Pack-Age – A Transdisciplinary Packaging Design Course

What is Pack-Age?

Students from different programmes work in transdisciplinary teams with real projects from the industry. Creative problem-solving is a key concept. The idea is to use students’ background and prior knowledge as a resource for creative group work. The project work is supported by a wide range of theme lectures.

The renewed Pack-Age 2023 minor offers a unique and comprehensive approach to packaging design, consisting of two dynamic 6-week courses, Design Insight and Art of Packaging plus an additional voluntary folding workshop week by Paul Jackson on week 42.

In the Design Insight course, our transdisciplinary team of students explore evidence-based design processes and uncovers user knowledge, trends, technology, and market opportunities. Armed with this research, they develop alternative packaging concepts that are both innovative and grounded in real-world insights.

In the Art of Packaging course, the most promising packaging concepts are selected and brought to life through a rigorous user-centered design process. Our students work closely with companies and print houses to create proof-of-concept prototypes that are both visually stunning and highly functional.

A Transdisciplinary Project Course

By collaborating with different schools, Pack-Age offers a holistic understanding and an innovative packaging design approach including various perspectives to strategy, branding, production, consumer retail, and user experience.

A Community for Packaging Design

Pack-Age strives to become the community for packaging design. As a part of the effort, the first Aalto Package Design Symposium was held at Aalto University in October 2019, bringing together the leading figures in packaging under the same roof, such as Andrew Gibbs (The Dieline), Fumi Sasada (Bravis International), Virpi Korhonen (Sense N Insight), Elli Kultanen (Woodly), and our own Markus Joutsela (Aalto) and Avner Peled (Aalto).

Event information and videos here