'60° - creative boxes to inspire': LEONHARD KURZ turns current trends into innovative packaging design

Fürth/Germany, October 08, 2024: It was the highlight of the trade fair year in the field of premium packaging: LUXE PACK in Monaco from September 30 to October 2, 2024. At this year’s event, LEONHARD KURZ, the surface finishing specialist from Fürth, once again demonstrated how state-of-the-art finishing technologies can be combined with pioneering designs and current trends to create fascinating compositions. The new packaging edition from KURZ’s creative design management team once again attracted international attention. This year, the already multiple award-winning packaging concept was launched under the new name ‘60°’ and for the first time in a triangular shape, with base surfaces that stand at a 60-degree angle to each other.

Global trends surprisingly staged

The interdisciplinary trend team has adopted the philosophy “Meaning and Substance for a Livable World and Society” as its mission. With the ‘60°’ design tool, KURZ Design Management presents the results of KURZ’s internal trend research year after year in the form of four high-quality cardboard boxes, crafted with a clever interlocking system that requires no adhesives. Through this, Annie Kuschel and Julia König create inspiration for innovative packaging design, providing insight into the latest effects and techniques in surface design at KURZ. For the current edition, the ‘60°’ concept uses materials from the renowned paper manufacturer Koehler Paper. The intricate embossing details were produced using tools and technology from Hinderer + Mühlich (H+M), a subsidiary of KURZ.

KURZ provides access to this seemingly abstract subject through the four thematic focal points of ‘60°’: The New Drama, The Great Analog, The Non-Sense, and The Very Nothing. The focus is on a return to a sensory understanding of the world, where technologies, communication channels, and consumption are subject to rapid changes. The four flows presented go into depth and serve as elements of reconciliation between personal experience and social circumstances.

The New Drama: Baroque delight in the apocalypse

Anything but subtle, The New Drama uses dramatic tones to ruthlessly drag the painful events of the time onto the grand stage of world theater. “We weren't just trying to provoke. The New Drama should rather be seen as a wake-up call that a reversal is still possible. The belief in change and humanity is reflected within the trend and its design in the form of romantic elements,” explains Annie Kuschel, Head of Design Management at KURZ, and adds: “We are currently seeing an overdramatization as an expression of a direct call to tackle global problems.”

The New Drama offers two new trend colors: Red On Stage COLORIT^® 307007 is a transparent, high-gloss red that dips the world into darkness while making visible what should not remain hidden. With its matte, bluish-gray appearance without metallization, the opposing Silent White COLORIT^® V 307073 creates exciting nuances as a bright shimmer of hope.

The Great Analog: Searching for real experiences

This design brings the typecase with lead letters to life as a homage to bygone times. The micro-embossing creates the tactile effect of wood, offering a realistic experience of an era in which traditional craftsmanship and unique design icons originated. Julia König, Senior Designer at KURZ, explains: “The concept points to the alienation of people with the digital world, their unmet longing for real events and experiences – and shows us that human existence does not take place in an empty space, as everything today originated in the past. The Great Analog is the comforting yet unfiltered look into the past, which can provide us with creative answers to the urgent questions of today,” König continues.

Two brilliant trend colors make The Great Analog an absolute visual highlight: Blue Touch LUXOR^® 111354, a metallized, silvery shimmering gray-blue, lends the design a special quality. The brass-colored Iconic Brass LIGHT LINE^® 946060 creates holographic effects with the golden tones of past eras. Together, these two trend colors translate the exclusivity of valuable mementos into modern times.

The Non-Sense: Rule breaking with a pinch of humor

This trend theme is aimed at Gen Z’s humorous view of the world. Colorful and subtle gray colors alternate with transparent elements and haptic embossing. “The Non-Sense loves playing with absurdities and with breaking rules that often appear unexpected and seemingly meaningless,” reveals Annie Kuschel. “We see the design of this packaging as bitter satire, which is exaggerated and expressive, and as a form of accusation that provokes and awakens.”

To match, Meme Green LUXOR^® 111358 N, a clear green shade, provides the humorous background of the packaging. Paired with the transparent solid pink of Pinky Rosy LUMAFIN^® 722 Red, this color combination stands for lightness and seriousness in one.

The Very Nothing: Reflecting back on the essentials

The Very Nothing is all about simplicity. From a concentric circle, ultra-finely embossed lines and strokes flow seamlessly in a tone-on-tone color scheme. The design is sealed by a complex closure with blind-embossed lettering. “The Very Nothing is maximum focus on the essentials. With this design, we wanted to create a design opportunity for everyday aesthetics that finds its place wherever everything superfluous is removed,” says Julia König. “At the same time, we are making a statement for creative freedom that stands above consumption.”

The color scheme of the packaging is correspondingly understated and yet stylish. The trend color Gentle Metal LUXOR^® 111356 N alternates between matte silver and a warm brown tone and underlines simplicity as the true luxury with its reduced size. In combination with the high-gloss Soft Brown LUMAFIN^® 751 Brown, a light brown shade with beige accents, both colors create a calming atmosphere.

KURZ’s original approach to combining innovative packaging design with current trends continues to prove successful. “Since we started the project, we have received a lot of positive feedback from our customers, who eagerly anticipate the new packaging every year,” confirms Annie Kuschel. And the concept is also gaining great recognition among designers. Since 2021, it has received several coveted awards, including the Red Dot Packaging Design Award, the German Brand Award, and the German Design Award.