Student designs winning caramel dip packaging
Cliff Welch has turned a love of drawing into a lucrative hobby. Welch, a sophomore in mechanical engineering, has won a competition to design new packaging for specialty food company Marzetti. Welch’s design was selected for the packaging of the company’s caramel dip.
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| Welch's winning caramel apple dip packaging design |
“I’ve always drawn, ever since I was little,” says Welch, who designed the package in less than a week.
A fast-food cup inspired the artist’s design. Welch remembered seeing the cup a few years ago that featured a wave of Coca-Cola swirling beyond the logo. Welch adopted this motif for the Marzetti package, creating a caramel wave that splashes over the company logo. The design also features apples and apple slices floating in the dip.
Welch believed he had lost when the specified date for the winners to be announced on came and went. Two months had passed between that date and when Welch finally heard from Marzetti. He was in the student center when his mother called him with the news.
“She was definitely crying,” says Welch.
Welch won a Canon DSLR camera, an iMac computer and Photoshop, adding up to $3,500 in prizes. The Auburn art department also received $5,000.
Winning the Marzetti contest is just the beginning for this mechanical engineering major. Welch’s “dream job” is one that fuses both engineering and design principles, two of his greatest interests.
Contributed by Jennifer Steele
