Eleanor—Jayne Browne | Major Project Notes | Design Me Better— Packaging Design For Pharmaceutical Products 1

Primary packaging also serves to keep a product in storage, often for long periods of time. In this case, it is imperative that primary packaging keep the product absolutely sealedoff from its environment.

Ease of handling and shelving is a further aspect of primary packaging to be considered, so as to ensure theproduct can be easily handled by consumers. Some of the most common types include blister packs, clamshell packaging, shrink—wrapping, paperboard packaging and unit dose packs.

Secondary packaging is the typeused to group various pre—packaged products together (the primary packaging). As secondary packaging is not in direct contact with the actual product, its use and application usually differ distinctly from those of primary packaging, although the purpose of both types may at times converge. Secondary packaging has 2 central functions:

1. Branding & DisplayThis packaging type plays a vital role in the marketing strategy surroundingthe product. This is especially relevant in the case of packaging display. 2. LogisticsSecondary packaging serves to group several products together for ease of handling, transport and storage whichmeans it must be able to contain relatively large volumes of primary packaged products, transport the product safely to its retail or consumer destination and keep the primary packaging in its original condition during storage. Secondary packaging is intended to protect not only the product, but also the primary packaging, which often is the packaging most visible to the consumer in retail displays.

Common examples of secondary packaging include cardboard cartons, cardboard boxes and cardboard/plastic crates; labels and leaflets, laminations,paper liners or wrapping materials.

Tertiary packaging is used for bulk handling warehouse storage and transport shipping. The normal form is a “unit” load that packs tightly into containers.

This kind of “outer”packaging includes pallets, slip sheets, stretch wrap andany labels used for the shipment and distribution of goods. This packaging is also referred to as transport or transit packaging and is rarely seen by the final consumer and the end destination will often deal with this via its own internal re use or recycling protocols.

Protecting health and safety is always the first priority and, while medical packaging design includes lids, pouches, bags and trays, the drugs and devices within are what truly drive design. That means virtually every package involves customisation,whether to support sterilisation or ease of administration.

With its primary role to protect a packaged medical or pharmaceuticalproduct, medical packaging is designed to both uphold the highest medical standards and ergonomically protect the integrity of a product. As a result of the wide array of medical components, medical packaging ranges from pre—formed packages to customised packages for specialty parts. Variations in size, dimension, rigidity, breathability and sterility enable even the most delicate medical componentto be shipped in an appropriately engineered package. Packaging optionsinclude: peel pouches, pouches,header bags, cartons, bottles, vials, ampoules or trays to name a few.

Successful packaging design for both medicine and medical, orpharmaceutical, products must address a long checklist of essentials such as compliance with regulations, ease of use for patients and caregivers, compatibility with sterilisation methods and efficient manufacturing.

Medicine packaging needs include:(i) product physical protection(ii) barrier protection(iii) agglomeration(iv) security(v) convenience(vi) dose control(vii) product identification(viii) product information(ix) product cautions(x) easy opening(xi) non—reactions with product(xii) not imparting taste or odour(xiii) non—toxicity(xiv) adaptability to high speed packaging equipments(xv) recyclability/sustainability

Packaging TypesPrimary packaging is the term used to designate the layer of packaging in immediate contact with the product; in other words, it is the first packaging layer in which the product is contained.

Primary packaging is constructed both with the product itself and any existing secondary layers of packaging in mind. The properties of the product (form, dimensions and consistency) dictate the main priorities of primary packaging.

Primary packaging can have diverse applications and functions, depending on the product, transit and storage variables. The most obvious, and important, function is to protect and preserve the product from damage, external interference or contamination, spoiling and chemical imbalances.

Design Me Better!Packaging Design For Pharmaceutical Products

Eleanor—Jayne Browne | Major Project Notes | Design Me Better— Packaging Design For Pharmaceutical Products 2

Blister packaging

Clamshell packaging

Shrink—wrap packaging

Paperboard packaging

Unit dose pack

Peel pouch

Header bag

Rigid tray

Eleanor—Jayne Browne | Major Project Notes | Design Me Better— Packaging Design For Pharmaceutical Products 3

The Vignelli Center for Design Studies is a research unit located on Rochester Institute of Technology’s (RIT) campus in Rochester, New York. It is home to the archives of Massimo and Lella Vignelli. Massimo Vignelli, 1931—2014, was an Italian designer who worked, with his wife, in a numberof areas ranging from package design to houseware design and furniture design to public signage and showroom design. He co—founded Vignelli Associates, with his wife Lella. His ethos was, “If you can design one thing, you can design everything,”and this was reflected in the broadrange of his work.

The Vignelli Center for Design Studies leads through practice and programs in the interpretation of quality design— in short, the centre acts as a steward of the legacy of Massimo and Lella Vignelli, who value excellence, creativity and innovation.The Vignellis’ work is firmly rooted within the Modernist tradition and focused on simplicity through the use of basic geometric forms.

In 2014, The Vignelli Centre hostedthe Medicine + Design: Healthcare and Wellness Conference at Rochester Institute of Technology, US. where healthcare professionals and designers collaborated to produce innovative solution to major challenges in thewellness community.

In conclusion, package design elevates the “value” of design as a strategic business competence in the brand marketing mix— from concept to realisation to shelf. It is both acatalyst and facilitator— for designers, it keeps them in touch with the manufacturing process, for endusers a desire for things is created,or made better; and for businessesprofits can be increased!

Vital to the design process is the selection of the right protective material, to be chosen after considering the different properties of available material options. The ideal medical packaging design material needs to support the following priorities:(i) allow for sterilisation(ii) compatibility with sterilisation processes(iii) sterility maintenance until use(iv) barrier to microbial penetration(v) resistance to physical damage and the environment(vi) easy opening(vii) provision for aseptic opening(viii) ease of use by healthcare providers(ix) ease of manufacture(x) regulatory compliance(xi) product identification(xii) information and cautions(xiii) recyclability/sustainability.

Undoubtedly, packaging plays a significant role in the medical marketand can often impact a product’s success or failure; therefore it's ironic, that sometimes this is the first area a manufacturer will look at to cut costs. Most consumers’ buying decisions are made at the point of purchase, so packaging is a crucial tool for the differentiation and the success of a product. However, for a medical OEM or contract manufacturer a packaging—related “recall” can have a negative impact on business, so with this in mind the importance of building quality into every package designed is critical.

Successful medical packaging balances the need for manufacturing efficiency and cost savings, with compliance and regulations, and the characteristics of the materials, adhesives etc. so with all these criteria to bear in mind, it’s plausible to ask: can it also look beautiful?

Vignelli Center for Design Studies

Massimo and Lella Vignelli

Vignelli Associates website

Medicine packaging, MassimoVignelli