Avant-Garde jury: ten experts selected the most innovative packaging solutions for luxury and beauty sectors.

Avant-Garde is a contest that promotes innovation in the packaging world by giving exhibitors at Packaging Première & PCD Milan 2022 the opportunity to submit their innovative designs for evaluation by a qualified jury.
The designs deemed worthy of being part of Avant-Garde will be displayed in a specific area of Packaging Première 2022 and presented during a series of special conferences. The jury, which remained anonymous until the final verdict, assessed the entries on the basis of the following criteria:
  • products with innovative features
  • products that break patterns and show an attempt to go beyond established trends in the sector
  • products with distinctive features, standing out from other products in the sector due to their energy-saving design, environmental compatibility and sustainability
Here is the jury of experts who evaluated the submitted packaging designs and picked the ones to be featured in Avant-Garde:
LUISA BARBIERI Brand, Media & Communications Director at the creative agency Hangar Design Group. She brings her specific expertise in the development of brand advisory projects with a focus on the design, food & wine, lifestyle and real estate sectors. She has dealt with communication, branding and media for over twenty years. She has a degree in Foreign Languages and Literature from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
FEDERICA BRUMEN Having graduated in Political and Social Sciences from the University of Trieste, I deal with sustainability, ecodesign and relations with companies within the Research and Development area of Comieco, the National Consortium for the Recovery and Recycling of Cellulose-based Packaging, for which I have been working since 2002. I have initiated and contributed to numerous projects, publications and research activities related to prevention in the production of paper and cardboard packaging waste. Over recent years, I have focused on developing projects relating to sustainability, the circular economy and university education. https://www.linkedin.com/in/federicabrumen/
ERIK CIRAVEGNA PhD in Design (DIeCM-Industrial Design and Multimedia Communication) and M.Sc. in Industrial Design from Politecnico di Milano (Italy). He is currently Adjunct Professor at the School of Design of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, where since 2014 he devotes himself to teaching, research and consulting. He collaborates with the University of Bologna, where he was a Visiting Researcher in 2019 and of which he is currently an “Ambassador” of the Advanced Design Unit (ADU). Recently, he participated as coordinator and lecturer for the UC School of Design in the international cooperation project “Winter School: Design for Responsible Innovation” (https://adu.unibo.it/winterschool/) in collaboration with the University of Bologna and the TEC of Monterrey (2020-2021). Previously, he worked as a Design Professor at the University of Chile (2015-2017) and Politecnico di Milano (2003-2015). His main field of research and teaching is Communication Design, where he is also involved in international outreach as a guest speaker, author and editor of scientific publications, member of juries, organiser of seminars and exhibitions. His work is oriented towards identity systems and packaging design; he also has a strong interest in purpose-driven innovation and the ethical responsibilities of design (https://thegoodpackaging.org/). He also works on developing and systematising methods and tools at the intersection of art and design to foster the development of projects, as well as teaching and training activities, with a focus on creativity and people’s well-being (https://designdrama.com/). Professionally, he works as a communication designer and strategic consultant for companies and institutions. Finally, he is the author of visual artworks (collage) and has participated in experimental photography projects and theatre productions. For more information on his activities, current projects and publications: https://linktr.ee/erikciravegna
SILVIA D’ALESIO Silvia is an expert in food packaging design and a big fan of all things related to innovation processes. She is a graduate of Lund University with an International MSc in Food Innovation and Packaging Design and a BSc in Food Science and Technology. She collaborates as an external expert at the University of Milan (process modelling, optimisation and innovation), and as a lecturer at NABA – Milan (brand strategy). She observes numerous new ideas from across the packaging and food supply chain at an international level, with a particular focus on the application of sustainability principles, use of materials and new technologies in packaging design (judge member for #epda2021; #SustainabilityAwards2021; and #WFIA2022). She participates in the Fondazione Feltrinelli – Milan Campus, where she takes an active part in discussions on matters such as the urgency of bridging the green skills of future generations of packaging designers. She has also worked with the prestigious Netherlands Packaging Centre (NVC), the service association for packaging companies, actively contributing to the “web retail packaging” and “design packaging for intended use” projects, honing her consultancy and design skills regarding logistics and packaging requirements for the development of new solutions suitable for e-commerce and FMCG.
