UCB announced today that the newly designed Cimzia packaging was honoured with a "red dot communication design" award, given by a respected international jury for the largest and most renowned global design competition, the red dot awards.
The red dot awards recognise the best in product design, communication design, and design concepts. This year their Communication Design competition received over 6000 entries from 42 countries. Winners of this coveted award are evaluated according to criteria such as degree of innovation, functionality and the formal quality.
"For Cimzia in rheumatoid arthritis, UCB developed premium packaging components that shift the paradigm of pharmaceutical packaging by designing for the consumer first. I am proud of this patient-centric approach and the fact that people living with rheumatoid arthritis worked directly with the design teams to develop the Cimzia packaging," said Roch Doliveux, Chief Executive Officer of UCB.
UCB partnered with OXO Good Grips, a company dedicated to Universal (or "inclusive") Design, to develop their new Cimzia syringe and packaging components. As OXO's long-time design partner, Smart Design led the team in developing all the elements of the new Cimzia packaging components (the syringe itself, the packaging and the accompanying guides).
Davin Stowell, CEO and founder of Smart Design, explains the approach. "The design team immersed themselves in the world of people who live with RA in order to really understand their experience with limited dexterity. We developed a syringe and packaging components designed specifically for RA patients. We aimed to make patients feel more in control during the process of self-injection, more empowered, instead of reminding them of their illness." Cimzia's friendly packaging not only aims to promote compliance but also aims to provide a positive, caring user experience. A curved front panel allows fingers to slide under and lift it open. Following three easy steps, the design leads users through a thoughtful and straightforward process. The tray accommodates a wide range of patients' dexterity limitations when removing the syringe. The information hierarchy is clear and concise with a personal, conversational tone that is human and respectful.
As part of the packaging components, a "step-by-step" guide extracts key information from the full Patient Information Leaflet. The guide follows the same design as the box, and includes simple photography that aims to communicate the features of the syringe at a quick glance, highlighting the ergonomic design and OXO brand collaboration.
UCB, OXO and Smart Design will receive the award at a gala awards dinner in Essen, Germany on December 9, 2009.