01 | CJ MAISIE MCDOWELL
How to use this book Activity title Description
Insights & Findings
Feedback
Personal reflection
The Key Collaborators
Pharmacists St Nicholas Hospital
The self medicating community
Dr Michele Badenoch
University peers and lecturers
Success
Failure
Contents INTRODUCTION Project Timeline & Collaborator Profiles CHAPTER 1 Initial Research CHAPTER 2 User Research CHAPTER 3 Design Thinking
CHAPTER 4 Design For The Principles CHAPTER 5 Design For The Form CHAPTER 6 Design For The Service CHAPTER 7 The Final Outcome
Introduction Background / scope:
Pharmaceutical packaging has many problems which are difficult to solve due to its rigid packaging and graphical rules laid out by the MHRA. From a pharmacist’s perspective the packaging serves its function well as it can be manufactured and packed with minimal effort and maximum efficiency. However, from a patient’s point of view this is not the case. My aim is to establish the most problematic factors and solve them through a redesign of both the service and packaging given when prescribing to patients.
UK Statistics
01
02
In 2012 2.7million items were prescribed a day, equalling 1900 a minute
The average cost per head in 2012 was ÂŁ159.33 amounting to ÂŁ15bn overall
03 On average each person was prescribed 18.7 items in 2012
04 It is estimated that one in six people aged 65+ takes ten or more sets of medication Patient.co.uk
My Timeline December
October
November
Mindmap Literature Research Specific Research Topics
Competitive Landscape
Photo Diaries Stakeholders
Concept Development
February
January
Redefining the Principles
Design for the form & function
Collaborators Questionnaire
Today
Design for the principles
Design for the service Collaborators
Modelling
The Collaborators Dr Michele Badenoch Private GP, Blossoms Healthcare, London.
Michele has expertise in the service provided by both GPs and the pharmacists and can provide valuable insights in the topic of patient compliance.
Jonathan Milner Director, Tag Packaging, Leeds.
Jonathan’s expertise lies in packaging and branding having had a career within pharmaceutical packaging and graphic design. He has also contributed towards the writing of the book ‘A guide to the graphic design of medication packaging’ published by the NHS.
Ella McDowell Pharmacy Student, Liverpool John Moores.
Ella has a breadth of knowledge in the making and packaging of pharmaceutical medication as well as the service and more specifically labelling, provided by the pharmacist.
Steven Routledge Specialist Pharmacy Technician, St Nicholas Hospital. Working within the hospital infrastructure, Steven can provide information on both inpatient and outpatient medicators which will affect the way the packaging is distributed and used.
Chris Ashcroft Operations Director, Dechra Pharmaceuticals.
Chris will have the necessary know-how to validate/disprove the ideas regarding the re-design of packaging, any change in the way it is packed and distributed.
1 Initial Research
Market Research A study was conducted to analyse current newspaper articles based around the topic of prescription medication in the UK. From this the main problems were noted and compared to those found in a subsequent literature review.
A discussion was then held with various stakeholders to debate the numerous articles. As a consequence of this it became clear that the newspapers had brought to light some very relevant and truthful problems.
From this I was able to guide my literature research into areas with more depth from the insights given in the articles.
Market Research Literature research was conducted into a number of sources including books, newspapers, magazines and the internet.
This research provided insights into common problems and complaints from both a patient and pharmacist point of view.
Howard Fenwick: ‘Use this knowledge of specific topic areas that interest you to spark interesting conversation with all of your stakeholders.’
I must use this to gain better understanding of how my stakeholders feel otherwise there will be no structure or correlation in the feedback I get.
Specific Patient Groups An exploration took place to identify key target groups which would provide the underpinning information for this project. In depth research was then conducted with collaborators to establish their main issues with pharmacy packaging design. From this, it was clear that an understanding of the needs of specific patient groups would be required in order to resolve any general design concerns. Dr Michele Badenoch claimed that to conduct a well thought out re-design, recognition should be given to clearly defined patient groups.
Although doing extensive research into each helped me to understand certain patients’ needs more thoroughly, it did not help me find a more specific direction.
Competitive Landscape The self medicating patient group was asked to retain all pharmacy packaging to allow examination of current design features. Pinterest was used to explore further design ideas.
