Episodes

This is the story of how your host, Evelio Mattos, won a packaging design and product launch pitch against VaynerMedia and also lost $900,000 in the process. The lesson in today’s episode is about knowing your value and understanding what you bring to the table when it comes to pricing, packaging design, and opportunities. As with any proposal, Evelio believes that presenting with confidence and clarity is key. It’s about delivering your pitch, focusing on its value to the consumer, their brand,...

Today, we’re discussing the realities of waste management in Argentina and the lengths that people go to in order to be just a little bit more sustainable with Guillermo Dufranc, author, YouTuber, and consistent LinkedIn poster of great sustainability content. When he isn’t busy being a zero-waste influencer, Guillermo manages a creative team at tridimage, an award-winning packaging design agency headquartered in Buenos Aires. In this episode, you’ll learn how global cities like Buenos Aires col...

Years ago, the return and reuse of glass bottles was common practice, but when convenience began to dominate the messaging around packaging, this went out the window. Now, 75% of glass bottles end up in landfills. Through her company, Conscious Containers, Caren McNamara is on a mission to change this. Caren Conscious Containers is a benefit corporation selling refillable glass bottles and establishing infrastructure to collect, sanitize and resell them throughout the country. They have also com...

Todd Maute explains how CBX’s FORGE process helps redesign multi-SKU packaging for CPG and retail brands faster and sometimes cheaper. CBX is known for its brand experience development for pet, food, and even pet food brands! Learn how design agencies collect data, project-manage, and make production a design challenge to ensure every redesign aspect is measured and considered. Packaging design for one box is complex. Redesigning packaging for hundreds of SKUs all at once, well, that’s an und...

In this episode Evelio (@eveliomattos) speaks to Vincent Colard of Citeo.com a company working hand in hand with packaging designers, manufacturers, and recycling systems to get France to 100% recycling rates by 2025. Learn what materials to use in your packaging design to increase the chances of it being recycled at end of life. They discuss chemical recycling, what it is, how it helps, and where it fits in the grand scheme. Also the different types of plastics, benefits, drawbacks, and differ...

Ever wondered what the future of packaging looks like? You’re not alone. In fact, it’s a question that has been on the minds of many designers and brand-owners alike. We all know how important sustainability is to our world today, but we also want to make sure that we are doing everything in our power to make products as effective and safe for consumers. That being said, antimicrobial coatings are trending due to covid, the current pandemic, but also looking to everyday hygiene of products we...

Kirk Visola, Founder and Creative Director of Mind the Fun, Co-host of Clubhouse's Kirk and Kurtts (Andy Kurtts), and Monday's with Marilyn (Kirk's mom) joins PDU to have a discussion about race and design. Kirk shares the experiences he's had as a black designer, learning that design could lead to a career, and his passion for comics. We discuss everything from updating his LinkedIn profile with an image for the first time, interviews, his sketch process, and how design can take a couple day...

Supply chains are breaking down, freight rates are blowing up, and today there are even brands that are paying off dock workers to move their products to the front of the line. Don't stoop low enough to break the law, just listen to this episode where Thaxton Lipscomb explains how to engineer your logistics to move your goods faster and cheaper. He lays out everything from materials to incoterms and how to save money by shifting responsibilities to sellers making them want to move the goods faster in order to get paid upon delivery. Here's what you get in this episode: 1) What the hell is ECT? If you’re ordering packaging and it’s shipping in corrugated boxes, you need to know what ECT is. You’ll also get a few standards that you can use when quoting packaging. Yes, the quality of the cartons impact your overall costs. 2) This was new to me, they’re called INCOterms. Thaxton will explain how to leverage incoterms to create a sense of urgency in delivery but also how you can shift …

Is plastic packaging evil? Is it killing sea-life, reducing sperm counts of men globally, decimating bird populations, or is it a misunderstood miracle material? In the Package Design Unboxd Q&A Clubhouse room, Chris DeArmitt Plastic Scientist and author of A Plastic Paradox joined Pierre Paslier CEO and co-founder of NOTPla to debate plastic packaging. Regardless of which side of the aisle you sit on, you need to listen to this episode. The goal of this episode is to share points on both sid...

Today's guest is Andy Kurtts, the founder of Buttermilk Creative, a food & beverage packaging agency based in North Carolina. After leaving his full-time position over 5 years ago he launched Buttermilk Creative. Andy set out to build a solid business foundation before designing his first package. Andy shares how he set up his LLC, website, and where he goes to find clients. Get practical advice on growing your business, finding clients, and even when to make the jump from full-time to founde...

