Rotocon has launched its fourth annual student wine label design competition in partnership with the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). The competition is open to undergraduate students in TUT’s Faculty of Arts & Design, Department of Visual Communication (Integrated Communication Design (ICD). A total of 57 students are participating this year.

SA Litho Label Printers will again collaborate with Rotocon by printing the winning label. Polyflex Premedia has joined the 2026 competition as an additional partner.

This year’s theme, ‘A New Vintage of Vision,’ reflects a new generation of designers shaping the future of wine branding. Banie Stafford, owner of B Creative and Rotocon’s marketing agency (and proud TUT alum), met with ICD students on 23 February at TUT’s dedicated Arts campus in Pretoria to brief them on the competition. He was joined by Casey Ogilvie, art director at Find, a division of Polyflex; Clifford Roberts, owner of The Letterbox and Rotocon’s external journalist; and Dr Schalk van Staden, lecturer in ICD who is the project coordinator for the department.

Stafford presented sessions introducing Rotocon, outlining printing processes, embellishment techniques and covering key wine label design considerations, including substrate selection, color application, die-cutting and typography. The sessions concluded with a focus on understanding the target market.

Ogilvie addressed the role of packaging design in influencing purchasing decisions, the impact of AI on design and considerations in preparing final artwork for reproduction. Roberts provided background and insights on the Western Cape wine industry.

Joining Stafford on the judging panel on 16 April are Michael Aengenvoort, Rotocon Group CEO; Dawrian Salies, general manager of SA Litho Label Printers; and Stuart Baylis, group operations manager of Polyflex. The Rotocon awards ceremony, where the winner will be announced, will take place on 17 April 2026 at Irene Lodge.

The winning student will receive R30 000 and will also be recognized at the WineLand Media 30 Under 30 Awards on 5 June 2026. Rotocon is sponsoring the event for the seventh consecutive year.

“The ‘New Vintage of Vision’ theme is about celebrating fresh perspective,” said Stafford. “Just as every harvest brings new character to a wine, every generation of designers brings new thinking to the industry. This competition creates a platform for bold ideas, refined craft and the future of wine branding.”