This allowed direct interaction through focus groups and discussion to determine any problems which are currently faced with prescription packaging and labelling.
It was really helpful to have visual aids in understsanding the problems and use them to explain this to others.
Mind Map Condensing the research collected so far into logical sectors within a large mind map helped to determine a direction for the next areas of research.
I must speak to project stakeholders soon to validate/disprove what I believe to be the basic problems.
Stakeholder Interviews Interviews were conducted with all the stakeholders involved in the production and prescription of pharmacy packaging in order to take into account both patient and professional points of view.
Steven Routledge: ‘It’s a constant nightmare to us. Companies care more about the brand than the safety.’
Dr Michele Badenoch: ‘Great project! Interaction with pharmacists is very important. Improved patient compliance likewise. The majority of pills prescribed are NOT taken!! Packaging could have a big part to play in this.’
I need to get out there and speak to as many self medicating people as possible!
Fig 1: Stakeholder Map
Book: a guide to the graphic design of medication packaging
Design Agency Jonathan Milner Director Dechra Pharmaceuticals Chris Ashcroft Operations Director
St Nicholas Hospital Tim Donaldson Trust Chief Pharmacist St Nicholas Hospital Steven Routledge Specialist Pharmacy Technician
Carlton-in-Craven Independant Pharmacy Jonathan, Pharmacist
Doctors
Gp, London Michelle Badenoch
The Community
Target Research Areas
Target Research Areas All literature & stakeholder research was condensed and filtered into one clear direction.
Mark Bailey: ‘Out of the eight points you have to take forward which two will have the best and most effect on both the other factors and pharmacy packaging as a whole?’ Compliance & concordance
uhoh - i must narrow it down to two clear factors which will determine the nature of my designs - compliance and concordance. this was a big step in defining my project area.
the problem of “ Solving medication non-adherance
would be more effective than achieving any other medical progress
�
World Health Organisation
2 User Research
Photo Diaries Twenty people were asked to photograph their medication for seven days and record any complaints they had about the packaging, actual medication, routine and the doctor/pharmacy service.
Ideally I would have had a larger sample to take this study however it was a time consuming exercise and one that I needed to be conducted relatively quickly. What are the commonalities between all these cases and how can I use design to improve them?
Photo Diary Commonalities
Throughout this exercise a relationship was established with twenty accessible participants who were willing to provide opinions for the duration of the project. Their engagement was assured through regular contact.
How should I gain answers to the questions that I now have from looking at the commonalities in the photo diary complaints?
Survey An online survey was created to answer questions arising from the results of the photo diaries. The survey gained 101 responses from self medicating individuals.
The same questions were also posed to the collaborators of this project to see if their answers differed from a professional point of view.
Now what to do with these answers? (Design around them and create a set of guidelines to improve packaging)
Case Studies Various case studies were explored involving different stages of the pharmaceutical process.
Although this provided good extra knowledge around my chosen topic it did not provide any insight that helped form a direction to begin designing.
Re-engaging With My Collaborators
Mark Bailey: ‘Just start designing!’
Dr Michelle Badenoch: ‘This is really useful stuff. You should now find a way to collate this information into a way it can help determine your packaging re-design.’
Steven Routledge: ‘This is great from a patients perspective and something that definitely needs improving. When you start designing remember to consider pharmacist hours and cost as well.’
3 Design Thinking
60 Concepts 60 post it note concepts were created as a result of all the research collected so far.
Peers: ‘All these ideas look great but they need to be split up into their corresponding sections in order to make more sense.’
It was great to get my ideas down on paper, however, I need to gain a clearer focus before proper ideation can take place.
The Current Principles The current principles that determine the design of pharmaceutical packaging were then defined.
Dr Michele Badenoch: ‘I think you have captured the principles very well. In order to refine and improve them I would suggest looking at the possibility of there being more principles to consider than is currently designed for.’
It was great to get a clear structure in my head. Now I must refine each principle to understand where there is room for improvement.
Re-defining The Principles The current principles used in the design of pharmacy packaging were taken, their positives and negatives were questioned and then then re-defined in order to cater more appropriately demands of today’s consumer society.
Regular discussions with photo diary participants were held during this process which ensured maximum input from those who need to read and interpret their packaging on a daily basis.
now I have a structure to design around. great news!
