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With its new ‘Boxes N°2’, KURZ has once again marked the LuxePack show this year. Annie Kuschel, Head of Design Management, and Julia König, Senior Designer in the Packaging and Print Industry, draw on current design trends and work hand in hand with the R&D departments to design bold, durable and inspiring boxes for their customers.
What is the idea behind this singular innovation approach?
Annie Kuschel: At KURZ, we have been conducting studies on current societal trends for more than 10 years to understand how they impact creativity. This gives rise each year to the launch of a new series of four cardboard boxes. The idea is to capture the creative spirit of an era and transform it into new products, colors and decors on paper, using KURZ technologies. Each box thus presents a unique and tangible graphic design with the aim of being a tool to inspire new designs for brands.
What is special in this year’s series?
Annie Kuschel: This year, several trends have been combined to create ‘Boxes N°2’ which is composed of four trends: Random – illustrating the freedom to have no concept, Control –which appears chaotic, but in fact is meticulously thought through with a poetic rhythm, Dark Matter – attractive darkness and myths from the shadows of being and, finally, Boldism – uncompromising and extremely daring design. All four boxes are finished using the hot stamping process with specially developed trend colors and LIGHT LINE® designs.
Julia König: They are designed as simply and sustainably as possible. Some boxes are just printed with one color (black or spot colors) with several embossed details to create a new effect. The boxes simply fold or unfold without any sticker or magnet. Instead of booklets, all information on the individual topics, KURZ products, and the paper used, is on the inside of the boxes. The outside box can also be used as a shipping box.
What is KURZ’s message beyond the new designs?
Annie Kuschel: ‘Boxes N°2’ show what’s new at KURZ, and in this case, totally new products that are transparent: curious lime, a new blend of red and orange and, last but not the least, mystic glow, a kind of white with a shimmering effect.
Julia König: The fact that the boxes are recyclable is another key message. There is no plastic or sticker - only lacquer - and the boxes can be recycled with paper/cardboard in the recycling bin. For us, sustainability isn’t a trend anymore, it’s common sense.
Annie Kuschel (left); Julia König (right)
