GPI Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 14, 2023
Media Contact:
Shauna Hamilton
shauna@sqcomms.com
Whiskey Bottle Takes Top Prize in Student Glass Packaging Design Competition
The Glass Packaging Institute is proud to announce the winners of the 2023 Michigan State School of Packaging Design Competition
ARLINGTON, VA — The Glass Packaging Institute (GPI), in partnership with Michigan State University (MSU) School of Packaging, announced today the winners of the 2023 Glass Packaging Design Competition. The first-place team includes Fardowsa Omar, Abby Ludtke, Jacob Graybeal, Lydia Cooper and Kitie Dozek. The team’s concept design of a whiskey bottle features the iconic Detroit Tigers logo embossed into all 4 sides of the glass container.
“I am happy to help assist with the MSU Glass Packaging Design competition each year, and I always look forward to seeing what new designs the students will come up with. The competition is a great way for future packaging engineers to help understand the attributes of glass packaging,” said Dale DeVore, GPI Academic Program Consultant. “Thank you to the judges for their time and efforts in selecting the winning entry and thank you to GPI members for their ongoing support of the GPI Academic Program.”
"The project gave me a better understanding of how much thought really goes into the design of glass packaging. It was something I enjoyed very much and I hope to pursue design in my future career,” said Katie Dozek, an MSU Packaging Design student on the winning team.
Fellow teammate and student Jacob Graybeal said, “To be a great packaging team, team members listen to each other and contribute with what they are best at. Visually, it is like a jigsaw puzzle. Even if one piece of the puzzle is lacking, the puzzle won't be complete.”
Ardagh Glass Packaging-North America (AGP-NA) hosted the MSU competition winning team and their instructor Angela Brann for tours of their Winchester plant and Indiana office, which included presentations from AGP-NA leadership and plant managers on the Glassmaking Process, Quality Control, Product Design, and Safety. Ardagh also presented the team with a Lucite model of their bottle design, which will be displayed alongside models presented to past winners of the competition.
“The GPI Academic Program and the annual MSU glass design competition are key to ensuring that the next generation of packaging professionals understand the important role of glass in the food and beverage industry,” said Gina Behrman, Vice President, Marketing, Communications and New Product Development, AGP-NA. “This year’s winning design found the right balance between creativity and manufacturability, while capitalizing on brand loyalty, and we were honored to host the student design team and their instructor at the Ardagh facilities.”
“Thank you to GPI and Ardagh for hosting such a wonderful experience for our MSU students,” said Angela Brann, MSU Academic Specialist. “By working through the project, the students have developed a better understanding of glass design, production, and sustainability as well as how to work together with diverse groups of people.”
The 44 student teams, all randomly assigned, from the Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 Packaging with Glass and Metal class participated in the competition, working on the project throughout the semester as they learned about the design and manufacture of glass bottles and jars.
The winning team and the Lucite model of their bottle design:
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About the Glass Packaging Institute
Founded in 1919 as the Glass Container Association of America, the Glass Packaging Institute (GPI) is the trade association representing the North American glass container industry. On behalf of glass container manufacturers, GPI promotes glass as the optimal packaging choice, advances environmental and recycling policies, advocates industry standards, and educates packaging professionals. Follow GPI on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and connect with us on LinkedIn for updates on all things glass. Learn more at www.gpi.org.