This week we will look at two case studies in package design. The first is the redesign of the prescription drug packaging at Targets and the second is the new New York City bicycle racks.
Target’s prescription drug packaging was a problem recognized by an MFA thesis student, Elizabeth Adler, at the School of the Visual Arts when her grandmother took the wrong medicine. The case study takes a familiar product, questions its designs and resolves its shortcomings with an elegant and logical solution. Smart use of color, typography and form factor into the successful solution.
In 2008, New York City’s Department of Transportation, in partnership with Cooper-Hewitt and with the support of Transportation Alternatives and Google, organized an international competition for a sidewalk bike rack. The top 10 entries show a wide range of approaches. Many of them are installed at Astor Place. The winner was the NYC Hoop Rack, created by two designers in Denmark, Ian Mahaffy and Maarten de Greeve. This elegant, no-fuss, minimal design will become the new standard bicycle rack on the city’s sidewalks. Over the next three years, five thousand racks are expected to be installed citywide. The Hoop Rack, a thirty-four inch circle made of cast metal and bisected by a horizontal bar, can withstand the harsh environment of city streets and is destined to become an iconic member of the urban streetscape.
Other case studies:
The redesign of Pyrex cookware
Dyson vacuum cleaner
Self correcting glasses
Metaphys power outlet
Gripp drinking glasses
Resources
Assignment: Come to class prepared to share your final project. Every line of code does not need to be written but you need to have enough design work done so the look and feel and functionality of the site is apparent.