Every year, the Association of Registered Graphic Designers (RGD) Student Awards program recognizes emerging designers, and encourages new talent on their path down the Design Way.
Every year Shikatani Lacroix sponsors the packaging category of this award program. With many distinct submissions, the 2013 Shikatani Lacroix Award for Packaging has been awarded to up-and-coming design talent Loretta Ryan of Conestoga College, for her rendering of a fictitious line of high-end, fair-trade rice.
Fair-trade products incorporate a people-first approach, giving the farmers and workers in developing countries the opportunity to improve their lives and plan for their future, offering consumers a powerful way to reduce poverty and instigate change through their everyday shopping.
Products driven by this philosophy can prove themselves complex to communicate in the design stage. According to Loretta’s project rationale, she used ample white space to evoke a look of quality and elegance. The packaging is minimalistic to keep focus on the brand and the specific varieties of rice. Each image of a rice field reflects the country of origin for that particular type of rice.
