The importance of design choices can make or break a project. Through visual cues, material choices and design details, how can we create impactful designs that successfully communicate key messages, meanings, and values to consumers?

At the Pentawards Festival x Paris Packaging Week 2025, leading designers and experts from global brands will share the importance in the development of designs that are impactful for people and planet.

Discover the topics, sub-themes and messages that our expert speakers will be delving into on stage on 28th-29th January.

Sustainability & Innovation

Sustainability and innovation is at the forefront of our mind when striving to develop designs that are impactful for people and planet. 

Jeremy Lindley, Global Design Director at Diageo will discuss this important theme in his keynote ‘Is Sustainability the opposite of Desire?’ sharing a breakthrough in innovation with the development of the world’s lightest 70cl Scotch Whisky glass bottle - Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ultra.

Tuesday 28th January - 10:40 - 11:10

Michelle Atkinson, Senior Global Sustainability & Innovations Lead at Diageo will then on day two, go into more detail on  ‘Diageo's Ground Breaking Paper Bottle Trials’ and the intersection of luxury and sustainability this has lead to.

Wednesday 29th January - 12:10 - 12:40 

Inclusivity & Accessibility

Marc Powell, the Global Accessibility Centre of Excellence Lead at Unilever, (& Paralympian!!) will be delving deeper into inclusivity and accessability and the changes this is brining to the industry.

The last talk of the festival, Marc will explore the transformative impact of accessible design in creating inclusive experiences for all with his talk ‘Making Unilever Packaging Unmissable for Everyone’.

Wednesday 29th January - 14:40 - 15:10 

Humanity & Intentionality

Designing with Impact is also about human connection, creativity and designing with intention.

In his talk ‘Designing for Humanity’, Bruno Singulani, Global Design Director at Haleon discusses how Healthcare brand Haleon calls for not only physical-wellness support, but emotional connection, trust and empowering experiences through design.

Tuesday 28th January - 12:40 - 13:10

Fe Amarante, Founder & Principal at Experimenta and Rebecca McCowan, Design Director at Coca-Cola Europe will also join forces to expose their own raw humanity as a source of creativity and energy, bringing up some points and question marks that have been ongoing conversations between these two design friends with their session ‘Forget about the tech and tools: let’s be f-ing humans’.

Wednesday 29th January - 10:40 - 11:10

Brand & Experience

Brands are increasingly using experiences and branding to build connection and recognisability with their consumers.

Within this topic, we have Tatiana Ryfer-Emberger, Global Brand Identity Director at Carrefour with her keynote ‘Branding and Beyond: Crafting Experiences that Matter’. She’ll discuss the impact of branding design in big corporations as a key driver for strengthening brand identity and elevating everyday brands into cherished brands that foster lasting customer connections.

Tuesday 28th January- 12:10 - 12:40

Macarena Castillo Olmos, Senior Brand Design Manager EU at Colgate-Palmolive will take to the stage to talk how she has transformed constraints into a creative playground in her career with brands such as Colgate-Palmolive, in her keynote ‘Designing inside the box’.

Wednesday 29th January - 11:10 - 11:40

In ‘A journey towards design excellence’ , Mayra Messora, Head of Design Brazil and Ximena O'Reilly Global Head of Design (Global) at Nestle will discuss Nestlé’s dedication to driving design excellence and innovation with introducing multisensory brand experiences.

Tuesday 28th January - 11:10 - 11:40

Marie-Therese Cassidy VP Design, Europe at PepsiCo, will also take to the stage with brand and experience in mind. Taking the audience through ‘Designing for Global Impact: The Pepsi Brand Transformation’ with their first rebrand in 14 years and the iconic collaborations they’ve seen along the way.

Tuesday 28th January - 14:40 - 15:10

On the subject of experience, ‘Acrylic Fusion’ artist Craig Black will, for the first time, create bottle closure art live during the networking session powered by Tapi x Delage.

Tuesday 28th January - 15:30 - 17:30

Design Trends and Future Insights

The future of the packaging design industry is intriguing, exciting and set to be ground breaking. Whether that’s through the development of AI, the upcoming talent, emerging trends, materials and technology.

Touching on all of the other sub-themes throughout their conversations, our two design panels on the Pentawards stage will also explore the evolving landscape and future of the industry, allowing the audience to gain valuable insights into how design can address both current challenges and the possibilities of tomorrow.

Day 1: Design with Impact: Part 1: Innovating for the Future (hosted by KURZ), features Annie Kuschel (Host) Global Head of Design Management Packaging and Print at KURZ, Agathe Vincent-Laÿ Co-Founder and Director at Pantel, Guilhem Effroy Managing Partner at extreme and Vincent Villeger Creative Director at Vincent Villeger.

Tuesday 28th January- 14:00 - 14:40

Day 2: Design with Impact: Part 2: Trends, Challenges, and Transformation, features Curtis Ju Founder and Global Initiative Director at K Laser Design Lab, John Glasgow Co-Founder at Vault49, Sebastien Greffe Creative Director at WeWantMore and Uwe Melichar Partner Europe, Vice-President epda.

Wednesday 29th January - 14:00 - 14:40

Our very own team members, will grace the Pentawards Festival on day two of the show. In their talk, ‘Now Trending: Discussing Impactful Designs'  Jennifer Clements, Senior Project Manager and Chloe Scanlan, Marketing Manager at Pentawards will give insights into the 2024/25 Pentawards Trend Report and the trends making waves in the industry over the past year, and beyond.

Wednesday 29th January - 12:40 - 13:10

You can see the full Pentawards Festival Agenda here , please note that seats are on a first-come, first-served basis.

To attend the festival, simply register for your complimentary Paris Packaging Week ticket here.