“We can repeat the same gesture countless times, but it will never be the same”, artist Omar Hassan has told as he was showing us the collection of bottles he painted for Berlin Packaging, exhibited in the gallery of the Magna Pars Hotel in Milan for the ceremony night: it is surprising how this same thought can summarize as powerfully the spirit of the Berlin Packaging Bruni Glass Design Award.

The ceremony night on November 15 at Magna Pars exuded this spirit from all its participants, especially from the students ─ some starting their practitioner careers, some completing their studies ─ who were showing the finalist projects, with no little apprehension as they awaited the announcement: the moment was anything but a mere formality, in fact, because it came at the end of a design and education process that lasted two years, where an initial multiplicity of concepts had been translated into production-ready objects, to bring a further, unprecedented gesture to the market. A very peculiar path, they told us, especially for the historical moment in which it took place, going through the two-year pandemic: everything had started from a competition scenario, but the development of the projects has been an opportunity of self-development for everyone, of clarification most of all, about personal goals, both for those who found confirmed those they had already set, and for those who were able to redefine them along the design path.

The Berlin Packaging Bruni Glass Design Award, which has been held since 1997, is in fact also an opportunity for young product designers entering the world of the profession, with its hybrid workshop-plus-prize nature, addressing students from leading universities, because it guarantees the finalist projects registration and deposit in the catalogue of Berlin Packaging ─ a leading company in the supply of glass, plastic and metal packaging ─ with the possibility of being put on market if requested. Moreover, the scale of the initiative, and therefore the potential area of interest and clients, has now become global: this last edition, in fact, has involved students from the Politecnico di Milano for Italy, the Münster School of Design for Germany, FS Pack Cognac for France, UCSF Universidad Católica de Santa Fe for Argentina and IUC University of Illinois Chicago for the USA.

The absolute winner of this edition is Fuji, by Pham Minh Phuc (Münster School of Design), a shape inspired by the image of a mountain generating peace, tranquillity and balance: this perfume diffuser is also the first prize winner in the Home Fragrances category. Three other categories encompass the target sectors for Berlin Packaging: Spirits, where Mesh by Davide Intravaia (Politecnico di Milano) has ranked first; Oil and Vinegar, with Helen, by Mercedes Luhaces (UCSF) as this edition’s winner; Luhaces has also got the first prize in the Wine category with Harmony.

Paolo Recrosio, CEO of Berlin Packaging EMEA, has emphasized the strong future-building potential within this initiative, "which over the years has helped emphasise our nature as innovators and our commitment in finding solutions that are not only up-to-date, but also stand out as market trends forerunners. This is why we intend to continue investing in this project, relaunching it in the years to come, together with the most important design schools worldwide”. A further incentive to make that new gesture that will be like no other, to “always keep trying” as one of the winners has wanted to tell us, continuing the challenge to the future of both a profession and a whole discipline.