GFIA award

KODAK FLEXCEL NX Technology Helps Victory Graphics and Caps Cases ‘Unbox’ Silver in Global Flexo Innovation Awards

“Delightful, beautiful, surprising, and exciting” — four adjectives the judging panel at the Miraclon-sponsored Global Flexo Innovation Awards reached for to describe the remarkable entry from tradeshop Victory Graphics and corrugated printer Caps Cases.

Produced for luxury fashion brand The Rake, the entry won UK-based Victory and Caps a Silver Award for its creative use of graphic design in a successful conversion to flexo from offset. Furthermore, Victory used a single KODAK FLEXCEL NX Plate to create the arresting black-and-white, photographic-quality image, with its hugely challenging mix of highlights and dark shadows,

The entry is a perfect example of the ‘unboxing’ phenomenon that has taken on an increasingly important role in retailing and packaging since the first ‘unboxing’ video — subject, the Nokia E61 phone — hit YouTube in 2006. Elaborate videos documenting products being unpacked and displayed are now a crucial component of consumer marketing campaigns by direct-to-consumer brands.

Packaging working differently

Packaging designed for unboxing and e-commerce must work differently from packaging in the physical retail environment, combining exterior anonymity — because deliveries may be left on the doorstep — with interior impact when the package is opened. For judge Ken McGuire, from Procter & Gamble, Victory and Caps achieved this brilliantly: “The outside of the shipment box is very plain, but when you open it there’s this delightful, surprising artwork — a very striking black-and-white high-quality image. It shows the brand equity and gives the consumer a delightful surprise when they open the package. This is exciting for brand owners because it delivers an experience that you can’t get in bricks-and-mortar.”