Object 9 wins honor for Camp Traditions design

BATON ROUGE, La. — For a third time, Object 9 packaging work for Camp Traditions has been honored for excellence in design.

The Camp Traditions brand represents a line of dry soup mixes made for the outdoors audience by Minnesota-based North Aire Market Inc. North Aire enlisted Object 9 to design distinctive packages that would appeal to enthusiasts who spend a great deal of time hunting, fishing, skiing and camping.

For the soup mix packaging, Graphic Design USA awarded Object 9 a 2011 Certificate of Excellence in the American Package Design Awards. In 2010, Object 9’s logo design for Camp Traditions won bronze recognition in the Summit Creative Awards and second place in the American Design Awards.

In the project, Object 9 designed fir trees and a buck in an oval fire-starter logo and affixed it to scenes of silhouetted shootists, canoe paddlers, marsh ducks, glassy lakes and sunset campfires. The soups are designed for easy measurement and cooking and are sold online and at quality outfitter stores. Varieties include Garlic Potato, Beef Barley, Three Cheese, Cook-Off Chili and Wild Rice.

“We wanted to create a package that would truly speak to outdoor enthusiasts, so we used real people and real stories to bring authenticity to the design,” said Andy Gutowski, Object 9 creative director and partner. “Ideally, we wanted to draw on the emotional connection to outdoor experiences, which are all about creating memories and traditions.”

Maggie Mortensen, who co-owns North Aire with Mary Dodds, said Camp Traditions is about the melding of adventures, flavors and memories, a bond that shoppers need to feel at the shelf.

“Camp Traditions has never been just about soup,” Mortensen said. “It’s about the experience of being in the great outdoors. It’s about the smell of the campfire, the joy of reliving the hunt and the memory of cooking with your dad. We wanted that entire message expressed on our package, and Object 9 was able to do that so honestly and authentically.”

Among thousands of entries, no more than 15 percent in any category are recognized by Graphic Design USA. For more about the American Package DesignAwards, go to www.gdusa.com