Dornob | Design Ideas Daily

How to Simply Feel Better: Pared-Down Medicine Packaging

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 12:00 PM PDT

[ Filed under More & in the Industrial Design category ]

The over-design of consumer products is a problem, whether the majority of us realize it or not. The people at Help Remedies saw a particular need in the area of over-the-counter pharmaceuticals; in their estimation, we take way too many drugs and the packaging in which those drugs come is far too confusing.

Help Remedies embraces a philosophy of “Take Less.” They believe that when you are not feeling your best, you should be able to simply reach for a product that says what it does and does what it says – without a bunch of added trouble or unnecessary ingredients. Their line of simplified remedies has been available in drug stores and gift shops around the US since late 2011.

Each pack of medicine features a simple, easy to understand name like “Help – I Can’t Sleep” rather than a complex mediciney-sounding title. The pills themselves contain one ingredient only, an effort by the company to reduce the number of “drug cocktails” we ingest. And for good measure, the pills themselves are just as simple as the packaging: no dyes, no fancy sugar coatings.

The Take Less board book is a complementary bit of marketing that explains the company’s philosophy. Sent out to members of the press, the book uses easy-to-understand terms and simple graphics to tell the story of Help Remedies and why the company chooses to do business in such a straightforward way.

Cleverly packaged with empty gel capsules and a sampling of Help packs, the book emphasizes the importance of filling yourself full of fewer medications, dyes and decisions. The fantastically minimalist product line – and its associated bare-bones marketing campaign – is a welcome change from the over-packaged, over-designed, over-marketed products we see on store shelves every day.

Keep Going - Check out this Great Related Dornob Article:

Creative Industrial Design: Literalist Product Packaging

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[ Filed under More & in the Industrial Design category ]

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From Concept to Reality: Folding Plug Design Finds an Outlet

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 04:00 PM PDT

[ Filed under More & in the Gadgets & Tech category ]

It is a sad but all too common story: someone comes up with a terrific design that is universally loved by regular people around the world…but it never makes it into production. Thankfully, this was not the case with the Folding Plug designed by Royal College of art student Min Kyu Choi.

The redesigned plug was the result of the designer’s frustration with the typical bulky UK plug. He noted that, particularly when used with the ultra-thin Macbook Air, traditional plugs were ridiculously huge. He designed a new type of plug with pivoting prongs, allowing it to be transported painlessly.

Much to the delight of everyone who has been following the journey of this incredible design and the determined designer, the folding plug concept has been turned into a real product called Mu, though it is slightly different from its original form. It is available as a USB adapter, allowing all kinds of gadgets (though not laptops) to be plugged in directly to the wall. The UK-only USB adapter is only the start for Choi; the company he created to market his designs is working on other fantastically creative products.