In honour of International Women’s day we’re celebrating some of our favourite female designers, discussing their thoughts on what being a woman in the industry means to them and sharing some of their work.

Read below to learn more.

Studio Minerva

Founder and Executive Creative Director Daniela Nunzi-Mihranian set up Studio Minerva in 2014 in order to collaborate closely with clients who shared her passion for “purposeful and beautiful” design. Last year Nunzi-Mihranianco co-created and designed luxury chocolate brand Cartografie alongside ex-Ritz pastry chef Kae Shibata, with women as the focus.

As a ‘brand with a conscience’, Cartografie was created as a beacon for positive change. Addressing the gender imbalance of creative leads across all aspects of the industries as well as the chocolate industry itself, the brand is made and branded entirely by women and supports organisations like Femmes de Virunga, the world’s first women’s cocoa cooperative.

“ We wanted to create a brand that wasn’t just about strong female role-models, but about opening up opportunities to support the wider community of female entrepreneurs, ”- Daniela Nunzi-Mihranian.

A world map adorns the packaging in a gloss finish contrasted with the natural earth-tone paper stocks used, taking consumers on a “sensorial experience”. A rich colour palette of deep reds, greens, orange and black give a feeling of luxury complete with the Cartografie name gold foiled onto the map, also marking the 20 degrees on either side of the equator in which cocoa beans grow and thrive.

The packaging and identity seek to map out “exquisite chocolate stories” and put the cocoa beans’ origins centre stage.

Find out more about Studio Minerva by visiting their website or find them on Instagram .

Francesca dal Molin- Lacía Branding & Packaging

With over 20 years of experience learning and working with a wide range of brands, Lacía Branding & Packaging is an agency that has always been at the forefront of the industry. Account Director Francesca dal Molin says " Today more than ever, I celebrate, grateful for where I am and the opportunity I have had, but hopeful that all women who choose to work in our sector feel that they get to where they want, without limits, in environments where talent and effort are valued beyond any gender or stereotype ."

In 2020 Lacía Branding & Packaging won the gold Pentaward in the Luxury Gourmet Food category for their Sturios Caviar packaging design. With the caviar market being one of exclusivity and elegance, Lacía’s main objective was to differentiate the brand from the rest through a unique and memorable branding style.

Moving away from the category’s traditional codes, the colour palette pops with bright pastel colours that represent its founder’s personality: a daring and visionary entrepreneur. Playful font creates a more energetic visual identity while gold finishing maintains that sense of elegance and class.

Furthermore, Lacía won the 2021 Silver Pentaward in the Branding & Consumer category for their Luengo Vegas Bañezanas packaging re-design. Clean, forceful typography attracts attention, while a bright colour palette printed on the classic style cloth bag creates an appealing duality between vintage and modern with a tone of voice that speaks of tradition and innovation.

Find out more about Lacía Branding & Packaging by visiting their website or follow them on Instagram .

Founded by Danielle McWaters, Designsake is an award-winning agency run by a team of female designers whose values are reflected by the brands they work with.

“ My thoughts on women in design? Hire them, pay them, and celebrate them, all the way to the top. ” - Danielle McWaters

Having collaborated with the likes of Benefit, Sephora, Quin and nixit, Designsake are a powerhouse agency with fluidity and skill to translate client core values into meaningful strategy.

Their expertise has won them many accolades, including two bronze Pentawards last year.

Their first win was for Kūlia Skincare packaging design. Every layer of Designsake’s Kūlia’s packaging design reflects the brand’s ethos of clean practices and pure organic ingredients. Custom floral illustrations inspired by the Hawaiian Islands adorn the recyclable glass bottles in 5-color silkscreen. The exterior packaging made from Neenah FSC paper features intricate blind emboss detailing, while the same bespoke illustrations cover the internal lining printed in soy-based inks.

Their second win was attained for their MATTER Antimicrobial Technology coating packaging designs, offering a sleek monochrome design featuring contemporary motifs and bespoke typography.

Find out more about Designsake Studio by visiting their website or find them on Instagram .

Beatriz Suarez - Estudio Maba

Beatriz Suarez, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer for multi-award winning branding and packaging design studio MABA says, " As packaging designers, we work with a lot of variables, many rules and cultures. Every decision you make on every project is determined by multiple factors. But at the end of the creative process, there is a gut feeling, something inside you that tells you that you have the right answer. In that defining moment, there is a great emotional weight, your intuition takes over, and as women, we have plenty of that . "

Last year MABA won multiple Pentawards, one of which being the gold Pentaward for their De Nariz wine label and packaging design. The design concept represents the personality of the winemaker's best tools; the nose and the glass shape.. Designed in collaboration with multidisciplinary artist Nicolás de Maya, the key feature of the black bottle is the model golden nose raised emblem. Born from a combination of Pedro Martínez’s nose and a glass of wine the two images coexist, summarizing the project in a simple yet distinctive way.

MABA also won silver in the food category for their playful Smileat Triboo organic cereal and yoghurt packaging. Triboo's design sets out to create symbols that group the members of his children's tribe around them. Vivid, playful colours appeal to a younger audience while humorous totemic symbols of the ancestral tribes create characters that children can engage with.

Find out more about MABA by visiting their website or find them on Instagram .

Kati Forner

With more than twelve years’ experience designer Kati Forner has built a deep understanding of contemporary and classical design. Her style boasts an identifiable elegant and minimalist aesthetic which Forner has applied across a wide and accomplished portfolio of work.

A stunning example of Forner’s minimalist elegance can be seen in the branding and packaging design for Waterbody’s line of skin and body care products. Capturing the Alaskan landscape from which the product ingredients are derived, the running theme throughout the design evokes the sense of water and rolling landscapes. Layered imagery create depth while the soft colour palette creates a modern aesthetic, elevated by gold foil accents.

Another example is the exquisite packaging and label design for Milk Moon postpartum wellness products. Clean, refined with a contemporary twist, these gold foil labels encapsulate a sense of calm and clarity that the product seeks to create.

“Utilizing textured, cotton paper paired with shapes representing landscape, we were able to thread an organic ethos through all the creative. We elevated it to give a legendary feel, with touches of foil and speciality print techniques.”

Find out more about Kati Forner by visiting their website or find them on Instagram .

Monica Goodman - Colgate-Palmolive Design

Monica Goodman is not only a single mom, but also the mastermind behind the Relaunch of Irish Spring body wash, resigning the flexo-printed labels to celebrate simplicity, appeal to a younger consumer market and clearly rooted in the brand’s cleansing power and nature’s raw beauty.

“ We single moms know how to adjust the sails and keep on when the wind doesn't blow our way, that is the resilience I apply in the creative industry every day ” - Monica B. Goodman

The sleek new modern look is supported with a multi-channel campaign that includes a commercial debut on February 13, 2022, during the Super Bowl which you can watch here .

Find out more about Colgate-Palmolive Design by visiting their website .

Bringing Women Together

A number of organizations dedicated to celebrating and empowering women in the creative arts are appearing all over the world. Ladies, Wine & Design are a community made to empower women and non-binary creatives around the world, Kerning the Gap is an ‘equality network’ founded by Nat Maher aimed at getting more women into leadership roles within the design industry while leading the UK initiative Women in Packaging brings together female employees of the packaging industry offering dedicated events and talks for women.