MARIO DI PAOLO Spazio Di Paolo is a studio specialized in packaging design for wines & spirits. With over 20 years of experience, the studio has become one of the most awarded worldwide and holds a collection of over 190 of the most prestigious international awards for packaging design, including the Designer of the Year at Pentawards 2021. Mario Di Paolo, founder and creative director of Spazio Di Paolo, grew up in the world of contemporary art working alongside some of the most notable and important international artists. Having lived involved in such a stimulating environment, Di Paolo developed a level of creativity that surpasses conventional schemes. As a world famous designer and photographer, but also as an editorial artist, Di Paolo defines his studio as “an experience of unprecedented life”. Spazio Di Paolo has a creative and revolutionary stylistic approach which goes beyond the thought of a traditional communications agency. Artistic contamination, search for unexplored motivations and meanings, detailed market analysis and a deep technical knowledge of the product and its production, from the soil to the bottling, and of the printing and dispensing processes of the label make Spazio Di Paolo an international trendsetter. In fact, Mario Di Paolo is the man behind some of the most revolutionary and recent innovations in the field of industrial printing of high-end labels, which offer to brand owners new languages and the possibility of standing out on the shelf. Spazio Di Paolo has launched actual trends: multilayered labels, pigments extracted from volcanic dust, gypsum and soil, and also three-dimensional labels which turn packaging into real sculptures interacting with the space and the consumer.
CLARA GIARDINA A designer specialised in Responsible Innovation in the Packaging System, she is currently a PhD student in Architecture and Design Cultures at the University of Bologna. Coordinator of the Osservatorio sull’Innovazione del Packaging (Packaging Innovation Observatory) and the international symposium The Future of Packaging Design. A lecturer at the University of Bologna since 2014, as part of her research she has contributed to the development of the Master DESI-DEsign and Packaging Sustainability, and is a member of the jury for the Conai Ecodesign contest. She plans exhibitions, workshops and communication products with the aim of spreading sustainable behaviour and social innovation. She has worked with Opificio Golinelli and Unindustria Bologna, taking Design Thinking to secondary schools. She is part of il Vespaio, a professional network that deals with eco-design and sustainability for companies and institutions.
ANTONELLA MANENTI Over the years she has received important awards in the field of packaging and communication, and has worked with several world-renowned brands and studios. She is the founder and art director of the Verona-based design and communication agency HENRY & CO.  SRL, which works in the field of sustainability and the circular economy.
MARCO MASCETTI While studying for his degree in Industrial Design at Milan Polytechnic, he also founded MrSmith Studio. MrSmith is a strategic design consultancy, based on “Design As An Input®”, which means the ability to integrate design skills into the business process from the earliest stages, working beyond the simple conception of a product. In just fifteen years of activity the studio has won over twenty-five international awards: the award-winning projects include the Estathè glass bottle, the Nutella glass and jar for Ferrero, the Cream and Basil chairs for CalligarisAlongside MrSmith Studio, he has also been involved in other entrepreneurial projects, always in the role of Chief Design Officer, firstly in the food and wine sector, then in air and water sanitation.
PIERO SABATINI Fabriano (AN), 1979. Graduate of the “L. Quaroni” faculty of architecture at “La Sapienza” University of Rome. Piero is an atypical designer, who has focused for fifteen years on integrated communication and strategic design in virtuous repositioning and internationalisation processes for high-end, design-oriented manufacturing companies. In addition to his professional activity, since 2015 he has been lecturer for the Communication Design workshop at the “E.Vittoria” Architecture and Design School at the University of Camerino. He has curated and edited photography and architecture exhibitions and publications. He has led workshops, seminars and design experiments on the connection between design, expertise and local area. Since 2021 he has been a member of the ADI-MAM board, Marche-Abruzzo-Molise delegation of the Associazione per il Disegno Industriale (Industrial Design Association). Since 2022, he has been coordinator of the ADI Local Observatory, engaged in scouting and pre-selection of the projects that will contend for the prestigious Compasso d’Oro.
FRANCESCA ZORZETTO A journalist and blogger, she writes for trade magazines, producing articles and columns on Retail, Visual Merchandising and Instore Communication. She is alto the author of the book Temporary Store: la strategia dell’effimero. In 2015 she launched her blog milanretailstore. She is a public speaker and has worked as a teacher and educational coordinator with Polimoda, IED and other prestigious academies. Senior Training and Knowledge Consultant at Retail Institute Italia.

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Packaging Avant-Garde
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