Early Visual Development

Before concluding a thorough review of the literature, this researcher explored initial visual explorations for the design-centric solution as pencil sketches. These concepts were refined into digital comps and finally executed as letterpress prints. Created without the benefit of research, the initial visual development explored the frustration and resulting complications that aging consumers experience.

Typography

Advocacy groups such as the Council of Citizens with Low Vision International researched and recommend using mono-spaced, sans serif font styles for older readers with vision impairment. Aging consumers identified three typefaces as the preferred for readability—Arial, Helvetica, and Century Gothic. This researcher chose Graphik, designed by Christian Schwartz, as the typeface for the new system because it shares DNA with Arial and Helvetica. However, the letterforms are clean and consistent for greater readability when used for medication names and in all text sizes.

Name and Logo Development

Names for the system began with exploration to appeal to older consumers without sounding too “old”. Logo ideation began as rough pencil sketches put through exploration and refinement. The final logo was designed to communicate the concept but, most importantly, to be clean, simple, and readable.

Packaging Exploration

The design exploration involved thoughtfully solving the outer box, the bottle and label information, and the cap or other opening options. The researcher did ideation on square and flat bottles and cap options that would be senior-friendly yet meet the FDA child resistance requirements.

Color

In Design Principles to Accommodate Older Adults, Miranda Farage concludes that the broader the color palette in a package design, the greater the opportunity for older adults to get confused, so the color palette should be limited. Colors that are used to convey information must be distinct from the background. This researcher chose a six-color palette based on the research of Farage and others. The palette features high-contrast variations of red, blue, green, and orange (or gold).

The Solution

Box Design

The informed box is designed to garner attention to a new hierarchy of information. Text is easy to read and set up to create predictable locations for essential information. Placing the recommended dosage and active ingredient references in plain view eliminates the usual search for this information.

The box design also features a new look to the Drug Facts label information that appears on three sides of the box for easy access. The text is set in a larger point size for readability for older consumers. A thoughtful layout and visual hierarchy ensure that the information is not too crowded.

Bottle Design

Following the example of the Georgia Tech Research Institute’s work for Pfizer, this researcher selected a non-cylindrical, square bottle shape that would be easier to grasp. The informed bottle label is designed in the same manner as the box. This creates visual consistency once the consumer removes it from the outer packaging. The Drug Facts information is on three sides of the bottle. A “Peel Here” tab with an arrow indicates where any additional legal or health information is available.

Cap Design

Along with a square bottle, the researcher chose a square cap coated with rubber-like thermoplastic elastomer to increase the friction between the cap and the hand holding it, making it easier to hold and rotate. The informed cap is designed so the hand can utilize the box grip, giving the older person more leverage and force. The cap is rotated through a series of “clicks” to easily line up the arrows on the lid with the set of arrows on the top of the bottle. Then the cap is safely lifted off.

The combination of the box, bottle and label, and the cap option create a more
user-friendly solution for aging consumers. While functioning as a new vision for other package designs and manufacturing of OTC pain medications.