Contests / E Commerce Closure Design / Brief
Contest detail page.
E Commerce Closure Design
ends: 08 Jul 25
1 entries
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- Read the brief
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CONTEST TYPOLOGY: SINGLE - PRODUCT DESIGN (What’s this?)
81 days left
BRIEF
Summary
A leading company, in collaboration with Desall, is looking for an innovative cap for the personal care, cosmetics, and food sectors, specifically designed for e-commerce sales. The cap must ensure shock resistance during transport while also providing an easy and intuitive opening experience for the user.
Company description
This project is sponsored by a leading company which has currently chosen to keep its brand anonymous.
The brand will soon be launching more contests with similar themes. Stay tuned for exciting updates!
Resources
The brief is available in the following languages:
- English
- Italian
Download the Material files.
Build your inspiration board on the Inspiration tab and explore ideas shared by fellow creatives!
What we are looking for
We are looking for innovative concepts for a new single-component cap intended for the personal care, cosmetics, and food sectors. The cap should stand out from current market solutions in terms of usability, user experience, and functionality. It will be specifically designed for e-commerce sales, a channel that has revolutionized the way products are purchased and presents new challenges for packaging, particularly for plastic bottle closures.
The goal is to develop an innovative closure that meets market needs, reduces plastic usage, and simplifies existing solutions.
E-commerce Sector Challenges
Traditional plastic bottle closures present several issues when used in the e-commerce sector:
- Sealing and security: During transport, bottles may experience shocks and temperature changes, increasing the risk of leakage and contamination.
- Need for additional protection: Many current products require secondary seals (e.g., shrink wrap or security films), which increases plastic usage and costs.
- Opening difficulty: Some systems, while ensuring security, are difficult for the end user to open, leading to dissatisfaction and complaints.
- Sustainability: The growing focus on reducing environmental impact calls for lower plastic use and improved packaging recyclability.
Accidental openings or leaks can be caused by:
- Friction: which may unscrew the cap or open a flip-top closure.
- Drops: which can break the cap.
- Compression: which can force the cap open or detach it.
Common Market Concepts and Their Pros & Cons
There are various closure solutions currently adopted in the e-commerce sector, each with its own advantages and disadvantages:
Screw cap with internal seal
Pros: Provides excellent sealing; the security seal is positively perceived by consumers.
Cons: Requires additional material; often difficult to remove and recycle.
Flip-top with hermetic closure
Pros: Convenient to use; reduces the risk of accidental leaks.
Cons: Complex structure; uses multiple types of plastic; higher cost.
Press-on cap with tamper-evident seal
Pros: Compact and lightweight design; easy to apply on production lines.
Cons: Less secure against accidental openings; seals may degrade during transport.
Snap-fit systems (monomaterial or with integrated seal)
Pros: Facilitate recycling and reduce plastic usage.
Cons: Require new production technologies and resistance testing.
To explore some of the solutions already available on the market, please refer to the Material files available for download on the contest page.
Guidelines
To ensure the proper development of your projects, carefully consider the following guidelines:
Project type
You are invited to propose a cap concept designed specifically for e-commerce sales, reclosable and preferably single-component, that stands out for its usability, user experience, and functionality. The solution should engage and attract consumers through a multisensory approach or, alternatively, through innovative features that enhance the overall user experience.
To develop an effective and innovative closure for the e-commerce sector, the project should follow these key principles:
- Compatibility: The cap should preferably be compatible with threaded bottle necks and/or press-fit necks.
- Plastic reduction: Minimize non-essential components and optimize the design.
Guaranteed security and sealing: The cap must withstand transport-related stress without requiring additional seals.
- Simplified design: Avoid complex structures that increase costs and make the product harder to use.
- Ease of recycling: Use a single component or easily separable parts to improve sustainability.
- Cost optimization: Incorporate efficient manufacturing solutions and reduce the need for secondary packaging.
- Customization: Possibility to add a logo or the customer’s brand name.
- Ease of use (optional): Consider the possibility of one-handed opening.
