Prepare for the 2024 Challenge
- 2024 Student Design Challenge Competition Rules & Requirements
- Paperboard Packaging Council Ideas & Innovation Handbook (free to participating students, please contact PPA@afandpa.org to order)
- AF&PA’s Design Guidance for Recyclability
- Inspiration Gallery
THE JUDGES' TAKE
Student Design Challenge judges Pat Shields, Westrock; Brett Wade, Graphic Packaging International; and Bambang Witoradyo, formerly with Sonoco, share their views on:
- what inspires them,
- why paperboard is a great material to work with,
- why you should consider a career in packaging and the
- importance of participating in the Student Design Challenge.
Inspiration is Everywhere
“Packaging has to be in harmony with the product itself. Packaging is no longer just for protecting the product. It’s actually part of the product.” – Jerry Yamamoto, 2018 Student Design Challenge Guest Judge
Paperboard is Extremely Versatile
“It’s a sustainable resource. It’s a great package for today. It’s going to be a great package for tomorrow.” – Brett Wade, Graphic Packaging International
Why the Student Design Challenge
“Participating in the Student Design competition will give you a lot of experience in terms of being able to learn from the industry—the feedback that we will give you—but also the opportunity to test different ideas. This is a really good opportunity to develop a solution that could potentially change the industry because the idea that students come up with in school is a lot of times not restrained by the industry requirement.” – Bambang Witoradyo, formerly with Sonoco
Working in the Paperboard Industry
“The students who stand out when I’m talking to them, they are the ones that actually bring a conversation with them instead of just a resume. This opportunity through this challenge gives them something that they can speak to…of being on a team, developing a package, following a set of criteria, offering a prototype and then being there to defend it and talk about it.” – Pat Shields, WestRock