Student clinches bronze award for spin the bottle design game

A University of Wolverhampton student clinched a prestigious bronze award at a national ceremony recently. 

Third year Graphic Design degree student, Aimee Hankey, was shortlisted for the Starpack Awards for her Cool Shots - Spin the Bottle design which she entered in the category of Social at Home. 

The Starpack competition, established in 1964, challenges students to submit solutions to problems set by brand-leading fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies, design agencies and manufacturers, and win recognition of their excellence.  

The brief focused on adjusting to socialising at home during the Covid-19 pandemic and how this might become part of the new normal.  Students were asked to select a food/beverage category of their choice and draw on their personal experiences, considering how packaging could play a part in enhancing the occasion. 

The competition received more than 160 entries and students, studying for a range of degree courses with a graphics emphasis, were asked to challenge conventional thinking and break the rules with off-the-wall creativity. 

Aimee said: "The packaging design I created for the Cool Shots spin the bottle board game design was inspired by the student experiences that we have lacked due to the pandemic. As a student, I have missed the nightlife and clubbing side of Uni as it’s a large part of the experience.  

“My design was created to attempt to bring the ‘club experience’ back into the lives of students during this time. The beverage brand ‘Cool Shots’ is a drink primarily sold in clubs, but the idea was to use this as a way of bringing some form of partying back to students, through a drinking game that could be played in student flats and housing with their flatmates. 

“A large part of the brief was to make the packaging enhance the social occasion so, with that in mind, I wanted to give the packing more purpose than simply being a box to safely hold its contents. With my design for the box folding out into a board game, it gives it a second life, and the ability to be reused time and time again to not only enhance one occasion over lockdown but as many as the user cares to have. 

“The Graphic Design course at Wolverhampton School of Art has enabled me to progress immensely both as a person and designer; the lecturers are dedicated to student success. There have been many opportunities to work on live briefs to gain industry experience, and to explore a breadth of design disciplines and software.” 

Marc Austin, Course Leader in Graphic Design and Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication in the Wolverhampton School of Art, said: “We’re delighted that Aimee has bagged this prestigious which is hotly contested by students nationally. 

“Our aim in the School of Art is to equip degree students with real-world skills and experience. Throughout the academic year we work with lots of external partners and agencies to ensure that students experience live project briefs to help prepare them for the world of work and to lay the foundations for their career. We also encourage them to enter awards like this to boost their CVs and give them the edge when applying for jobs. 

“I’m sure Aimee’s career ambitions will benefit greatly from this superb achievement and I’m sure it will put her on course for a very successful future.” 

Jude Allan MIMMM, Chair of the Packaging Society, said: “Packaging is essential to our modern day lives, but it is often misunderstood as a villain not a hero. I was really excited about the competition to encourage students to take up packaging design as a career. This was a great opportunity to showcase their ideas. We were so impressed with this year’s entries, and we really appreciate the effort from everyone.” 

For anyone who already has the results of their qualifications, applications can be made through Clearing from Monday 5 July. Our Clearing webpage provides further information on all the courses we have available in Clearing. Applications can be made either by calling our Clearing Team on 01902 51 8585 or through our social media channels on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.  

For anyone who is awaiting the results of their qualifications, they can register their interest and book a phone call with a Clearing Adviser on results day, Tuesday, 10 August. 

Anyone looking to study at the University of Wolverhampton should register for one of our forthcoming Open Days.  

ENDS