The Refined Principles A set of ten refined principles were created to inform the design of graphical elements of pharmaceutical packaging. 1. Font 2. Layout 3. Branding 4. Colour 5. Labelling 6. Patient Information Leaflet 7. Structure 8. Vital Info 9. Visuals 10. The Service
having set these principles in place will really be of benefit to me later in the project. I must now concentrate on the form and structure of the packaging before I can apply these.
Re-defining The Brief
Where would I like to see pharmacy packaging in 5-10 years?
Re-design a range of pharmacy packaging that aims to improve compliance and concordance from a patient’s perspective.
4 Design For The Principles
Modelling The rules and guidelines determined by the aforementioned ten principles were applied to secondary pharmaceutical packaging. The aim was to clarify the best way to communicate and personalise the self-medicating experience.
On reflection this exercise should have been conducted later in the project, as, although crucial, I did not yet have all the necessary information. This informed my decision to move on to designing the structural form of the packaging.
5 Design For The Form
Taking Inspiration From Other Forms A number of trips were undertaken to various supermarkets, shops and markets etc where inspiration was taken from many different products and their packaging. These forms were used to create basic concepts looking into new ways of interacting with pharmacy packaging. Mark Bailey: ‘I think this is a great place to start in order to understand different forms and the way they could benefit your project.’ Dr Michele Badenoch: ‘I like the conceptual feel to the project. I am interested to see what you come up with.’
How am I now going to use this inspiration to create viable concepts? Answer: create one concept for every product and then eliminate
Research Exercise In order to understand how to make pharmacy packaging more portable for the consumer, an exercise was carried out to see what people carry in their handbags or pockets.
It was interesting to see that most carried at least one blister pack of medication on them at all times, whether it be paracetamol, ibroprufen or prescription medication.
I felt that this exercise led me a little off topic for what i am really designing for. although making it more portable is a bonus it is not the main focus of my project.
Concept Development Ideas were sketched based around the inspirational forms found when looking at current packaging on the market.
Mark Bailey: ‘I don’t see why you can’t do 100 of these! The more the better.’
I need to create more concepts than this to have fully explored the creative scope of this project. if I were to undertake this exercise again I wouldn’t hold back as i did and I would ensure to fully explore all the possibilities from the offset.
More Concepts! More concepts were created and sketches produced based around current forms in order to expand the number of ideas which can feasibly be translated into viable designs.
Peers: A discussion was held with a peer group where the development of the concepts and inspirational packaging were the key topics.
How am I going to communicate these ideas to my collaborators in order to generate valid feedback?
Concept Cards Each concept was printed onto a card to communicate the ideas with collaborators in order to make informed decisions on which to take forward.
Steven Routledge: ‘These are really great. Some of these ideas could be revolutionary! I have never heard of anyone looking at pharmacy packaging in this way before.’
feeling Overwhelmed with the breadth of ideas to choose from. I need to make some decisions, quickly, of which ones to develop further in order to make useful progression.
Collaborator Feedback Asking collaborators (both peers and stakeholders) to share their opinions, good and bad, on any of the concept cards that triggered their interest.
Peers: a creative discussion with a peer group concluded that of all the ideas, 15 were more popular than the others. Ella, pharmacy student: ‘The ideas that I have favoured are not only because they are the most functional but I can relate to them as a self medicator and really feel they would benefit me and therefore others.’
There are some clear favourites within the ideas therefore the next step is to take these forward and develop. quick Sketching will be the best way to do this efficiently.
Concept Progression The most popular ideas were taken forward and the forms adapted for pharmaceutical packaging. This involved an experiment whereby the ideas were combined to gain the best attributes of each.
My project feels like it is moving away from packaging and into product. I need to re-visit my question and ensure my project is answering the brief to its full potential.
Re-visiting The Question Ensuring that the project was still moving towards creating the best possible design outcome, time was taken to compare current ideas and what they aim to solve in comparison to the original brief.
After a brief spell of loss of direction, a new plan was put in place to revisit the basics of good packaging design rather than the design of a product to assist self medicators when using pharmaceutical packaging.
Feeling much more optimistic about the focus of this project, I now need to find a way of channeling the concepts I have identified back into plausible packaging forms.
