Press Release
Michael Held Is Honored with the Bronze A' Design Award for Iced Hop Gin Packaging in Packaging Design
Michael Held acknowledged for packaging design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 19, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ Iced Hop Gin Packaging by Michael Held has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Packaging Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The recognition forms part of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the Bronze A' Design Award Means
The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.
Regarding Iced Hop Gin Packaging
The gin's flavor, created through a infusion of hop and peppermint, is reflected in its visual identity. A frozen hop cone paired with a staring owl captures the crisp, cool essence of the drink. The dominance of mint is echoed in the outer packaging through shades of blue and stylized ice flowers. This cold, clean theme continues in the frosted glass bottle, where a metallic label enhances the icy impression. Subtle frost patterns and snowflake accents are embossed on the surface, reinforcing the fresh theme. Each element supports the gin's refreshing character.
About Michael Held
Michael combines marketing skills with a profound design background and a deep passion for typography. What started as a hobby has become his daily work. He loves creating brands from the ground up—starting with logos and visual marks, then building a cohesive, strategic brand identity. His approach is holistic, connecting design, messaging, and business goals to create brands that not only look great but also deliver real value. He believes in thoughtful design that lasts and makes an impact
Award Record
This recognition makes Michael Held a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Packaging Design Award
The A' Packaging Design Award is an international packaging competition that recognizes outstanding packaging designs by talented packaging designers worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to packaging designers, graphic designers, branding agencies and product manufacturers from all countries. Typical entries include bottles, boxes, cans, pouches, tubes and cartons. The awarded packaging designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/packaging
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/163667
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/163667
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!163667
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/358069
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Iced Hop Gin Packaging
- Function
- Packaging
- Category
- Packaging Design
- Discipline
- Communication Design
- Industry
- Packaging & Retail, Branding & Advertising and Manufacturing
- Colors
- Midnight Blue, Lavender, Dark Slate Blue, Teal and Steel Blue
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Michael Held
- Country
- Germany
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #163667
Credits
- Image Credits
- Images: Photographer tm studios visuelle medien GmbH, 2024.
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The frozen hop cone paired with a mystic owl visually reflects the gin's unique flavor profile, dominated by spicy hops and refreshing peppermint. The coolness of mint shapes the overall impression, mirrored in the outer packaging with cool blue tones and ice flowers. This frosty theme extends to the frosted glass bottle, with a metallic label enhancing the icy feel. The recurring owl emblem adds a sense of freshness and determination, highlighting the gin's direct, strong taste.
- Inspiration
- The packaging is inspired by handcrafted beer using design elements often seen in craft brewing, like the detailed image of a hop cone. This connects to the idea of quality and care in making the product, similar to how craft beers are made. The frosted glass bottle and metallic label add to this handmade feel, showing that the gin, like craft beer, is made with attention to detail and tradition.
- Challenge
- At first, I experimented with different bottle types i.e. brown beer bottles with crown caps or bow closure. Also, I went for a green color theme for the label with classical Blackletter typography. This has led to, a direction of traditional Franconian craft beer design. The idea of peppermint infusion was not directly visible.
- Realization and Technology
- In cooperation with the founder, we created the Gin packaging totally from scratch including the material mix. Through these well-chosen and simple materials like the frosted glass and the reflective label the design visually prepares the customer for the upcoming fresh and crisp taste experience.
- Operation and Interaction
- The fine feel of the velvety, smooth bottles with their fine structure is reminiscent of the feathers of an owl. The asymmetrical label design visually highlights the unconventional character.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project began in November 2023 and was completed in March 2024. The selection of a suitable mix of materials was especially challenging, as the small production volume meant that an attractively priced paper had to be used for the label and outer packaging. The gin is produced in a small town in Franconian Switzerland and is sold purely locally in the farm store of the small fruit farm.
- Specifications
- 72 mm x 72 mm x 193 mm
- Keywords
- Gin, Infused, iced, owl, hop,
