Students design Hershey Valentine’s package

2013 Pot of Gold heart boxes created by Academy of Art University in San Francisco students.

Hershey’s newest packaging was created in the classroom.

The 2013 Valentine’s Day boxes for Hershey’s Pot of Gold chocolates were designed by students at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

Thirteen students were tasked with the assignment of designing a heart box for the Pot of Gold assortment. Split into four teams, more than 40 heart boxes were created and four were selected for retail and will be available beginning in January 2013.

"Packaging is such an important part of any brand experience and we are excited to be able to inspire creativity in students and showcase student-designed work on-shelf," says Moira Cullen, senior director of global design for The Hershey Co.

In recognition of the school's efforts, The Hershey Co. also donated $20,000 to the Academy of Art University for the creation of the Hershey Design Excellence Award.

The money will be divied out through the newly created Hershey Design Excellence Award, which recognizes an undergraduate and graduate student who has excelled in the area of package design. Each winner receives a $1,000 scholarship.

This year, the Bachelors in Fine Arts recipient was Elliot Tran from San Francisco, Calif., while the Masters in Arts recipient was Astra Sondarsono from Indonesia.

The remaining donation from The Hershey Co. will be awarded in each category at both the university's winter and spring shows for the next several years.

Crystal Lindell, Former editor-in-chief of Candy Industry Magazine. While here she has worked on Candy Industry Magazine, Food Engineering Magazine and Food Safety Strategies. She holds a master’s degree in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois – Springfield and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Western Illinois University. And her favorite breakfast is a cup of espresso and Twix bar.