Rick Fitzgerald is a cannabis packaging designer, founder of cannabis travel site Inndica.com, and print production wizard. He's worked on hundreds of cannabis brands from around the globe and shares everything he's learned so far. So, if you want to start designing packaging for cannabis, you’re going to love this episode. If you’re already designing packaging for Cannabis, you might learn something too! You’re going to learn 3 super major things. 1) State regulations, why you need to work with an experienced cannabis packaging designer 2) How designing Child Resistant cannabis packaging can open up a new career path 3) The requirements for designing graphics on cannbis packaging. Also gain insight into the cannabis industries future, not to mention Rick drop his prediction for countrywide legalization! Do me a favor: Rate, review, and subscribe.

What the hell is sustainable packaging anyway? Evelio continues the conversation over drinks to help you identify ways to make your packaging more sustainable and building your brand. It's another late night and Evelio's drinking again letting loose on what it means to be sustainable. He breaks down the old adage of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle and what that means to a brand and to a designer. You'll get something out of this episode, even if it's just a laugh. Evelio takes sustainability se...

What is the packaging revolution? How sustainability is a communal concept and requires legal enforcement to be effective. Society chooses what it considers sustainable and acts accordingly. The packaging revolution is the waking up of consumers and brands to the realization they've been doing it wrong for many years and in Fabrice's new Book he breaks down each material and packaging structure. Learn what materials are recyclable, how to use new trends to improve your packaging, and what it means to be sustainable.

Everything you need to consider when thinking of deigning sustainable packaging. Materials, processes, questions, and what sustainability even means. Great way to get started.

Jeremy Etchison & Ben Blanchard are the dynamic duo behind SONOS' Roam packaging. Their team of designers and engineers executed what can be called the future of sustainable tech packaging. A completely recyclable product pack that uses custom paper wrapped corrugated board and molded fiber inserts to cradle and present the ROAM speaker. We discuss how sustainability was the Northstar that led to Sonos' packaging design for the ROAM and all future Sonos products. We learn about custom papers,...

Packaging designers have a superpower no other designer has. The ability to reach into the future and create it today. Learn the strategies Clark McDowall use to design packaging for Mars owned Nutro Pet Foods and legacy brand Palmolive. How to spot packaging trends without falling in love with transient trends? Applying this strategic vision to designing packaging with longevity and relevance to build a Future-Ready brand. Nutro Packaging Design: We discuss designing packaging for large to s...

Want to know how agencies are designing packaging for the future? Where do packaging innovations breed? Where do you find packaging inspiration? If you’re interested in designing forward thinking packaging that goes beyond just making bags and boxes, you gotta listen to this episode. We talk with Daniel Lowe founder of Someone and Others, a design studio based in LA working on some of the countries most cutting edge brands. Listen today and you’re going to walk away with some insp...

Learn what happens to packaging after it's picked for recycling and how to design packaging that increases the chances of actually being recycled. This episode digs into the reality of the recycling and composting systems in place today world wide. Simon Van Leuven is Vanden Recycling's Director of Australia and an expert in plastics collection and recycling. Follow Simon on linkedIn.

Learn what it takes to design, buy, and launch packaging for a start-up. we discuss numbers, concepts, and next steps.

In our conversation about packaging design for Pride month with Zipeng Zhu, why men's body wash has grip, and why it's important to share your work to build your network. You'll also get, How Zipeng Zhu selects colors when designing packaging, fashion, or digital? Here's a secret his current favorite color is yolk :) Harry's razors hired Zipeng Zhu to develop the packaging for the recent Pride packaging as well as developing all of the merchandise. Understand why design matters and how cre...

What is a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and how can you use it to make packaging decisions? If you're a packaging buyer, a packaging designer, or packaging manufacturer this episode shares insights into the LCA process as well as the value of having a human in the loop to balance the data. What questions impact data and how understanding the key areas of consumerism can determine the right packaging for you. Learn how Medoola saves global consumer brands millions on packaging, retail, and s...

AB InBev's Global Director of Innovation - Packaging, Keenan Thompson shares the process their Global Innovation Technology team uses for designing packaging. We get deep into the process and take apart what innovation actually means. How to take disparate information and mold it into the future when you have the right team at the table. We discuss the team's recent packaging innovation for Corona which uses agri-waste to make the board for the 6 pack carriers. We discuss the testing of the t...

What is a luxury paper and what should you look for when choosing a material for your packaging design? Annette Clayton with Fedrigoni Papers shares how materials can make a consumer feel through tactility and design.

Packaging design powerhouse Enlisted Design has designed packaging for brands like All Birds, Fridababy, Linksys, and so many other brands. Beau Oyler CEO of Enlisted shares their approach to designing product and packaging under the same roof. Enlisted isn't just a packaging design agency, they develop and engineer products and establish the branding, delivering the complete turn key product. We also learn about the power of Enlisted Design's tools for capturing user data from e-commerce int...