets to pick every winner. Well, it’s our party, and we’ll cry if we want to, and that means choosing our own favorite piece of packaging from the overwhelming number of incredible entries.
This year, the Dieline Editor’s Choice award goes to Werner Design Werks for their North Central States Planned Parenthood campaign. The studio took the usual plain white bag you get for your birth control and transformed it into a boldly vibrant and bombastic piece of packaging. Not only is it a bid to create a more lasting and powerful connection with their patients, but it’s an expression of female empowerment, one that heightens the emotional impact and value of the organization. And that’s pretty significant in a year where women’s reproductive rights in the US remain under fire (and have been under fire for quite some time).
Werner also managed to create a plastic-free experience (minus the condoms, because that’s not in the cards yet, guys), utilizing a distinctive standing paper pouch to hold multiple birth control brands, making it resemble that of a beauty box subscription. It even has a hair tie closure.
Sure, the white bag was already recyclable, but they’ve managed to create a valuable consumer experience that celebrates Planned Parenthood’s mission and their determined and loyal patients.
STUDIO OF THE YEAR
Jones Knowles Ritchie
UNITED STATES, UNITED KINGDOM & SHANGHAI
Plenty of agencies impressed our judges this year. However, there was one in particular that won the most awards ever collected by a single studio in any given year.
Yup, it was JKR.
This year, they racked up eight awards for their work on Burger King, Jet-Puffed, The Heinz Global Masterbrand, and for skincare line Bloom and Blossom. And while you might think we paved the way for another JKR sweep, the fact of the matter is that our jury selected our winners—but hey, we don’t blame you. Of course, it’s hard not spilling ink about their projects because they get to work with so many iconic brands, and those brands shine. When you look at the suite of branding assets each one of their clients receives—proprietary fonts, variable logos, subway ads, and UNIFORMS—it’s hard not to be wowed. Even the smaller start-ups they work with get the same level of professionalism, commitment, and high-end design that Burger King does.
They also happened to win the VERY next award we’re going to talk about now…
REBRAND OF THE YEAR
Your Way, Way Better
Client: Burger King
Creative Agency: Jones Knowles Ritchie
UNITED STATES
2021 will surely go down as the year of the three Rs—Redesign, Refresh, and Rebrand. Maybe it’s because for the better part of a year, we’ve been stuck indoors, and aside from 10-yard dash trips to the grocery store, we’re mostly experiencing life through our phones and laptops.
Regardless, one redesign stood tall amongst so many others—Burger King.
The biggest thing the king of burgers wanted out of their refresh was to not only look better on a screen (and that’s the chief way we interact with brands these days) but to make the ingredients pops, with gorgeous illustrations and type you can virtually taste.
“It was a lot of investment in a digital transformation and how to make going to the restaurant or on an app the most interesting and pleasant,” said then vice president and global head of design at RBI, Rapha Abreu, to Dieline at the time of the redesign. “But we are also almost reinventing the brand from a food quality perspective. We’re removing all artificial flavors and colors, and we’re clearing the menu from high-fructose corn syrup. Plus, we have more of a commitment to sustainability, people and communities, and the planet.”
PLASTIC FREE INNOVATION OF THE YEAR
The Prescription Paper Pill Bottle
Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness
UNITED STATES
In 2019, pharmacies filled 4.22 billion prescriptions, and, as I’m sure you can imagine, much of that was in plastic. Trying to recycle those tiny amber bottles can also present a challenge as many municipalities won’t accept them curbside because they’re considered medical waste or because the container is too small. If they do just so happen to allow them, you’ve got to peel off the label or throw the cap out with your regular trash.
In other words, it’s an imperfect vessel. Oh, and that 4.22 billion we mentioned? That’s just the US alone.
Now in its third year, Dieline’s Plastic Free Innovation of the Year, given alongside non-profit advocacy group A Plastic Planet, goes to Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness for their cleverly designed Prescription Paper Pill Bottle. Developed alongside Tikkun Olam Makers (TOM), the compostable bottle meets every FDA requirement for water, light, and child resistance, featuring zero artificial glues or toxic dyes. Best of all, the pill bottle design is open-sourced, meaning any pharmacy anywhere in the world can use this design now (you can even download the build kit here).
“Imagine a world where we no longer had the dichotomy of healthcare contributing to the vast plastic crisis,” says A Plastic Planet co-founder Sian Sutherland. “This new innovation, using paper in such a clever way, is set to make that dream possible. Billions and billions of indestructible forever plastic pill bottles are no longer necessary. The child-safety closure is genius. We hope this simplicity and pure creativity of this packaging concept sets a high bar that many will now reach for.”
ADOBE SUSTAINABLE DESIGN OF THE YEAR
BEE LOOP honey pot
Pencil and Lion
LITHUANIA
Design has the power to change the world, and Dieline and Adobe want to recognize the creatives that dream up the myriad ways in which we can transform the packaging design industry with sustainable practices and materials. Not only are you doing the planet a solid, but you’re providing designers with a blueprint for how they can innovate as well.
