Karamalic Jimenez Named Winner of PAVE x Home Depot Student Design Challenge

(PRESS RELEASE) KANSAS CITY — Vanguard Companies founded in 1975, is a leading designer and manufacturer of retail point-of-purchase (POP) displays, graphic packaging, industrial packaging, and fulfillment services. Today PAVE and Vanguard Companies announce the winner of PAVE x Home Depot Student Design Challenge.

Congratulations Karamalic Jimenez, from the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Spatial Experience Design Program (Class of 2023) for being selected as the winner of the 2023 PAVE x Home Depot Student Design Challenge sponsored by Vanguard Companies!

Winning Concept

Excerpt from the Project Submission

PAVE Global’s Student Design Challenges bring together top student design talent, industry-leading fixture manufacturers, and retail brands for a truly unique opportunity. For this challenge, The Home Depot challenged student designers across North America to concept a merchandising solution within a typical Home Depot store ”end cap,” by designing a compelling display driving the customer to purchase Smart Home products. The best design was then selected and is in the process of being brought to life by our manufacturing partner Vanguard Companies to be displayed in the PAVE Experiential Zone at Shop! Marketplace next week in Austin, Texas. The student designer behind the winning project, Karamalic Jimenez, will be attending the trade show to present her work in person.

Stop by the PAVE Experiential Zone at Shop! MarketPlace at the Palmer Event Center in Austin, Texas from April 25th through the 27th to see the winning project brought to life. Talk with our Director of Strategic Marketing, Jeffrey Rafalski and Karamalic about the strategy behind the concept and production of the design!

Additionally, attendees of Shop! Marketplace and Austin-area industry professionals are invited to join PAVE on April 26th at The Rustic Tap for the PAVE Social @ Shop! Marketplace, celebrating 30 years of PAVE Global while supporting the 2023 PAVE Student Aid Fund.

About Vanguard Companies

Vanguard Companies is one of the industry’s leading corrugated merchandising solution partners. Our expertise in point-of-purchase displays, signage, retail-ready packaging, industrial packaging, and e-commerce packaging is demonstrated across every retail sector. These products are amplified by our creativity, high-end graphics, digital printing, fulfillment services and program management capabilities.

We combine the latest shopper intelligence, award-winning design innovation, and technology to provide the most effective omnichannel display and packaging solutions. We are committed and focused on helping companies reduce program cost, create brand value, sell more products, and improve their bottom line. Learn more at www.vanguardpkg.com.

About The Home Depot

The Home Depot is the world’s largest home improvement retailer with approximately 500,000 orange-blooded associates and 2,300 stores in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The typical store today averages 105,000 square feet of indoor retail space, interconnected with an e-commerce business that offers more than one million products for the DIY customer, professional contractors, and the industry’s largest installation business for the Do-It-For- Me customer. Learn more at www.homedepot.com.

About Shop! Marketplace

Shop! MarketPlace is the must-attend trade event for retail industry professionals creating the in-store experiences consumers want today. It’s where you can experiment, get hands- on with store concepts, talk with fellow retail experience creators, and engage with award- winning designers and retail thought leaders.

Come to Shop! MarketPlace, where the brands you know share their knowledge in deep- dive presentations, hands-on workshops, and powerful Smart! Talks and keynotes. Then take it to the show floor to discover ways to put your new ideas to work. Learn more at www.shop-marketplace.com.

About PAVE Global

Founded in 1992 as The Planning and Visual Education Partnership, PAVE Global is a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation, with all proceeds benefitting PAVE’s educational programs. The organization enables young talent to build successful careers designing and creating consumer environments. Our vision is to cultivate relationships with students, educators, and the design industry through financial assistance, top-industry thinking, inspiration, and mentorship. For more information, please visit www.paveglobal.org.