SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED AT ART OF PACKAGING GALA

(L–R) Alexandra Haime, Kashfia Rahman, Marc Rosen, Veronique Gabai-Pinsky, Vivi Feng, and Kyle Calvert.

More than 300 guests attended the annual Pratt Institute Art of Packaging Award Gala at a private club in Manhattan on April 30, 2013. The gala, which attracts the top tier of New York City's multi-billion-dollar cosmetics industry, supports the Marc Rosen Scholarship and Education Fund for Packaging by Design and raises scholarship funds for graduating package design students at Pratt. It is the only scholarship in the world available to college students looking to pursue careers in cosmetics and package design. The glamorous black-tie event raised $350,000 in 2013 and has raised more than $3.5 million over the last 24 years.

The Art of Packaging Award, which is presented each year to a beauty/cosmetics company that has excelled in the art form, was awarded to the Aramis and Designer Fragrances division of The Estée Lauder Companies. Veronique Gabai-Pinsky, global brand president of The Estée Lauder Companies' Aramis and Designer Fragrances, BeautyBank, and IdeaBank divisions, accepted the award from Trey Laird, chief executive and creative officer of Laird+Partners.

Gabai-Pinsky spoke about the inspiration of great design. She noted that the initial success of a product is "linked to the creative expression" of the brand through design. She encouraged Pratt communications and package design students to "stay hungry for the thrill of discovery and creative process." 

At Pratt, Rosen teaches a course on cosmetic and fragrance package design, which is the only one of its kind in the world. As part of the course, students select a floral, green, or Oriental fragrance. They name the fragrance and design a perfume bottle from sketch to clay form to prototype along with a scent card, box, shopping bag, and advertisement.

Student Scholarship Recipient Kashfia Rahman’s work.This year's student scholarship winners include Kyle Calvert, Vivi Feng, Alexandra Haime, and Kashfia Rahman. Calvert designed a modern, oval bottle using silver and pink for a calming floral scent that he named "Serene." Feng's scent, which she named "Vertigo," was influenced by the mystery and allure of the classic Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name and Art Deco style; the bottle was a faceted design inspired by origami. Haime's work—for an Oriental scent she named "Kahlia"—was inspired by the idea of clarity and replicated the form of natural quartz crystal. Rahman chose a green scent, which she named "Belle Journée," and used a green leaf motif that translated the light scent into a graceful design.

Each winner's fragrance package design work was on display in the lobby of the event venue.

Text: Amy Aronoff
Photos: Patrick McMullan Company