Winning the Adobe Sustainable Design of the Year award is Lithuanian designer Aurimas Kadzevi?ius of Pencil and Lion for his elegantly simple zero waste honey pot, Bee Loop. The eco-friendly packaging uses just two ingredients, beeswax and organic linen, and is recyclable, renewable, edible, biodegradable, antifungal, antiviral, antiseptic, antibacterial, and even label-free, as a hot stamp gets utilized for the branding. With its natural yet refined and modern look, it makes for a vessel that pushes us beyond the dreaded single-use plastic bear—and no disrespect to the bear, you’re adorable, but no one’s really recycling you, are they?
“Adobe is proud to support The Dieline’s Design Awards and sponsor the inaugural Sustainable Design category. The Bee Loop Honey Pot reflects the ethos of the creative brief and embodies core principles of good design. Simplicity, functionality, innovation, and imagination,” said Sebastian Shaw, director of strategic development at Adobe.
DESIGN FOR GOOD AWARD
Change Maker
MILK
NEW ZEALAND
If we all collectively look back, everyone would admit that 2020 wasn’t such a great year.
That said, over the past year, we’ve seen so much powerful work dedicated to vital and necessary causes—whether it’s breweries making hand sanitizers or brands taking up social justice issues. That’s why, starting this year, we want to honor those creatives with our first-ever Design For Good Award.
Designed by New Zealand’s Milk, Change Maker is a beer that’s “brewing better lives.” Four friends with intellectual disabilities wanted to find meaningful work that would allow them to live independently—while their brews were a hit with the locals, they weren’t making any headway. Once Milk stepped in, they created new packaging that celebrated the brand’s purpose, all while giving each of the beer varieties characteristics of the founders, with playful and vibrant illustrations featuring hops, bottling lines, plenty of thumbs-up, and smiles. They also partnered with some of the Kiwi island’s most well-known breweries, like Moa and Duncan.
Now, we just need them to ship us some.
NEENAH BEST USE OF PAPER AWARD
SAGA Grand Gin (ESTATE LABEL®)
Paprika
UNITED STATES
We don’t know a single packaging designer that isn’t a sucker for paper, and that’s why we like to celebrate the best of that glorious, pulpy tree stuff in packaging alongside our sponsor, Neenah.
This year’s winner is no slouch, and comes courtesy of Montreal studio Paprika with Saga Grand Gin. Dipped in yellow wax, each of the four bottles features characters that tell the story of the Acadian people. However, the wax obscures their eyes, creating an air of mystery about the spirit. Not only is the brand a tribute to the strength of the Acadians, but it celebrates their heritage. Additionally, the bottles draw consumers in and pique their curiosity with 12 different stories that play out across the packaging range, hence the brand name, Saga.
Essentially, it’s like 19 Crimes and Maker’s Mark had a baby, and that baby is a beautiful gin.
MANTER BEST USE OF LABEL AWARD
DESTIL•LATS ANTONIO NADAL
Símil Design
SPAIN
An exceptionally produced label is a true thing of beauty.
It’s no wonder that specialty self-adhesive label maker Manter selected Antonio Nadal’s Destil Lat Artesanal from Símil Design. With its turn-of-the-century vibes, this premium liqueur features intricate details and foils and wouldn’t look out of place in the back of your grandpappy’s liquor cabinet or at a chic bottle shop that specializes in artisanal spirits. The design found inspiration in vintage fruit boxes, and the typography takes on the shiny colors of the flavor variety. Add it up, and you’ve got a small batch liqueur worth drooling over.
DESIGNALYTICS DESIGN EFFECTIVENESS AWARD
DARK HORSE WINE
forceMAJEURE
UNITED STATES
The Designalytics Effectiveness Award was created to help elevate the role of package design by spotlighting the immense financial impact that it can have on consumer brands. Winner selection was entirely data-driven, based on sales performance in the marketplace, as well as rigorous quantitative consumer testing. This year’s award goes to forceMAJEURE for its punch-up of Dark Horse Wines. By simplifying the label and leaning into the brand’s distinctive horse iconography, Dark Horse improved communication of key information and increased the brand’s mental availability. As if that wasn’t enough, they utilized premium paper stocks with metallic and matte finishes to highlight the brand’s visual assets while conveying the premium quality of the product. Designalytics’ evaluation revealed that wine buyers are twice as likely to prefer purchasing Dark Horse’s new packaging to the old—a finding confirmed by retail sales data. During the six months following the redesign, the brand grew 15% compared to the same period during the prior year, outpacing category growth.*
“There’s a growing body of empirical evidence underscoring what designers have long suspected but couldn’t previously quantify—that strong design has an immense impact on brand performance. The phenomenal redesign of Dark Horse by forceMAJEURE is one such example, and we hope it will inspire more brands to recognize the tremendous business value of design,” said Steve Lamoureux, CEO and founder of Designalytics.
*Data impacted by Covid-19 adjusted to account for anomalous shopping trends that skew year-over-year comparisons.
