Readyset
An innovative health communication design enhancing the medication administration experience of the elderly
Overview
Today, the aging population is the subject of discussion and inquiry across the world, also in Hong Kong. The Census and Statistics Department has predicted that, in 2039, Hong Kong will be home to an estimated 2.5 million people of 65 years or older. This figure suggests that there are challenges ahead and an important factor will be an increase in medication administration.
It has been found that elderly people in Hong Kong, especially those who live alone, easily make mistakes when administering medicines. Without doctors or friends on hand to help, these older patients have to struggle with the small print and poor information design that is often found on medicine labels.
The project studies the current Hospital Authority’s medicine labels, which most of Hong Kong’s elderly are familiar with, in terms of their typographic design, physical form and administration methods. Through user studies and observation, ideas that question and improve the existing experience of medication administration among the elderly experimented with design prototypes and rounds of user testing.
Readyset is designed by a group of Year 3 Communication Design students to facilitate better medication administration and experience for the elderly. The pen shape design is highly portable, as well as very versatile for storing and stacking circular tablets while not wasting space like any rectangular shape. It is a good idea to integrate the pen mechanism into taking drugs as well.
With its emphasis on convenience and portability, the design title comes from the phrase “Ready, Set, Go!” in sports events by which the designers hope to connect the products to the consumers with the ready-to-go feature.
The design of Readyset is attempted to achieve the following features:
1. Hygiene
In order to achieve the goal of hygienic drug taking action, the team have developed the pen-like mechanism - Readyset, allowing the elderly does not need to have direct contact of the flesh with the pills. The Readyset can eliminate the chance of contaminating the pills with bare hands, as well as allowing the elderly to take the medication easily on the go.
2. Organiser
Readyset is designed to unify different pills into one single column, allowing the elderly to organize medication easily and reducing the required storage space in a household environment. The label attached on the pen-like device extract the most considering information based on the result that the team collected from the user tests.
3. Customizable
Readyset provides various materials and colorways for the elderly to choose based on their preference, to create a personalized drug-taking experience. Also for the identification ring on the pen, the customizable feature, on one hand, allow customers to choose the color they like, as well as allowing them to differentiate their pen within a household area.
4. Portable
The lightweight and small-size design aim to provide a better drug-taking experience when the elderly is commuting. The design allows them to ease with all procedures required in traditional medication.
Award
Bronze ADC Cube Award 2019
Readyset won a Bronze ADC Cube Award which the design ceremony held and announced by The One Club for Creativity, an international design competition, in New York in early May.
Project Team
Designers: Lok Ngai Lego Lam, Ping Ting Lee, Man Yin Chan and Rachel Yin
(Year 3 Communication Design students)
Tutor: Brian Kwok