If your school or university is still affected by the Covid 19 crisis, we hope this Pro Carton Young Designers Award guide will help you work from home.  Please share this information amongst the students.

1) Read the competition rules

Firsts things first. There are some crucial points in there, for example, that your design must be made mainly of cartonboard – this means that designs made from brown fluted corrugated board can’t be accepted. Read the rules here.

2) Research former entries/finalists/winners

We have been running the PCYDA since 2004 and introduced public voting in 2016, so you can check out the award pages in our archives including useful comments from the judges in the winners/finalists sections. You can also find interviews with the finalists and winners about their design ideas on our website YouTube channel.

3) Dive into the world of sustainable packaging

Pro Carton’ members are the biggest companies in Europe producing and converting cartonboard.  They also publish some great media, such as Inspire magazine, Renewable Future Podcast, Unfolded magazine and Board magazine.  We offer a wide range of publications on sustainability, consumer behaviour and the benefits of cartonboard packaging, take a look!

4) Start working on your idea

Pick up a piece of cartonboard and start working on your first prototype! You can even start with a piece of paper or with cartonboard boxes from your groceries at home. It’s really as simple as that. Maybe your teacher can set up an online group to exchange ideas and discuss issues or even better, arrange Skype/Zoom group calls to discuss and share your designs. Luckily we live in a digitalised world that offers many possibilities!

5) Ask questions

We are happy to answer any of your questions via email, so don’t hesitate to get in touch! There’s also lots of information on our Social Media channels, so keep an eye on them as well. In addition, our new Facebook group facilitates the exchange of ideas and questions.

We hope these steps will help set you on the right path to #pcyda22 – the deadline for submissions is 22 May 2022.

For further information please contact designaward@procarton.com