Concept Selection - Tablets The most popular concept cards were selected, followed by an elimination process whereby ‘the best’ idea in terms of rigour, usability, aesthetics and financial sense, was selected to take forward for tablets.
I was really happy with my choice as I felt that this concept covers many of the desired aspects for this product.The interaction with this packaging will also be really interesting to explore and design for.
Aims : •Eas ie •Eas r to retrie ier to v •More reme e m •More convenie ber n t p ers •Eas ier to onal carry aroun d Cons idera tions •Man : •Prin hours Vs m ti •Hea ng locati achines o lth a nd sa ns fety
Stapler
Advent Calendar
Tear & Take
Tape
Here tablets can be kept enclosed and packaged and when necessary punched out using the motion of a stapler.
Open the doors to reveal daily dose.
Tablets packed into daily, weekly or monthly doses that you rip off from the printed strip and consume.
Tablets are provided in a roll of daily doses. Simply tear off from the holder and take.
Advent Calendar
Tear & Take
Tape
Open the doors to reveal daily dose.
Tablets packed into daily, weekly or monthly doses that you rip off from the printed strip and consume.
Tablets are provided in a roll of daily doses. Simply tear off from the holder and take.
Tape With calendar system.
Concept Selection - Creams The elimination process also took place for creams.
Aims : •Sm all •More er portio nin in corre dication g •Red ct amoun of the uce g t to u rease se pack •More aging and on hand dura s ble in printi ks fo ng r Cons idera tions •Am : ou creas nt of pote e in the p ntial inacka ging.
This concept had been one of my preferred options for some time and it also proved very popular with my collaborators. There are a few considerations that will be tricky to overcome and I must ensure to do this with the utmost accuracy.
Applicator Provided
Chip Shop Sachets
Eos Lip Balm
Roll On Deodorant
Sachet contains cream and after pealed off the lid it then acts as an applicator to avoid having to get greasy hands.
Opening mechanism means that it is sealed and opened easier than a regular sachet.
Again using the mechanism of roll on deodorant but in a smaller format. Outer packaging would be re-usable.
Use the mechanism of a roll on deodorant to apply creams to the body instead of having to squeeze the product onto your hand and apply.
Chip Shop Sachets
Roll On Deodorant
Opening mechanism means that it is sealed and opened easier than a regular sachet.
Use the mechanism of a roll on deodorant to apply creams to the body instead of having to squeeze the product onto your hand and apply.
Roll On Deodorant
Concept Selection - Liquids Finally, liquids were then put through the elimination process.
In terms of scientific technology this idea will be the most difficult to implement, however i felt up to the challenge. I was pleased to have made the big decision of which to take forward and now felt ready to take these forms and develop them thoroughly, for use in pharmaceutical packaging as opposed to their previous uses.
Aims : •Bet te corre r indicat io c •Sm t amoun n of the t all •Red er packa to take uce t ging he n spoo eed f n or devic / measu ring a e Cons id •Man erations : •Var hours Vs ying dose machine •Hea s s lth a nd sa fety
Capsules
Bath Pearls
Daily Doses
Medication provided in plastic capsules that can be accessed when bottom tab is ripped off.
Medication enclosed in a seaweed membrane that pops in the mouth and releases the liquid.
Put into mini bottles that are refilled / recycled every week at the pharmacy.
Capsules
Bath Pearls
Medication provided in plastic capsules that can be accessed when bottom tab is ripped off.
Medication enclosed in a seaweed membrane that pops in the mouth and releases the liquid.
Bath Pearls In set dosage sizes.
Concept Development An exploration into combining various elements of past concepts with the original forms of pharmaceutical packaging was conducted in order to bring the concepts back to the brief.
Although the ideas are very simple, every aspect must be thought through thoroughly in order to be an improvement on the current packaging. This means that the next step is to make a large amount of iterrative models to refine the detail.
Modelling Models were created to explore the interactive elements of each design. They were also used to understand how the experience could be further improved and how detail could be added to increase the ease of use.
Creating 3d forms is always beneficial. i must stop being scared of making and just get on with it. in future i would have been less fussy about the aesthetics of each and made as many iterations as possible in the short space of time i had.
