Clemson packaging science students win in Design Competition

Clemson University Packaging Science program students recently tied for third place in the 2023 Association of Independent Corrugated Converters (AICC) Student Design Competition.

Clemson’s design was for Penguin Hardware, a theoretical hardware store created to represent local hardware stores across America. The package had to contain four traditional 60-watt light bulbs, one 16-oz traditional hammer and one box of nails and be structured to withstand the rigors of courier delivery without anything being broken.

Multiple prototypes were involved in making the final project. The first was hand sketched, cut and assembled. Once a coherent idea was formed, the students used cutting and printing machines in the Sonoco Institute’s lab on campus to build the remaining prototypes and final version of the project.

Thomas Feaster, a senior packaging science student from Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina, said a lot of brainstorming was involved.

“We learned the importance of teamwork while planning, designing and testing a new product,” he said. “We also learned more about software used in designing corrugated packages and the machines used to build them. We managed to figure out a few things about giving a quick, precise presentation as well.”

In addition to Feaster, other students involved in the project were Marc Alvarado, a senior packaging science student from Summerville, New Jersey; Lindsey Diehl, a senior industrial engineering major from Florence, South Carolina; and Emory DeLoach, a senior packaging science student from Aiken, South Carolina.

The students were in Andrew Hurley’s Packaging Science 3200 class, Package Design Theory, during the Spring 2023 semester. This class covers human psychology as it relates to product and package development.

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