Comments

It is ironic for an arthritis-stricken old lady to be struggling to open up a prescription bottle; If it takes a sledgehammer to open-up a prescription bottle, the bottle maker has gone overboard on safety. In today's world, convenience, simplicity and logic works hand-in-hand; we don't need cry-babies working us to death.

Posted by DJ SKYY at April 19, 2005 6:00 PM

DESIGNER PEACEFUL LIFESTYLES are the Rx's needed - 90+% of prescriptions are for stress and mismanaged lifestyle related disorders.

Raise that physical and emotional IQ Russia, Korea, China, EU, Canada, USA - kick the pill habit.

Posted by Sean at April 19, 2005 6:29 PM

I saw this on CBS Sunday Morning. BRILLIANT. I especially liked it when she pointed out that you have to turn the bottle to read the instructions. It really is bad design. It's even more amazing to think that the bottle hasn't been changed in over 50 years.

I recently cut some tendons in my right hand and have developed great empathy for those with special needs like my grandmother who lost the use of her right hand after a stroke. Pill bottles are rough even without the childproof caps. Jars are my nemesis. I actually yelled at one last weekend.

Hooray for Campbell's for having the pop top, and for the Pace picante folks with the squeeze bottle. Ziploc with the mechanism that closes the bag for you. The list truly goes on and on. And kudo's to Target for taking design to a new level and going against the establishment.

Posted by Paul Davidson at April 19, 2005 10:54 PM

PS - Good/Accessible/Empathetic design = business opportunity and market share potential.

Especially whn you target Tom's Boomer/Geezers.

Posted by Paul Davidson at April 19, 2005 10:57 PM

I love innovation. Especially to things which have been the same for such a long time. Great design, better aesthetic.

Posted by Darren at April 20, 2005 3:53 PM

Wow! That is so cool. I just sent a copy of the article to a bunch of my industry friends. Some of the stuff we do in funeral service is 100 years old. Man could we use more out of the box thinkers working on consumer centered products and resources.

I'm looking for a designer to help me with some projects for my small company. I'll tell you that my expectations for that person just jumped 1000%. I'm looking for a whole new level of thinking.

BT

Posted by BT Hathaway at April 20, 2005 5:31 PM

Irony at its best - the sicker you are - the less able you are to open the medicine which is supposed to make you better. Great "whack in the head" thinking - what else should be "obvious" to us and good for our society and our businesses? Look how long it took for them to think of wheels on luggage, baby snuglis...

BT - I'd be intrigued to hear about how you can innovate in funeral service...Personally, it would have been much, much easier for me (and my Mom) if the funeral director had come to the house (with a notebook computer and portable printer and pre-armed with simple recommendations) to do the details for my Dad. As it was, we had to make a special trip to the office, read a lot of forms with small print, and then make selections. I also think enaablinb people to do everything from home via a web site would be attractive to the new tech-savvy generations (particularly since we all move around so much).

Posted by Mary Schmidt at April 22, 2005 12:58 PM

Hurray!! As a geezer (slightly too old to be a boomer) with hand problems, I'm delighted that someone has finally applied logic and common sense to a household product that has been a cause of endless pain and frustration to me and millions of others.

Now let's set Deborah Adler loose on (1) those stupid little plastic pull-rings that are now used on milk cartons, (2) the strings used to open bags of animal food and cat litter (ever tried to yank on one of those when your hand hurts? Arrrgh!), and (3) the clear wrappings used on tapes, CDs, etc. (especially those little starter tabs that you can't get a grip on with older-person fingers).

Posted by Paula at April 28, 2005 5:56 PM