Key takeaways
- Diamond Winner: Tilt by Established NYC – a cosmetics brand designed for people with arthritis, praised for its inclusive, accessible packaging.
- Body, Health & Beauty Winner: L’ENTROPISTE – Master of Disorder by Centdegrés, a radical fragrance concept that uses chaos and minimalism to disrupt traditional design.
- Key themes included accessibility, sustainability, and emotional storytelling.
- Industry insight: Packaging is evolving from aesthetics and function to purpose-driven design that empowers users and promotes inclusivity.
This year’s overall winning entry was for a beauty product. The coveted Diamond accolade was awarded to US-based design agency Established for its work on Tilt, a cosmetic brand designed for people with arthritis. The innovation marks a breakthrough in beauty packaging and is the first makeup line to earn the Arthritis Foundation’s Ease of Use Certification.
Accessibility at the heart of the design
In developing the products, Tilt placed accessibility at the heart of its design, creating packaging for people living with chronic pain, mobility challenges, or low vision. The innovation has effectively reinvented beauty packaging to make it more inclusive. Every element of the packaging and user experience was reconsidered, from shorter mascara wands that steady the hand and minimise tremors, to silicone-coated surfaces that improve grip, and soft-close magnets that make opening and sealing effortless for users with reduced dexterity.
“Creating Tilt Beauty has been a labour of love and one of the most important projects we’ve taken on in the past 20 years. We hope its pioneering approach to making beauty accessible will have ripple effects throughout the industry, encouraging other brands to follow suit,” said Sam O’Donahue, co-founder of Established NYC.
“This project really showcased the art of accessibility. Not only does it feel stylish, desirable and modern – it’s just really cool that accessibility and inclusive design have been embedded into this product from start to finish.”
Minimalism to create disruption in fragrance packaging
Meanwhile, the winner of the Body, Health & Beauty category was fragrance disruptor brand L’ENTROPISTE – Master of Disorder, created by French creative agency Centdegrés.
Centdegrés said it had imagined a radical fragrance house that celebrates chaos as its creative currency, producing a visual and structural identity that fractures traditional perfumery tropes.
Every detail works to destabilise expectations, from layered, deconstructed graphics to asymmetry that suggests both disorder and liberation, positioning fragrance as rebellion.
One of the judges, Sofia Kalligeri, Senior Marketing Manager at Colgate-Palmolive, said of the design: “What I loved most about this project is the way it uses minimalism to create disruption. Its unique structural design, combined with material choices and well-thought-out details, creates such an unexpected result that stays true to the product’s concept.”
“Not only was this project considering innovation, end-of-life and a full packaging scale, it was really exploring a groundbreaking way to penetrate an already saturated market. It’s changing the way we look at consumption, the way consumers engage with products, and how we package them.”
Speaking about the overall kinds of entries seen at this year’s awards, Adam Ryan who is Head of Pentawards, commented: “What shines through this year is how packaging design touches lives – whether by making beauty more accessible, cutting waste in everyday products, or telling cultural stories through design. It’s proof that innovation can be practical, responsible and visually unforgettable.”
Sustainability as a central design principle
Many of this year’s Pentawards entries also featured sustainability as a central design principle – whether by reducing the number of materials used, through ‘circular storytelling’, or by adopting regenerative packaging systems.
The organisers noted that the work “reflects a maturing industry-wide shift” and added that this year’s standout concepts “moved beyond circular design, building emotional resonance, technical elegance and new forms of inclusivity into every touchpoint.”
According to Ryan, packaging is no longer just about protection or shelf appeal – it’s about purpose. “Whether it’s refillable beauty that feels like an heirloom, sensory-led design for neurodiverse users, or accessible formats that put inclusion first, the industry is shifting from aesthetics alone to packaging that truly connects, empowers and lasts.”