Testing Testing liquids encapsulated with seaweed extract to experiment with heat as a potential catalyst for the new method of distributing liquid medication. This experiment proved that heat could not be used as a catalyst for the medication.
If i were to conduct this experiment again and had more time to both plan and execute it I would have done a number of experiements into potential catalysts that could help with the consumption of the medication.
6 Design For The Service
Customer Journey Map An exercise was undertaken to map out the full service that a patient undergoes when being prescribed and collecting medication.
Throughout this exercise collaborators and self medicating individuals were involved to ensure all points of the process had been taken into account.
This really helped me to understand the exact areas where there is room for improvement in the system.
Ideation After the service map had been drawn up into a coherent format a number of weaker areas within the service were pinpointed and ideated around in order to generate viable solutions.
Laura Warwick: ‘Instead of focusing on set concepts so early perhaps establish a need for each area and ideate around those. Think about the business case as well. Who would want this to happen and how would they support it?’
Back to the drawing board. More ideation needed. Looking back, I should have consulted Laura’s expertise earlier as then i would have had more depth to my ideas from the beginning.
The Need A short study was conducted to establish any points within the current medical service where there was a need for design or re-design. As opposed to ideating from scratch, creating concepts around a proven need would be more effective and therefore a better use of time.
Creating concepts around a need proved much more valuable than just ideating around the general service. It brought to light many great access points and helped to generate various rigorous concepts.
Further Ideation Following the establishment of a variety of needs and opportunities, further ideation was conducted to widen the breadth of creative ideas that can change the design of the current pharmacy service.
Steven Routledge: ‘You’re coming up with really great ideas. The idea of a patient being able to contribute to their notes online is really something and 99% of people these days have access to the internet. You need to look into how to make this system foolproof. Confidentiality is a big issue for us at the NHS.’
I was sceptical of whether establishing needs and opportunities would generate a bigger volume of strong ideas however I was proved wrong and it created some really original ideas.
Aware, Join, Use & Feedback Combining a few of the more popular ideas, an experiment was conducted as to how this combined concept could be implemented and interact with the four touch points: awareness, joining, using and feedback.
I need to be more certain of my final concept before this is truly relevant to my project, If I were to conduct this exercise again I would do it with a number of concepts to see how i could cross examine the various outcomes.
Business Case As the service design thinking progresses, consideration must be given to the business aspects. This involved brainstorming all the potential stakeholders that would want these changes and how they would / could support these new service aspects.
Laura Warwick: ‘Great work building on your ideas and thinking about the wider context. Your next step is to create a customer journey map to show how this fits in with your packaging designs.’
as the service blueprint progresses i will need to spend more time on thoroughly thinking through the business case logistics. however it is great to have a basic understanding of the beneficiaries whilst developing the designs.
How It Works A short exercise was conducted to clarify exactly what the service design aims to achieve.
after attempting to draw up a rough customer journey plan and failing at the first hurdle, this was really helpful to underpin the key points of the service and then go back to the customer journey map and re-plan it with a clear mind.
GP
Prescription instruction & advice
Receptionist
Booking information
Pharmacist
Patient
Medication information
Method of contact: Phone Text Email
An online platform that bridges the communication gap between the GP, pharmacist, receptionist and patient.
7 The Final Outcome
Deliverables Tablet Re-design
Creams Re-design
Graphics 10 principles
Liquids Re-design
Service Design
Online Platform
How It All Fits Together A map of deliverables was drawn up to understand how they all work together in sequence. This needs to be refined and drawn up into a readable format to refer to further down the line.
The Packaging
The Service
Improves Compliance
Improves Concordance
Gannt Chart 16 MAR
Creams packaging design Liquids packaging design Service design
Development
Tablets packaging design
30 MAR
Visualise CAD & Sketches
Finalise details of plan Create graphic guidelines
Collborator updates CJ
CJ 2 Progression
Deadlines
Interim Week
06 APR
Visualise CAD & Sketches
Development (Business case & Service Cycle)
Graphic design
(CJ1 Hand in - 12th)
23 MAR
Finalise Ideas
COMPONENTS
20 APR
Visualise CAD & Sketches Draw up service blueprint
27 APR
Create Models
13 APR
04 MAY
11 MAY
Create Boards
Create visuals
Apply graphics to ideas
14th May Final Major Project