One example of such an initiative is a soup packaging with braille, which we developed for Naturally Tasty. This way, Naturally Tasty makes it possible for everyone in the Netherlands to enjoy a tasty and healthy meal. Just in the Netherlands 300.000 people cope with visual impairments. By introducing braille on packaging (worldwide one of the first in retail) we help this group op people to identify products at home and in the supermarket.
As an industrial design agency we believe thoughtful design is essential to people and society. At the same time, we find many problems faced in our society are not being solved, or could use better solutions.
For instance, the group of elderly people is bigger than ever before. Especially people aged 85+ continue to live at home much more often. As a consequence people are more relient on user-friendly and ergonomic products at home. This involves products that asssist during household chores, easy to open packaging and applications in home care.
We think its our duty as designers to tackle specific problems within the healthcare. For us, this is the reason to seek collaborations with care agencies and designers within our region. We have already set up a trajectory which we call 'care for design'. For even small initiatives can achieve a big impact.
Another example of 'care for design' in our work is the design of pureed meals for people with swallowing problems (dysphagia). Finishing a complete meal can be difficult for these people, and as a result they could develop a caloric or protein deficiency. The appearance of a meal is of utmost importance for the experience and health of people.