Design and innovation agency Seymourpowell is pleased to announce it has won two coveted GOLD Starpack Awards for the design of Unilever’s Axe/Lynx Icon2 aerosol can.
Seymourpowell won the gold award for structural design in the ‘Creative and Sustainable’ section. In conjunction with design agency Elmwood, which was responsible for the graphics on the can, the gold award for the ‘Non Food & Drink Primary Packaging – Wellbeing and Beauty Care’ category, was also secured.
Launched earlier this year, Axe Icon2 takes the Axe/Lynx brand into the future, with a more premium feel and new standards in user engagement, delivered by innovative aerosol shaping technology and design ingenuity.
The existing Axe aerosol, designed by Seymourpowell in 2005, called ‘Neutron’ has been very successful in the market for seven years and whilst Unilever remained fully confident with the strength of the design and the Axe brand, there was an emergent need to stay ahead of the competition by securing the design for the ‘next generation’ of body sprays.
In keeping with the emergent design language for consoles, gaming, mobiles and MP3 players, Axe Icon2’s form is purer, more monolithic and sophisticated. Developing the existing emotional qualities of Axe – humour, sexual attraction and masculinity – and expressing them in the physical form, the design team created a development of the original ‘Neutron’ can twist action.
When not in use, the button on ‘Icon2′ is flush with the top, and the action is locked (so it won’t go off inadvertently in your bag). Twisting the top engages a sophisticated ‘mechanical ballet’ of movement, which lifts the button up and then inclines it backwards into the ready to use position. As the button rises, it reveals a flash of colour specific to the variant. This ‘mechanical ballet’ is not only very practical, but also intriguing – on the one hand effectively locking the spray and, on the other counter-intuitively lifting up the button in order to it press down. This action gives the product a sense of fascination, delight, playfulness and emotional engagement, which are at the heart of the Axe brand.
Icon2’s innovative round to square can (setting new standards in shaping technology) flows seamlessly into the actuator/top, creating a singular form which is pure, visually simple and, above all, confident – providing a broad canvas for the fragrance variant graphics.
Icon2 has come to market without compromise, solving huge challenges on the way. It sets up the brand for the future with a quality, more premium feel . . . more sustainable, more precise and robust in the hand, and with a reassuring solidity consistent with a more premium product.
It is a huge credit to Unilever’s engineering team, and to DCA (who worked with them to production engineer it) that this has been achieved.
The Starpack Awards are the UK’s premier annual awards scheme recognising innovation in packaging design and technology.
For more information contact the Seymourpowell PR Team.