BEST BRAND IDENTITY SYSTEM
UNITED SODAS OF AMERICA
CENTER
UNITED STATES
Can you change soda from the inside out? Well, United Soda says, yes, and this contemporary take on pop from Brooklyn’s Center is boldly vibrant and sleek.
BEST OF FOOD
NICE CREAM
WORK BY WORKS STUDIO
SHANGHAI
Work By Works Studio proves that you don’t need aggressive shots of fluffed ice cream erupting out of pints with NICE CREAM. Hell, you don’t even need illustrations of ingredients. All you need is one bright color for the flavor and some artfully arranged type to communicate the brand name and all the other nutritional information for a supremely modern-day treat.
BEST OF BEVERAGE
UNITED SODAS OF AMERICA
CENTER
UNITED STATES
Was there a more appealing soft drink released this past year than United Soda? Center creates a veritable Pantone chip sample dream with minimal copy, inviting you to taste the real rainbow. And did we mention just how gosh darn colorful this is? I mean, of course it’s the best beverage packaging of the year.
BEST OF HEALTH, BEAUTY, & PERSONAL CARE
STOIC.
OTVETDESIGN
RUSSIA
No one really thinks about how we package disposable gloves, and that’s precisely why OTVETDESIGN wowed our judges. Looking to communicate the glove’s durability, the box gets threatened by a variety of sharp objects. Shears, knives, and forks can’t even make a dent in this wonderfully vivid and even slightly terrifying box (seriously, this is slasher-horror territory, and we mean that in the best way possible).
BEST OF HOME, SHOPPING, & OTHER MARKETS
A GOLDEN STATE: WHOLE FLOWER PRE-ROLL PACKAGING
FÖDA
UNITED STATES
“A Golden State is not a place. It’s about being in a golden state.” Plenty of cannabis brands try to emphasize how their products will make you feel with their packaging, but FÖDA Studio’s dreamy packaging for Golden State genuinely achieves this. Utilizing pyramidal text, rich, almost ethereal colors, and a marbled gift box, this is what we hope you’re getting us for our birthday, fingers crossed.
BEST OF STUDENT
BOO!
Evgeniya Abramova
British Higher School of Art and Design
Germs will be running scared thanks to this adorable concept line of sanitizing products y student Evgeniya Abramova. The pale colors used throughout the visual identity give the illusion that germs are being “wiped” away to reveal the clear portion of the bottle that contains safety information. Our favorite touch is the unique and playful monster illustrations that adorn the bottles.
Food
1a: Bread, Cereals, Pasta
1b. Dairy or dairy alternative products
1c. Spices, oils, sauces
1d. Fruits and Vegetables
2nd
Liu Nian Ni-Musang King Durian
Left and Right Creative Design (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.
1e. Fish, Meat, Poultry & Alternatives
1f. Ready to Eat, Fast Food, Meal Kits
1g. Confectionary, Desserts, and Sweet Snacks
1h. Savory Snacks
1i. Limited Edition
1j. Conceptual
1k. Luxury
1l. Private Label
Beverage
2a. Water
2b. Soft drinks, Juices
2c. Tea and Coffee
2d. Functional Beverages
2e. Beers, Ciders, Hard Seltzer & Malt
2f. Low-alcohol and no-alcohol drinks
2g. Wine & Champagne
2h. Clear Spirits
2i. Dark Spirits
2j. Limited Edition Beverage
2k. Private Label
2l. Concepts
2m. Luxury
Health, Beauty, & Personal Care
3a. Clothing & Fashion
3b. Health Care
3c. Body Care
3d. Beauty & Cosmetics
3e. Perfumes & Fragrances
3f. Limited Edition
3g. Private Label
3h. Conceptual
3i. Luxury
1st
Kulia Skincare: High vibrance skincare for body, spirit & planet
Designsake Studio
Home, Shopping, & Other Markets
4a. Household Maintenance
4b. Home Improvement
4c. E-commerce packaging
4d. Electronics
4e. Office Supply
4f. Baby & Kids
4g. Pets
4h. Entertainment
4i. Tobacco & Cannabis
4j. Promotional
4k. Private Label
4l. Conceptual
4m. Luxury
1st
Zippo constellation limited edition packaging
Zippo (China) Outdoor Product Co., Ltd.
Sustainable
5a. Food
5b. Beverage
5c. Health, Body, & Beauty
5d. Home, Shopping, & Other Markets
5e. Luxury
1st
N/A
5f. Conceptual
Plastic Free
Branding
6a. Food Brand Identity Systems
6b Beverage Brand Identity Systems
6c. Health, Body, & Beauty Brand Identity Systems
6d. Home, Shopping, & Other Markets Brand Identity Systems
6e. Student & Concept Brand Identity Systems
Student
7a. Food
7b. Beverage
7c. Health, Body, & Beauty Beverage
7d. Other Markets
7e. Luxury
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL 2021 WINNERS
Join us at Dieline Awards Live, a 1-day, complimentary virtual event presented by Adobe on Tuesday June 8th celebrating the big winners of Dieline Awards 2021.
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