Nicole Reece's snow leopard design will appear on new 600ml aluminium camping bottles manufactured by Swiss company Sigg Switzerland AG, after a contest which drew thousands of entries from around the world.
"I was very pleased and surprised by the win.
"I have entered a lot of competitions like this and have never been placed, so it came as a shock.
"When they told me I had won it was a little surreal," Ms Reece said from Glasgow yesterday.
"I wanted to do a design that was both visually appealing and that highlighted an environmental issue that would benefit from the exposure that winning the competition could bring.
"The plight of the snow leopard is becoming more and more serious and if this design could create a greater awareness of the problem then maybe more could be done to help save these beautiful animals."
Ms Reece grew up in Mosgiel and Dunedin and attended St Hilda's Collegiate School, before graduating from the University of Otago in 2007 with a degree in design studies.
She left Dunedin in 2009 to work in Melbourne for two years, before moving to Glasgow five months ago, where she works as a graphicdesigner at Minuteman Press.
"This win is very important to me.
"It is always a great boost in confidence to be told one of your designs is good by other designers and this is just that little bit more special.
"It's also going to be great to see my design being sold to people all over the world.
"Hopefully, this will help my career.
"Hopefully, this will give me that little bit of an edge to help me be able to make a career in the industry that I love."
Ms Reece plans to return to Dunedin for Christmas, before continuing her design career in Melbourne next year.
