Zi-Hao Zhang and Yi-Ru Dai, sophomores from the Department of Design at Taiwan Tech, attended the 12th Ji Feng Cup Packaging Design Competition in Shanghai in 2024. They completed their entry from learning the competition theme to finishing their work in just four weeks, winning the first prize and the Best Expression Award.

Zi-Hao Zhang (left) and Yi-Ru Dai (right) from the Department of Design, Taiwan Tech, won the first prize and Best Expression Award at the 12th Ji Feng Cup Packaging Design Competition held in Shanghai in 2024.

The “Ji Feng Cup” Packaging Design Competition, hosted by the mainland's international Ji Feng Packaging Group, received 386 entries this year, with 24 advancing to the finals. Their entry “Mao Mao Picnic Fun” combines pet food gift box and pet picnic basket packaging designs, aiming for designs that cater to both human owners and their pet cats and dogs, emphasizing sustainability on Earth as the design goals.

Zi-Hao Zhang (right) and Yi-Ru Dai (left), sophomore students from the Department of Design, Taiwan Tech participated in the 2024 12th Ji Feng Cup Packaging Design Competition in Shanghai, winning the first prize and Best Expression Award.

The “Mao Mao Picnic Fun” utilizes entirely recycled tile cardboard. Inside, it can carry various picnic essentials such as food, utensils, and cardboard-based pet toys needed for a picnic. The bottom drawer can flip into a pet food bowl, and when disassembled, the box can transform into a cup holder and a makeshift table, combining interactivity with entertainment.

The “Mao Mao Picnic Fun” combines packaging design elements of a pet food gift box and a pet picnic basket.

Zi-Hao Zhang recalled that they decided to participate in the competition after taking Professor Cheng-Yung Hsu's course on “Green Design of Transport Packaging”. Upon learning about the competition, they formed a team and participated together. However, they only had about a month left when they found out about the theme, so they completed the design under extremely tight time pressure.

The “Mao Mao Picnic Fun” can carry all kinds of picnic essentials such as food, utensils, and cardboard-based pet toys inside, and the bottom drawer can be flipped to become a pet food bowl.

The two participating students mentioned that compared to their peers majoring in packaging engineering, their approach leans more towards the engineering aspects, considering packaging structure, testing, production, transportation, etc. They emphasize thorough research and analysis in the initial stages of each design. In contrast, they devote more attention to showcasing design outcomes, creative thinking, and emotional companionship with pets. During the presentation, Zi-Hao Zhang actively interacted with the judges and audience, delivering a lively presentation combining vivid visuals and videos, which earned them the “Best Expression Award”.

After winning this award, Yi-Ru Dai expressed her expertise in integrating dimensions between three-dimensional and two-dimensional realms, with a high sensitivity to symbiotic emotions. She recognizes the practical and commercial aspects of the packaging industry, particularly in the front end of mass production. Looking ahead, she hopes to leverage her design strengths to contribute to environmental sustainability efforts in her role as a designer.

The “Mao Mao Picnic Fun” is made entirely from recycled tile cardboard.

• Introduction video of 'Mao Mao Picnic Fun': https://youtu.be/SIFgjljra04?si=Ds7KWo0gnoOdavHM