Called 'Self Expiring', the printed membrane gradually reveals an expiring message over a period of time, eventually displaying a 'not fit for consumption' alert when the pills are no longer fit for use.
The product has been created by Indian designers Gautam Goel and Kanupriya Goel to help prevent illegal sales of expired medicines and fatalities arising from their consumption.? The designers have already won a Red Dot design for their idea.
Seeking to identify innovative design for over 55 years, the Red Dot design award received over 15,000 applications from 70 countries last year alone.
'Self Expiring' comprises two layers – the first being the conventional medicine label and the second being the expiration warning – which are separated by diffusible material, says the competition website. As soon as the medicine is packed, the ink from the expiry alert begins to leak through. By the time the pills actually are expired the warning message becomes obvious and completely readable, even for older patients.
According to the designers, existing solution to this, potentially life threatening problem, are not effective for several reasons, such as information being lost from wear and tear and general use, an unreadable typeface, or a non-universal language choice.
The Goel design overcomes these problems by incorporating a universally recognised sign of danger (a circle with a cross inside) several times, along with the message, written in regional languages. This provides a potential solution to those who do not understand the language it is written in or who are, perhaps, illiterate. Because the choice of colour/s and the design of the expiration pattern include a universally accepted sign of danger, the ability of the packaging to alert visually takes a significant burden off the users, according to Goel.
