How to Enter
The 2025 competition is now closed.
Recognised as the world’s leading packaging design competition, winning a Pentaward is a top achievement for any packaging design agency, brand or student that takes part.
Below you'll find everything you need to prepare and submit your winning entries to impress the International Jury, including entry specifications, judging criteria and our downloadable user guide.
Eligibility
Any packaging that has been created and released to market anywhere in the world between 1st July 2023 and June 2025 is eligible for entry into the 2025 competition. Works that have been submitted previously into the competition should not be submitted again.
ENTRY SPECIFICATIONS
Give your work the best chance of winning a coveted award by preparing your entries correctly. Entries will need to include:
1-5 Visuals
Photographs or digital renders of packaging in Jpeg and RGB format. The minimum individual file size is 500KB. No Zip, Stuffit or compressed files.
Project Description
Describe the project and consider the judging criteria, referencing quality of design, brand expression, creativity & innovation, emotional connection, and any cultural relevance of the design. Max 200 words.
Credits
Giving credit to individuals who have contributed to the project is very important. If your entry is awarded, these credits will be published online and in the globally distributed The Package Design Book.
Judging Criteria
QUALITY OF DESIGN
Judges are looking for excellent graphic and structural design, considering aspects such as typography, artwork, the logo or brand name, use of colour, as well as structural aspects such as shape, form and silhouette.
BRAND EXPRESSION
Judges score how effectively the graphic and (if appropriate) structural design of the pack or range expresses the personality, characteristics or story of the brand.
CREATIVITY & INNOVATION
Judges score the pack or range for its originality and creativity, considering also innovation in areas currently driving the industry, such as sustainability, inclusive design, smart technology, etc. For re-designs, judges will look at any changes in material use or innovation as well as branding compared to the previous design, and consider any challenges in doing so.
EMOTIONAL CONNECTION
Judges score whether they like the pack overall, how they responded to it emotionally and whether they believe that it will elicit a positive response in its target market.
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN CATEGORY CRITERIA
If entering this category, you will need to include information on why the pack is sustainable, including the materials used and their impact on the environment. Judges will be looking for evidence of optimisation in the environmental performance of the packs, as well as the branding and innovation in the pack design
DESIGN EFFECTIVENESS CRITERIA
Entries into this category must show evidence of commercial achievements and how the design led to the results achieved, whilst sharing details on the market, objectives, challenges, influencing factors and outcomes.
SUPPLIER INNOVATION OF THE YEAR CRITERIA
Entrants into this category will need to showcase how their business and product benefits their clients in their packaging designs. They will need to share information on their product and the benefits it brings compared to alternatives, demonstrate strong and positive relationships with clients and also highlight any other focuses the business has that helps support the industry.
ANY QUESTIONS?
Take a look through our FAQs or get in touch with the Pentawards Team either via info@pentawards.org, +44 7438022161, or by leaving us a message via the gold icon at the bottom right of your screen.