Alan Guo Receives the Silver A' Design Award for Planetarium Cultural and Creative Merchandise in Packaging Design

Alan Guo recognized for packaging design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 20, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Planetarium Cultural and Creative Merchandise by Alan Guo, designed for Beijing Planetarium, has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Packaging Design category. The result belongs to the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.

About the Silver A' Design Award

The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.

Regarding Planetarium Cultural and Creative Merchandise

This thermos bottle is part of a broader product series that includes stamps, bookmarks, tapes, tote bags and other items. Inspired by astronauts, the designs convey a sense of weightlessness and explore the relationship between humanity and the universe. From a levitating, space themed cup to a tote bag featuring a hand holding an astronaut's lifeline, each product embodies imaginative storytelling. The collection aims to spark public curiosity about the cosmos and promote a rational and thoughtful perspective on humanity's place within it.

About Alan Guo

Alan Guo is the founder of GuoraphicDesign Lab, with over 20 years of creative experience across industries such as IT, real estate, automotive, and film. His work spans from visual design to brand strategy and experiential marketing, consistently exploring the connection between design, consumer experience, and brand value. Guo’s work has received international recognition, including being a finalist at the Cannes Lions, winning Silver at the China Advertising Festival and the Auto Advertising Festival, and being featured in global design magazines such as Creatie.

Award Record

Alan Guo is a winner of 1 A' Design Award, including this recognition.

About the A' Packaging Design Award

The A' Packaging Design Award is an international packaging competition that recognizes outstanding packaging designs by talented packaging designers worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to packaging designers, graphic designers, branding agencies and product manufacturers from all countries. Entries typically include bottles, boxes, cans, pouches, tubes and cartons. Awarded packaging designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/packaging

About A' Design Award & Competition

A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com

Press Resources

Winner Page: https://designers.org/172225
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/172225
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!172225
Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/368080
Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.instagram.com/designer_alan79/

Media Contact

Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953

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Fact Sheet

The Work

Project: Planetarium Cultural and Creative Merchandise
Function: Cultural and Creative Merchandise
Category: Packaging Design
Discipline: Communication Design
Industry: Packaging & Retail, Branding & Advertising and Manufacturing
Colors: Gainsboro, Silver, Dark Slate Gray, Dark Gray and Dim Gray
Images: 5
Client: Beijing Planetarium

The Recognition

Laureate: Alan Guo
Country: China
Recognition: Silver A' Design Award
Edition: 2024 - 2025
Design ID: #172225

Design Details

Unique Properties: This series of cultural products, featuring astronauts as its central theme, explores the relationship between humanity and the universe. By combining space exploration with reflections on the connection between humans and Earth, the design stands out. It inspires curiosity about astronomy and encourages a deeper understanding of our relationship with nature and the cosmos, fostering a correct worldview and cosmic perspective. The unique fusion of art, science, and philosophy distinguishes it from traditional designs.
Inspiration: This collection of cultural products revolves around the astronaut’s perspective, inspired by the famous image of Earth as a tiny, lonely blue dot captured by the Voyager spacecraft. It reflects humanity’s curiosity about the universe and the importance of looking back at our home, Earth. Through astronaut-themed designs, these products aim to ignite interest in astronomy and inspire reflection on our relationship with each other and the planet.
Research: This is a cultural and creative project developed for a planetarium. The designer drew inspiration from the Voyager spacecraft’s image of Earth taken from deep space—a tiny blue dot that invites us to rethink the relationship between humans and Earth, and between humanity and the universe. To convey this perspective, the designer created a series of astronaut-themed cultural products. When visitors imagine themselves as astronauts, they gain a new vantage point from which to understand human existence and the cosmos, helping to form a more grounded worldview and cosmic perspective.
Challenge: In this design project, the client smoothly approved our proposal. The biggest challenge, however, was turning the concept into tangible, marketable products. To ensure the practicality of our ideas, we personally purchased and tested various drawstring bags with different materials and sizes to find the most suitable option for the vacuum flask packaging. Additionally, since this was not a single product but a series developed for the entire planetarium, we had to coordinate with multiple suppliers. This involved sorting out key factors such as materials, dimensions, and pricing for each product.
Realization and Technology: Inflatable bag,Screen printing, Put the screen-printed thermos cup into the bag, Visually increases the floating feeling of astronauts
Operation and Interaction: The use of inflatable bags makes the astronauts look more like they are floating, increasing the experience and fun of the audience buying the product.
Project Duration and Location: This project started in May 2020 and ended in July. It was sold in the planetarium in September and received many positive reviews from consumers.
Specifications: 25*40cm Inflatable bag, Screen printing
Keywords: Planetarium, Cultural and Creative Merchandise, Universe