When shopping for groceries,
consumers are often frustrated by hard-to-open product packaging on the
everyday products they buy, and this can affect what products they choose to
buy. Older people and those living with arthritis are particularly affected but
most people struggle with “clamshell” wrapping, vacuum sealed jars and toy
packaging.
This
being said, Arthritis Australia has predicted that seven million Australians
will suffer from arthritis by 2050. Currently nearly four million live with the
disease and half of those are of working age. Australia’s population is also
ageing, with projections that 14.6 million, or 44 per cent, will be over 50 by
the middle of this century.
Therefore
packaging should take a turn towards being more arthritic friendly for easy
access. Arthritis sufferers do make up a large portion of our society, and we
should make the change that benefits those in the long run. This is
particularly the case with medicinal products aimed at treating arthritis.
Ibuprofen
is a common painkiller for arthritis sufferers, as it is a nonsteroidal
anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). It works by reducing hormones that cause
inflammation and pain in the body, and is taken in doses of 1-2 tablets, 2-3
times a day depending on how bad the pain is. It isn’t a treatment for
arthritis, but more of “Band-Aid fix”. Ibuprofen is most commonly it is found
in “child-proof” jars, which prove difficult for those to open if they suffer
from pain in their hand joints. It is also found in the regular cardboard box,
packaged inside plastic with an aluminium sheet to be “popped” out upon
consumption. Neither of these packaging techniques is suitable for arthritic
patients, so there needs to be a redesigning of this to address the problem.
This
is where my packaging design comes in. It features an easy round gripped back,
along with a larger lid with a slight overhang. Together they prove to make
medicine easier to access and dispense. The lid is a bright blue, providing
contrast to the white base for elderly people, thus suggesting it is where the
container should be “split”. The hole that dispenses the Fioprofen tablets is
round, so the oblong tablets can be shaken out with ease, and there is no need
for the tablet to be in a specific angle to be tipped out.
Peer Comments:
1. Edric Verbeek: http://edricides3222.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/project-1-final-submission.html?showComment=1378091227536#c4666939306055851842
2. Ryan Go: http://ryan-go.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/accessible-packaging-autotech-engine-oil.html#comment-form
3. Max Glanville: http://maxglanvillez3333044.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/accessipill-accessible-packaging.html?showComment=1378091434713#c371928664827893397
4. Patrick Dunn: http://patrickdunnindustrialdesign.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/blog-post_3120.html?showComment=1378091742817#c437335316757705799
5. Lubar Han: http://lubar-han.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/final-packaging.html?showComment=1378091875096#c5114930196315092463
Choosing to redesign the packaging for pain killers is very clever because it does not only help the users to access the pills easily, but also help them reduce the pain. Your solution for the hard-to-open caps is really simple yet innovative and as this fits the role of a packaging design. For improvement, i suggest to make the body of the packaging a bit bigger so someone with arthritis could easily hold it and does not slip off their hands whilst opening it. (Severe sufferers have extremely limited grip)
ReplyDeleteNonetheless, really innovative thinking!
Interesting re-design of a bottle. I would be interested to see how it would go if placed in a bag and wether the bottle cap would more easily pop open. In terms of moulding I would be concerned about the large undercut that is on the lid which could create some problems. I think one avenue of further research could be into using textures and other semantic features to indicate control surfaces
ReplyDeleteThis is a clever redesign of a pill bottle. The large cap is essential for design for people with physical disabilities. The overall shape and colour of the cap is inviting with not sharp edges. It would be nice to have a small diagram of how to use the bottle or a signal directing where and how to open.
ReplyDeleteI really like how easy this is to open, not requiring fine finger movements.
ReplyDeletei think that the form could have been more contoured and organic.
A nice, simple redesign for a pill container. Your design makes great use of palm movements rather than fingers which I think is a huge benefit and the overal shape seems to work quite well. It would have been even better though if you could take it a step further and make it so you dont need to use your fingers at all to even hold down the bottle. Great work still!
ReplyDelete