DESIGN AND MARKETING
z Tactile solution developed for visually impaired consumers
Domino partners with P & G
Tactile-coded bottle design mainly developed for visually impaired customers to help them distinguish between personal core products during use .
Domino Printing Sciences ( Domino ) has teamed up with Procter and Gamble ( P & G ), consumer and personal care products , to develop an inclusive tactile solution for product labeling , to help visually impaired consumers distinguish between personal care products during use .
For those living with a visual impairment , simple tasks , like telling the difference between bottles of shampoo and conditioner , can be a real challenge . Even for consumers with poor or reduced sight , it can be difficult to identify products while in the shower or bath where sight aids , such as glasses , contact lenses , or magnifiers , are not typically used . P & G recognized this issue and set out to find a solution .
“ Most shampoo and conditioner bottles are designed to look and feel the same ,” says P & G ’ s special consultant for inclusive design , Sumaira Latif , who is registered blind herself . “ We realized that we have a huge opportunity to improve our products and packaging and to encourage other businesses to do the same .”
z Tactile-coded bottle design
It was clear that Braille would not provide the easy differentiation needed due to the minimal number of Braille users . For example , less than 10 % of people with the highest visual impairment , those registered as legally blind , can read the tactile writing system in the US . P & G and Domino , therefore , sought to develop a more universal alternative that could make the bottles more accessible to anyone with partial or complete sight loss .
“ We were invited to visit Domino ’ s specialist laser testing labs in Hamburg , initially to discuss the requirements for the project , and then again for a two-day working session to identify the best possible solution . Together , we chose the Herbal Essences bio renew , the range of shampoo and conditioners as a trial product , which could be easily marked by Domino ’ s D-Series CO2 laser coders to create a differentiating tactile marker ,” says Kevin Higgins , “ Engineer at P & G .
Stefan Stadler , team lead at the Laser Academy , led the collaborative task with Latif and her team to find the best approach . They identified the bottom of the bottle , where the plastic is at its thickest , as the best location for the coding , where it would be easily identifiable without compromising the integrity of the packaging .
Domino shampoo and conditioner bottles with tactile-coded design
8 Packaging South Asia 5 October 2021