Press Release
Spotlight Toothpaste Packaging Toothpaste Packaging by Kazuo Fukushima and Haruka Takeuchi Receives the A' Design Award in Packaging Design
The international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition recognizes Kazuo Fukushima and Haruka Takeuchi of Fudesign for packaging design
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 24, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Spotlight Toothpaste Packaging Toothpaste Packaging by Kazuo Fukushima and Haruka Takeuchi of Fudesign, designed for Lion Daily Necessities Chemicals (Qingdao) Co., Ltd., has been granted the A' Design Award in the Packaging Design category. The recognition forms part of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the A' Design Award Means
The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.
About Spotlight Toothpaste Packaging Toothpaste Packaging
Spotlight is a toothpaste packaging design that transforms whitening efficacy into a visual experience. Instead of relying on conventional white imagery, the design uses light as a metaphor to communicate enzymatic activation and focused whitening performance. A radiant circular graphic and holographic surface effects create depth and precision, allowing functional benefits to be perceived at first glance. The system balances scientific credibility with shelf visibility, while maintaining consistency across product variations through a unified visual structure and controlled color accents.
About Kazuo Fukushima and Haruka Takeuchi
Shanghai no problem bland design co.ltd established in 2017, based in Shanghai. This is a total branding company based on graphic design. Job contents include brand logo design, packaging design, store design, and character design. The company concept is to pursue the essence of design and provide the most suitable design to the client. The CEO, Kazuo Fukushima, is Japanese. He has worked in Japan for 8 years and Shanghai for 13 years. He provides designs for global companies in China.
About Fudesign
Graphic design Base, Branding, LOGO, VI, Package design, Character design, Shop design
Award Record
This recognition makes Kazuo Fukushima and Haruka Takeuchi of Fudesign a winner of 8 A' Design Awards. The awards span the editions from 2018 - 2019 to 2025 - 2026 of the A' Design Award & Competition.
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. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to packaging designers, graphic designers, branding agencies and product manufacturers from all countries. Entries typically include bottles, boxes, cans, pouches, tubes and cartons. Awarded packaging designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/packaging
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission 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. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated 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. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates 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, the upload of a work and the 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. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/179693
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/179693
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!179693
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/239915
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/9cK9gQEbteh26edwSZJ3jA
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
- Spotlight Toothpaste Packaging Toothpaste Packaging
- Function
- Toothpaste Packaging
- Category
- Packaging Design
- Discipline
- Communication Design
- Industry
- Packaging & Retail, Branding & Advertising and Manufacturing
- Colors
- White Smoke, Gray, Dark Gray, Dim Gray and Gainsboro
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Lion Daily Necessities Chemicals (Qingdao) Co., Ltd.
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Kazuo Fukushima and Haruka Takeuchi
- Country
- China
- Brand
- Fudesign
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #179693
Credits
- Team
- Kazuo Fukushima, Haruka Takeuchi and Fanso Zhang
- Image Credits
- SHANGHAI NO PROBLEM BRAND DESIGN CO.LTD
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Spotlight is a toothpaste packaging design developed for the Chinese market, translating whitening efficacy into a visual experience. A radiant circular graphic symbolizes enzymatic activation and light focused whitening, transforming functional benefits into an intuitive visual language. The design balances Japanese clinical credibility with localized high tech aesthetics, creating strong shelf impact while maintaining brand consistency across multiple SKUs.
- Inspiration
- The project was inspired by the challenge of differentiating whitening products in China’s highly saturated oral care market. Rather than emphasizing white as a color, the design explores light as a metaphor for efficacy, clarity, and trust. Scientific principles of enzymatic whitening and optical perception were studied to create a visual system that communicates performance through illumination rather than decoration.
- Research
- Type of Research: Applied design research. Objectives: Visualize whitening efficacy beyond conventional cues. Methodology: Market analysis, visual testing, material experiments. Tools: Competitive audits, prototyping, lighting simulations. Participants: Design team and brand stakeholders. Results: Enhanced shelf visibility and clearer efficacy perception. Impact: Improved brand differentiation and consumer trust in a crowded market.
- Challenge
- The main challenge was visualizing an invisible functional benefit enzymatic whitening without overusing exaggerated claims or generic white imagery. Balancing Japanese clinical restraint with Chinese preferences for visual impact required extensive iteration, material testing, and cross cultural alignment to ensure credibility, manufacturability, and strong retail presence simultaneously.
- Realization and Technology
- The packaging utilizes offset printing combined with holographic foil stamping to create dynamic light reflection effects. Multilayer gradients and radial patterns were precisely calibrated to maintain legibility under various lighting conditions. Matte and glossy finishes are selectively applied to enhance contrast, while standard recyclable paperboard and laminated tubes ensure compatibility with mass production.
- Operation and Interaction
- Consumers interact with the design visually before use: shifting light reflections guide the eye toward the central enzyme symbol, intuitively suggesting activation and efficacy. Color coded accents enable quick scent recognition without disrupting brand unity. The packaging communicates product value instantly on shelf, reducing decision time and enhancing perceived performance before first use.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in November 2024 in Shanghai and was completed in March 2025. It was developed for Lion Corporation China in collaboration with local production partners and launched nationwide in the Chinese retail market in 2025.
- Specifications
- Paperboard box: approx. 185 mm (H) × 45 mm (W) × 35 mm (D). Toothpaste tube: approx. 160 mm (H) × 50 mm (W). Materials include coated paperboard, aluminum laminated plastic tube, holographic foil layer. Metric ISO standards applied throughout production.
- Keywords
- Packaging design, Oral care, Whitening, Enzyme technology, Chinese market, Japanese brand, Holographic effect, Visual communication
