Successful cooperation: Milan's NABA University designs luxury packaging for perfume with PERGRAPHICA® from Mondi

Beautiful and unique things are created when young talents have the opportunity to give free rein to their creativity. Especially when there is a specific task with practical relevance behind it. This was the experience of students at NABA in Milan, which specializes in design and packaging, and the paper manufacturer Mondi.

The collaboration with the students came about as a result of Mondi's decision to take part in Touchpoint Packaging (tpp) at drupa 2024. The European Brand & Packaging Design Association (EDPA) was responsible for the design and operational implementation of the drupa tpp. The association supports the exchange between design agencies, the packaging industry and brand owners. The EPDA has been cooperating with Milan's NABA University for a number of years now and, as part of the tpp, invited tenders for a design project in which the tpp exhibitors could get involved.

The opportunity to design luxury packaging together with the NABA students immediately appealed to us. We applied and were promptly accepted,” recalls Marlene Langthaler, Senior Customer Experience Manager at Mondi, who coordinated the project on behalf of the paper manufacturer.

Win-win for both sides

The joint project offered Mondi the opportunity to work with young, talented people who use their creativity to develop new and innovative ideas and 'out-of-the-box' concepts. At the same time, the NABA students were given the opportunity to realize their design concepts and thus get to know the various processing possibilities and the special quality of Mondi PERGRAPHICA® paper for luxury packaging. “We are always looking for projects that show which applications our premium paper is suitable for. We want to give our customers the opportunity to see, feel and experience what is possible with our papers,” says Marlene Langthaler. On the other hand, in an increasingly digital world, it was a special experience for the students to work on a use case in which they produced an analog, tangible object from paper.

Focus on the unboxing experience

The project started at the end of 2023 with a largely open brief for the students. The challenge was to design luxury packaging for a fictitious perfume brand and to make the most of the advantages and versatile finishing options of PERGRAPHICA® premium paper. The students were asked to develop a concept in which they show which brand identity they want to use to position the new product and which message they want to convey with the brand. They also had to think about the reuse and upcycling of the packaging. Another focus was on the unboxing experience, which plays a decisive role in luxury packaging. Market analyses show that an exciting unboxing experience strengthens consumer loyalty to the product and the brand and increases the likelihood that they will buy this brand again.

After the first meeting, Mondi made the entire range of PERGRAPHICA® premium paper available to the students. The paper manufacturer also provided information about the possible finishing techniques. Mondi did not make any fixed specifications regarding colors and grammages. “We simply communicated what we expected as a result and that the benefits of the PERGRAPHICA® paper should be shown to their full advantage,” says Marlene Langthaler.

Kadō Sky wins the race

Three NABA student teams submitted their designs and presented their ideas and concepts. “All the designs were well thought out, exciting and beautiful. They all deserve great praise,” says a delighted Marlene Langthaler. “We really didn't have an easy decision to make.” In the end, the 'Kadō Sky' design won the race. It was almost perfect in terms of the brand essence, the positioning, the target group and the matching packaging. The brand was stylized in the form of an iris flower.

For the packaging, the young artists chose PERGRAPHICA® in Classic Rough 120 g/m2 (white), Precious Purple 330 g/m2, Curious Green 330 g/m2 and Timid Grey 330 g/m2. The students used the thin, white paper for the outer pages. It is very suitable for high-quality packaging and can be optimally laminated without the edges cracking. The thicker grammages were used to design the inside.

Artfully refined

Kadō Sky particularly impresses with its unboxing. When the packaging is opened, a blossom unfolds to reveal the bottle. The surface was engraved using a laser and parts of the paper were punched out. Embossing was also used to create a tactile effect. These techniques give the packaging a special texture and make it visually and haptically appealing. Finally, hot foil stamping in gold added the finishing touch. It gives the paper packaging a luxurious look. “Each sheet has its own finishing technique. The students understood very well what is important and what is important to us,” explains Marlene Langenthaler.

Sustainability in practice

The students also solved the requirement to reuse the packaging perfectly. With a socket, cable and light bulb, the packaging can be converted into a functional table lamp. In addition, all product components are made from fully recyclable materials. The PERGRAPHICA® range is produced in Austria from wood from sustainable forestry and meets the strict international requirements of Cradle to Cradle Certified® in Bronze, the EU Ecolabel and FSC®.

Japanese culture as inspiration

The students drew inspiration for their brand idea from Japan with its rich and diverse tradition. The Far Eastern and multifaceted culture is characterized by aesthetics and art, colourful festivals and customs as well as unique architecture. The country in the Far East is also in vogue when it comes to cuisine and pop culture with mangas, anime and J-pop. These special features of Japan, the balancing act between tradition and modernity, were to be reflected in the name and design of the perfume and the luxury packaging. The students named their newly created product “Kadō Sky”. The word Kadō is synonymous with ikebana, the Japanese art of arranging cut flowers. This also creates irregular, asymmetrical arrangements and pays attention to lines, rhythm, color and the surrounding space.

Fukinsei's wabi-sabi principle also played an important role in the packaging design. This traditional Japanese concept of aesthetics celebrates the beauty of the imperfect, ephemeral and incomplete. It describes the Japanese way of appreciating the ageing process and the awareness that perfection lies in imperfection. Asymmetry is an essential part of wabi-sabi, as it expresses imperfection and naturalness. These characteristics are reflected in the design of the luxury packaging and the curved shape of the perfume bottle. The asymmetry was recreated to emphasize the naturalness of an imperfect world and the irregular harmony.

Premiere at drupa

At drupa 2024, the students presented their results to a trade audience for the first time together with Mondi. The technical implementation and production of the mockups in an exclusive edition of ten copies was carried out by Prinproduktion 08/16 in Vienna.

The response was extremely positive and the project was a complete success. “The students worked very conscientiously and with a high degree of professionalism. They did a great job and exceeded our expectations. It was great to see how visitors to the touchpoint packaging marveled at, felt and interacted with the packaging,” says Marlene Langthaler. Following the very positive experience, Mondi is planning to expand collaborations of this kind in the future. “This was certainly not the last collaboration of this kind. We liked the open-minded and unbiased way of approaching projects. The students bring fresh impetus and new perspectives,” summarizes Marlene Langthaler.