When packaging is designed with both user experience and sustainability in mind, it transforms a simple container into a technology. This premise led New York-based designer Songwon Kim, a rare double win for her two projects at the 2025 Design Awards–where she served as a director and lead designer.
Kim took home Gold for Packaging Design – Minimix, which is a single-serve cocktail pouch that unfolds into a rigid paper-based cup. And Silver for Product Design Sustainable Living / Environmental Preservation–re:leaf —a wet-wipe pack that transforms into a biodegradable plant pot once used. Both projects embody Kim’s evolving design practice of emerging material innovation, functionality, and circular thinking to shape how people interact with products in everyday life.
Minimix: Reimagining Cocktails Anywhere
In Minimix, Kim reimagines the act of drinking in spaces where glass is either unsafe or impractical. Designed for music festivals, beach days, and on-the-go gatherings, the flat-packed pouch springs into a rigid, 350 ml cup when opened. Each pouch contains a powdered cocktail mix—just add water or spirits to craft an instant alcohol drink or mocktail.
The packaging is as efficient as it is engaging: a five-pack retail box cuts shipping weight by roughly 70% compared to traditional bottled RTD beverages, while eliminating the need for breakable glass altogether.
“My goal was to make mixology accessible to everyone–inviting anyone to make a drink anytime, anywhere—no bartending tools or skills needed,” Kim explains.
Minimix not only creates a memorable drinking experience—it also offers a meaningful reduction in packaging waste and shipping emissions, solving challenges that beverage brands face as they scale.
re:leaf: Waste-to-Growth in Two Folds
With re:leaf, Kim takes on the problem of single-use culture by embedding a second life into the packaging itself. Once the last wipe is pulled, the molded-pulp container folds into a small planter. The lid, once flipped, becomes a water saucer. Seeds embedded in the base begin to germinate as the PLA-coated pulp biodegrades—20% breakdown within just four weeks under composting conditions.
“When a throwaway package turns into new life on your desk, you feel accountable,” says Kim. “It’s behavior design disguised as packaging.”
The user isn’t asked to recycle or scan a code. Instead, the transformation is intuitive, almost inevitable—marking a powerful shift in how we define the life cycle of packaging.
A Cross-Cultural Lens on Global Design
Born in Seoul and holding an M.F.A. in Visual Communication Design from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), Kim now works as a full-time designer at global beauty company KISS USA in New York. There, she creates product packaging for international launches across North America, Asia, and Europe.
Her bicultural background gives her a strategic advantage: the ability to translate consumer trends across markets while identifying blind spots that global teams often overlook.
“I can spot unmet user needs because I live in between cultures,” she says. “That makes me hyper-aware of what people really want but aren’t being offered—yet.”
From Shelf to Supply Chain: Why These Designs Matter
The London Design Awards are judged on three key pillars: innovation, functionality, and impact—all areas where Kim’s work stands out. Her projects are not only visually compelling but also structurally and commercially future-ready.
For companies and investors tracking sustainable innovation, her work offers practical value:
- Minimix lightens the logistics load for RTD beverages, reduces waste, and opens up new channels for distribution, from e-commerce to travel retail.
- re:leaf presents a scalable example of circular design, offering measurable environmental benefits without requiring consumer behavior changes or complex disposal steps.
By embedding interactivity and second-life function directly into packaging, Kim bridges the gap between product and system—designing not just for consumers, but for the ecosystems around them.
Designing for Scalable Impact
Kim’s next goal is to translate these award‑winning prototypes into market‑ready products through partnerships with beverage and home‑care brands. “Recognition is only meaningful if it accelerates into real‑world adoption,” she notes. By aligning with manufacturers who share her sustainability targets, Kim plans to pilot Minimix and re:leaf in limited regional launches in the near future—turning breakthrough concepts into everyday solutions for global consumers.
