Founded in 2007, the Pentawards is an annual packaging design competition and online hub for packaging designers. Participants include designers, freelancers, design agencies, communication & advertising agencies, brands, packaging manufacturers and students.
The Pentawards was created by Jean Jacques Evrard and Brigitte Evrard-Lauwereins, founders and directors of a design agency which joined Carré Noir from 1994 to 1998 and subsequently the Desgrippes Gobé group. At the end of 2006, they left their agency in order to run Pentawards full-time. In October 2016 the Pentawards was acquired by Easyfairs,[1] moving its head office to London, UK.
The pentagon is the official symbol of Pentawards for five reasons. The pentagon is the shape of the historic city centre in Brussels - where the competition was founded, the pentagram is the ancient symbol of beauty, there are five fingers on the hand - an important design tool for humans, the Pentawards has five different award levels and humans have five main senses in which inspiration is taken from.
The purpose of Pentawards is to recognising excellence in design, providing a source of inspiration and connecting the global packaging community through the annual competition, international conferences, digital events, and more.
Registration and voting
Candidates must register on the Pentawards website and submit their creations, providing standardized visuals and in-depth descriptions of the packs. The submissions are grouped into categories and presented to the members of the Jury. The jury's vote takes place without the identity of the participants being revealed. The judging is based on four criteria: quality of design, brand expression, creativity & innovations and emotional connection. In each category, the five packaging designs receiving the overall highest scores are shortlisted. Shortlisted entrants are then asked to provide a physical sample of their packaging (except for concepts). Upon seeing the packaging, the Jury validates and confirms the nomination and prize level obtained: bronze, silver, gold, platinum or diamond.
Jury
The Jury currently includes over 50 international members, including designers or design agency directors and packaging design officials from 25 brands and 26 design agencies like Coca-Cola, Amazon, General Mills, P&G, Pearlfisher, Superunion, and Nestle. The Co-Presidents of the jury are Chloe Templeman (Pearlfisher) and John Glasgow (Vault49). The judging process takes into account international sensitivities, cultures and markets, including a diverse mix of nationalities, ages, genders, educations, skill sets and experiences. Their mandate runs for a maximum of four consecutive years and approximately one third of the jury is renewed every year.
Awards
Five levels of awards are given: diamond, platinum, gold, silver, bronze. The diamond award is given to the packaging design which, across all categories, received the highest number of points. The platinum award goes in each of the 8 major categories, to the packaging designs which received the most points in the given category. The gold, silver and bronze awards are given to the best packaging design in each sub-category. The trophies are representations of the Pentawards logo, a circle with a hollow pentagon in the center. The trophy was first designed and engraved by Belgo-American artist Christian Heckscher.
Updated in 2022 by New York-based agency Established, the current design is a fresh and modern look. For the Special Award trophies, there are chose different colours, textures, and materials to deliver an unprecedented winning experience.
Awards ceremony
Each year the Pentawards Gala Ceremony is held in a different location around the world. The event invites all of the winners to celebrate their achievements and receive their prize on stage in front of the global packaging design community.
2016: (Shanghai)
2017: (Barcelona)
2018: (New York)
2019: (London)
2020: The 2020 Gala Ceremony was held online as part of the Pentawards Festival [2]
2021: The 2021 Gala Ceremony was held online.
2022: (London)
2023: (London)
2024: (London)
2025: The 2025 Gala Ceremony will be held in Amesterdam (Netherlands)
Besides its annual competition, Pentawards regularly holds events such as international conferences, panel discussions, online webinars, and design brunch events. On top of this, winning entries are showcased in different countries through Winners’ Exhibits and partners events.
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