A series of animal companions created by Sarah Willemart and Matthieu Muller has been named the best design in Samsung and Dezeen's contest to create innovative household objects by repurposing cardboard packaging.

Willemart and Muller beat four other finalists to claim the top prize of $10,000 in the Dezeen x Samsung Out of the Box Competition with their Endangered Animals design.

The contest drew from Samsung's Eco-Package concept, which aims to reduce waste by providing customers with a way to repurpose corrugated-cardboard television packaging into new household items.

Second place was awarded to André Cardoso for his The Rider rocking horse, while Revaz Berdzenishvili finished in third place with his stepped storage unit called Kibe.
The other two finalist designs ? Abigail Whitelow's Tessellate modular storage system and Akhil Kumar's Twist basket ? missed out on a place in the top three. However, Kumar's Twist basket came top in the Instagram public vote.

Willemart and Muller's Endangered Animals series comprises a polar bear that can be made from an Eco-Package for Samsung's The Sero television, a black rhinoceros that can be constructed from The Serif TV box and a sea turtle that can be built from The Frame TV packaging.

The animals, which can be used as toys, storage, or decorative household objects, are intended to help teach children about declining biodiversity.

A jury comprising Samsung executives Kangwook Chun, Kyounghoon Kim and Jae Julien, alongside...