One thing that the healthcare industry needs more of, in my opinion, is a little high design. Apparently Céline Forestier thought so too. Her new design, featured on Fast Co.’s blog is a new take on the pill box’s of yesteryear.
This is a very interesting product for HB. As you may know, one of HB’s areas of expertise is healthcare, and design is an integral part of HB’s integrated marketing. So, it’s always encouraging to see these two industries collide.
Forestier’s goal was to “change attitudes towards medication at home and ultimately de-stigmatize the pillbox.” If this kind of design attitude existed in all areas of the medical field, imagine the possibilities!
We’d have great looking hospitals, where form and function could be well-balanced. At the core of this pill-box redesign is an issue of functionality. Standard pill boxes are easy to forget. Every compartment is the exact same, and there is no tactile experience. Forestier’s redesign not only solves those problems, it makes the pill box a displayable art object. Read more about this specific object at Co.Design .
I think the reason this pill box is getting coverage, is because it takes something that we typically find unappealing and makes it beautiful. Pills are not generally perceived as a positive thing. They are a sign of poor health, reliance, and a regulated lifestyle. This redesign signifies life, elegance, and beauty. Which experience would you rather have when dealing with the healthcare system?
Perhaps this same attitude can be applied to the entire system. Maybe soon, we’ll see elegant redesigns of wheelchairs, hospital beds, and the pills themselves. If the negative connotations are removed from these objects and replaced with feelings of empowerment and attractiveness, that would be a beautiful thing. Sound off in the comments below and let us know what you think about the pill box, and the possibility of a reimagined system.
