Intuitive Packaging

Packaging Design & Management

Background

Openability of packaging is a big problem for many consumers. With an aging society, this problem will only grow bigger. Many people with impaired abilities, opening packaging has become a frustrating action or even an impossible task. People do not understand where to start, how to pull, push, turn or twist, and therefore are not able to open many types of packaging. The problem has more aspects like knowing what to do (the concept of opening), the required forces, the grip, etc.

Goals

Gathering insights into aspects that are related to the openability of packaging on both physical and cognitive aspects and to translate these findings into models and design rules that can be directly applied in the daily practise of designing packaging.

A draft translating first results into decision models.

Perspectives

Convenience is perhaps the most used word in the packaging industry, but strangely enough there is no commonly accepted definition of convenience. Therefor all the aspects that should be part of the definition of convenience are collected and are set in a scheme. Such a scheme has been the start of several exercises done by students and by consumers supervised by students. The gathered and analysed information showed that rituals are part of openability and problems with opening range from not understanding where to start to not being able to apply the required force. Furthermore theories and standards on usability and accessibility should be translated to the field of packaging development.