Packaging Design Class 2019

Each year, RIT students in a multidisciplinary course create innovative packaging designs that are entered in the annual Paperboard Packaging Alliance Student Design Challenge. RIT has a history of success in the national competition, including placing first last year. 

The projects differ from year to year for the Packaging Design class, a longtime collaboration between the College of Art and Design and College of Engineering Technology. This year, students in graphic design, industrial design, visual media and packaging science were tasked with enhancing the unboxing and gaming experience of an existing game console through the packaging. Results from this year’s course — taught by professor of graphic design Lorrie Frear and Carlos Diaz-Acosta, associate professor in the Department of Packaging Science — are below. 

Team Brainstorm

Students: Sam Domzalski (packaging science), Amanda Ponza (packaging science), Michaela Sansouci (graphic design) and Mikayla Stricklett (industrial design)

The team designed a box for the Nintendo Switch with a focus on Nintendo Labo, a series of DIY, cardboard kits used to make “Toy-Cons” that are brought to life on the Switch. Labo’s “Make, Play and Discover” tagline is prominent on the box while well-known Nintendo heroes and villains are printed on a long sleeve. The Switch-Labo bundle allows users to display the console when not in use (along with its games) and charge it while playing.

Team Kaboom

Students: Chloe Becht (graphic design), Madison Mitchell (graphic design), Matthew Roeder (graphic design) and Anna Schum (packaging science)

Building an unboxing experience that feels both nostalgic and new was the goal of this team’s packaging for the 40th anniversary edition of the Atari Flashback 8 Gold. The box features some of the 120 game titles the console comes pre-loaded with and a sleek design to compete with modern consoles. The box serves as a stand for the Atari and includes a scoreboard to document high scores since games and stats can’t be saved on the console.

Team … Loading

Students: Abigail Dye (graphic design), Dylan Fisher (packaging science), Olivia Pettinicchi (packaging science) and Laura Stockman (graphic design)

This Nintendo Switch special edition box is specific to the upcoming Pokemon Sword and Shield games. Consumers can use inserts in the box to make a physical battle arena where friends can face off with their Pokemon amiibo figures. Adding to the unique, nostalgic experience, the box opens like a pokeball does and plays the battle music from the earlier Pokemon FireRed version. 

The basic rectangular design also neatly organizes and stores the system’s cords and different parts.

Team Noble

Students: Taylor Butler (graphic design), Yale Jeong (industrial design), Jarod Lai (packaging science) and Courtney Morton (graphic design)

This packaging system for the Xbox One S solves the problem of the console overheating. Designing around a Halo 3 anniversary theme to celebrate a franchise that resonates with gamers, the team made a box that can be transformed into a paperboard stand that lifts the Xbox above the display to allow for better airflow. The stand also has a box that stores a controller. 

Team Pacmen

Students: Torrey Dickman (graphic design), Kelly Fellner (packaging science), Chris Flemming (industrial design) and Monica Steelman (graphic design)

This team carried the futuristic technology found in Cyberpunk 2077 to their packaging design for an Xbox One S inspired by the role-playing game’s graphics and themes. Consumers are treated to an immersive experience with collector’s items. Inside the box, they’ll find a poster and cybernetic eyeglasses that can be used to scan it to uncover codes for the game. 

“This whole game is about discovering and problem-solving and solving missions, so we kind of want people to get the feel of curiosity before they open it,” a team member said while presenting the design.

The Paperboard Packaging Alliance announced that Team Pacmen is a top-three finisher among 54 entries from across the U.S. and Canada in its 2019 Student Design Challenge. The final placements of the top three teams in the competition will be announced at the organization's fall meeting, set for Oct. 23-25 in Minneapolis, Minn.

Team Swish

Students: Brandon Lau (industrial design), Nicole Torio (packaging science), Alison Upton (graphic design) and Allison Watters (graphic design) 

This group “wanted to play off of the iconic look and feel of the Nintendo Switch, specifically the very famous two controllers that are detachable.” The packaging design highlights the sleek and playful aspects of the console while focusing on the Switch’s innovative features. The students found that an issue with the current gameplay experience is the provided stand can be unsteady, inspiring them to design a more robust platform, with built-in mood lighting, for the console to rest on while in use.

Team Tanooki

Students: Jamie Galloway (packaging science), Evan Jacodine (visual media), Liam Kobal (packaging science), Kendra Murphy (graphic design) and Alexis Scott (graphic design)

The group designed a packaging prototype for the Super Nintendo Classic Edition, theming its box around Super Mario World by incorporating nostalgic features from the popular game. The design simulates the gameplay experience — with the opening of question-mark boxes, uses of Yoshi egg graphics and more — to urge consumers to find cheat codes hidden in the box.

“We took a lot of inspiration from toy packaging,” a team member said during a presentation of the design. “The entire experience is fun.”