Industrial Design
Incorporating technology into a medicine dispenser
Everybody at the studio likes a challenge. Which is great, because it gives us a chance to expand our skillset. So when we came across Bormioli Pharma, a brilliant company that offers pharmaceutical packaging solutions, it was like a light that was switched on in our brains that said: Challenge! Not only would this project let us make a mark in the pharmaceutical industry, but like we mentioned, it would make us think outside the box and learn new things.
Pillmioli is a concept design that we made for Bormioli (the word play is cute, right?). It is a smart medicine dispenser that helps you keep up with your medication schedule as effortlessly and efficiently as possible. It acts as a caregiver, enabling you to maintain your independence and look after yourself.
Between family and friends, your career, and busy lives in general, you already have enough to think about. Sometimes, remembering to keep up with your medicine prescriptions can take a back seat. Therefore, the design effectively does its core function of keeping track of medicines but takes it a notch up. The medicine dispenser incorporates smart features, app connectivity, and feature customization. We ensured that it is affordable and accessible for the majority of users, as well as portable to be carried around with ease. All in all, Pillmioli efficiently communicates the time and type of medication to be taken to help you follow your prescription without fail.
To determine product objectives and core functionality, it was important to conduct product research. Most similar products focused on regular tracking of date and time, which is why we ensured that Pillmioli could do the same in a manner that was simple to understand for the user.
To better understand the users for our product, we conducted market research and gathered the most relevant user profiles:
Age range: 18-49 years
Daily tasks: Take care of patients that they have been assigned to. Different patients might be those with ailments or that may be disabled. Have to help them with their daily tasks and help them administer the medicines that have been prescribed to them. Many patients may be under their care. This includes family members, professionals, and volunteers.
Age range: 35-55 years
Daily tasks: Take care of the patients. Diagnose them and give medicine according to ailments. In charge of the medication of the patient. Usually leaves the task of taking/giving medication to the caregiver/nurse, or the patient themselves.
Age range: 18-65 years
Daily tasks: To rest up and take their prescribed medication so that they may be able to become healthy again, or suppress their illness. Have to follow doctor’s orders to ensure swift recovery. May end up taking the wrong amount of medicine. Usually less than they actually need to take. Or may forget to take it on certain days.
After careful research, brainstorming and prototyping, we settled with a design that we thought catered best to the objectives of the medicine dispenser and yet it was unique and aesthetic.
The medicine dispenser incorporates modules that encase the pills and keep them safe. The design enables the user to customize the modules to fit their needs best. The user can choose how many modules to use and in what order to stack them. The medicine dispenser also comes with in-built Bluetooth speakers and an LED ring light, both of which will help improve the functionality of the product and its ability to remind the user of their medicine prescriptions.
To bring together its usability in a cohesive manner, the medicine dispenser has its own app. The app connectivity will help you monitor your medicine intake as well as enable you to customize settings for the speakers and the LED light.
The medicine dispenser has a spring-connected sliding door for a smooth open-and-close operation, as well as magnetic connection points that connect to the module. The dispenser comes with a rechargeable battery and a USB C port for easy charging.
Pillmioli is a a modular medicine dispenser that helps you keep track of and administer medicine at the right time with the right number of doses. For ease of understanding (and to make it less boring), we designed informative posters with marketable elements.
The medicine dispenser will be powered in such a way that it will indicate when it is about to run out of power and can be charged. The UI will make it easy for the user to be able to understand how, when, and which medication to take. The product will be affordable and accessible for many patients. It will be able to keep the pills safe and secure. It will make it easier for patients to access those pills without much effort. It will be portable and light enough for users to carry around. It will be clear and efficient in communicating the time and the amount of medication to be taken. The product will be safe for children to be around and not end up harming them or the medicine.
Of course we had to design a digital application - the perks of being a multidisciplinary design practice!
Among other features, the application was designed to majorly help the user set up each compartment for the dispenser, accurately monitor the intake of the medicine and follow prescriptions efficiently. It would store information about every medicine the user has taken since they started using Pillmioli, thus enabling the application to provide analytical stats about user's medicine history. We also included setting features where the user can adjust the light and sound settings through the app.
Since we knew that the application would be used by a mixed target audience including our beloved Boomers, we wanted the design and user flow to be simple, clean, and easy enough to be used by anyone.