Style and aesthetic
You are invited to design a cap with strong aesthetic value and attention to detail, capable of establishing a new stylistic language that sets it apart from current market offerings. However, the cap’s design should not feature overly distinctive or brand-specific elements, as it needs to adapt well to containers of various shapes and styles, depending on the brand using the specific bottle.
Colors
You are free to propose new color solutions, either through monochromatic or multicolored caps, with the option to use one or more materials.
Production technologies and materials
The cap must be manufactured using industrial production technologies, specifically injection molding. The most suitable materials for this context are polypropylene and polyethylene, with the option to create either mono-material or bi-material caps using the same molding cycle. At your discretion, you may also propose bi-injected solutions using thermoplastic materials or soft components, provided they offer a significant advantage in terms of user experience or functionality. Ideally, the new cap should be single-component.
Surface finishes
If included in your design concept, you may suggest the use of surface finishes created through mold processing (post-processing treatments are not allowed).
Dimensions
The cap must be compatible with bottles of various sizes, with standard neck diameters of 24, 28, and 38 mm. For the purposes of the contest, you are required to present at least the solution for the 24 mm neck. The liquid exit hole can have an indicative diameter ranging from 2,5 to 7 mm.
Weight
The cap must be as lightweight as possible, both to meet transportability requirements and to reduce environmental impact, through the lower use of plastic materials.
Values to Communicate
The cap you propose should be perceived as a unique, innovative product, ideally developed with a focus on environmental sustainability. Usability and user experience are of utmost importance, ensuring the product is considered reliable in every aspect, including during transport.
Target
The cap will be used across a wide range of products in the food, cosmetics, and personal care sectors, intended for both mass distribution and specialized retailers. Therefore, consider a broad and diverse audience, aiming to offer a solution that is intuitive and suitable for all types of consumers.
Submission materials
Provide detailed descriptions and up to 5 images to effectively present your projects. Images should be in 4:3 format, with .jpg, .gif or .png file formats acceptable. The colour mode should be RGB and the maximum size of a single file should be 1 MB.
You’re invited to use the designated field on the submission page to attach a .zip file containing 3D files and high-resolution versions of the project images. The maximum file size for the .zip archive is 100MB.
Judging criteria
When evaluating the submissions, the Sponsor will consider the following criteria:
Degree of innovation 5/5
Aesthetic quality 5/5
Functionality/Usability 5/5
Eco-friendliness 4/5
Economic sustainability 4/5
Contest timeline
Add the contest to your calendar
Upload phase: 9 April 2025 – 8 July 2025 (1.59 PM UTC)
Concept review: 8 May 2025 (1.59 PM UTC)
Client vote: from 8 July 2025
Winner announcement: approximately by the end of September 2025
Concept review (optional)
Participants have the opportunity to request an optional review of their project by the Desall team by the date indicated above. To do so, they must 1) save their project as a draft from the upload page and 2) send a request to the Desall team via email at contest@desall.com or through the contact form. This review is entirely optional and only provides an opportunity for participants to receive feedback but does not constitute a necessary condition for participation or provide any advantage in the final evaluation by the Sponsor.
Eligibility and submission
Participation is free and open to creative talents of any nationality aged 18 or older. Participants may submit one or more projects, but only projects published on the website www.desall.com from the upload page dedicated to the contest will be accepted.
Award
1°: €4000
The selection of the winner by the Sponsor will be the result of an unquestionable evaluation and it will take into account originality, feasibility and consistency of submitted projects with the presented brief.
Extra Award (option right fee)
€2000
Throughout the duration of the option right, the Sponsor offers an additional opportunity to all participants by setting the compensation of €2000 for the purchase of the licence for the economic exploitation of projects not recognized as winning proposals.
For more information, please login and read the Contest Agreement from the upload page. For questions about the brief please use the “Have a question” button or write to contest@desall.com
Language
Since we are an international Community, all texts provided with your uploads (abstract, description, tags, etc.) should be written in English.
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Desall required files
Minimum 1 image, up to 5.
Recommended dimensions: 960 x 720px (player size) ; allowed format: .jpg , .gif , .png; color mode: RGB;
allowed resolution: 72 dpi ; max file (for each one) size: 1 mb.
