Domino Printing Sciences has teamed up with Procter and Gamble to develop an inclusive, tactile solution for product labelling to help visually impaired consumers. For those living with a visual impairment, simple tasks like telling the difference between bottles of shampoo and conditioner can be a real challenge. P&G recognised this and set out to find a solution. “Most shampoo and conditioner bottles are designed to look and feel the same,” says P&G’s Special Consultant for Inclusive Design, Sumaira Latif, who is registered blind. “We realised we have a huge opportunity to improve our products and packaging and to encourage other businesses to do the same.” It was clear that Braille was not
going to provide the easy differentiation needed, due to the very limited number of Braille users. In the US, fewer than 10% of people registered as legally blind can read Braille. P&G and Domino, therefore, sought to develop a more universal alternative. “We were invited to visit Domino’s specialist laser testing labs in Hamburg, initially to discuss the requirements for the project, and then again for a twoday working session to identify the best possible solution,” said Kevin Higgins, Engineer at P&G.
“Together, we chose the Herbal Essences bio:renew range of shampoo and conditioners
as a trial product, which could be easily marked by Domino’s D-SeriesCO2 laser coders to create a differentiating tactile marker.” Stefan Stadler, Team Lead at the Laser Academy, led the collaborative task with Ms Latif and her team. They identified the bottom of the bottle, where the plastic is at its thickest, as the best location for the coding. To ensure the approach would work for consumers, P&G presented the Herbal Essences bio:renew bottles to the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) in the UK for consumer testing. The design received many positive reviews, so P&G rolled it out across its US range. P&G’s long-term aim is to encourage more manufacturers to create inclusive packaging designs.
The simple icon approach applied to Herbal Essences bio:renew could provide a global way of allowing differentiation, bringing freedom and confidence to millions of blind and visually impaired consumers.