An inclusive packaging for L’oreal products

Design: Chetan Rajesh
Location: India
Project Type: Student Project
School: MIT institute of design
Tutor: prof. Samrudha Dixit
Packaging Contents: Shampoo/conditioner
Packaging Substrate / Materials: HDPE/LDPE
Printing Process: Flexography

Goal: To Re-design and launch L’Oréal’s hair care products with inclusivity in mind.

A project to celebrate user diversity through packaging. The need to embrace inclusion in all aspects of business to not exclude people — has been an increasing priority recently. It may seem counterintuitive but the interesting paradox in the design world, is that by developing something for the minority – differently abled, the outcome is invariably better for the majority. While a stubborn clamshell container or vacuum-sealed jar lid might serve as a minor inconvenience to some, it can be a major struggle for the others.

Beyond a moral and social responsibility to serve consumers, when companies design a product or packaging with inclusivity in mind, they also gain access to a greater portion of the market. These miniscule tasks of opening the bottle, reading the contents, knowing if its a bottle of shampoo or conditioner prove difficult for nearly 22 million people just in India. In addition to that, there is a lot more of the population who lives with everyday physical limitations such as carpal tunnel, arthritis and muscular dystrophy and others and the likelihood of experiencing struggles with the current packaging only increases.

Testing the existing clamshell and pump containers with other users as well as on myself using various empathy exercises, helped me understand and come up with various possible solutions. The final concept has a much wider and softer actuator for a better ease of use for people with Rheumatoid arthritis or any other inflammatory forms. A grip/hook for your index and middle finger while pumping aids amputees for single handed usage. Ergonomic body & a Bulky edge for a better grip. Bold bright labels to differentiate b/w a shampoo and a conditioner for people with high myopia and added tactile clues with braille text for the visually impaired. Like a fortune cookie, Adding a message behind the brand logo in braille can get the user invested in the fortune [message] first and cookie [shampoo] second. The ‘fortune’ can give the product an acquired value or a different perceived value.

What’s Unique?
This new range is equipped with updates like a wider/softer actuator, a hook underneath, clean graphics with proper visual hierarchy and added tactile clues with braille. This can open up the market to so many more consumers who deserve the same quality of life as everyone else. Target users being amputees, people who are visually impaired, has fine motor disabilities and arthritis.