I was approached by Accoson with a view to design packaging for a selection of new stethoscopes which would be released in 2021. These products are suitable for a range of medical professionals however, the target for marketing was to be aimed at a younger audience; students or recent graduates. The idea was that they would continue to support the brand through their professional career, building a loyal customer base for the Accoson brand.

Traditionally medical packaging has been slightly lacking aesthetically and function is often ranked above design. Targeting a younger audience offered an opportunity to design distinct, bold packaging to help build a unique platform to market these products. Building on this, the illustration style was identified as easily transferable across to further materials, forming a visual identity for the product group. It would also be easily expanded to other product packaging in the future.

The main challenge with this project was to develop a design which was innovative and unique in comparison to the current market. Combining this with the task of targeting a younger audience for medical devices. Traditionally medical packaging design has often been overlooked and simply used as a functional tool for transporting/protecting a device. Here we hoped to break the norm, offering a product which would create some excitement and interest from initial viewing of simply the box. It also became a challenge to include all the mandatory information required on medical packaging, as these devices are heavily regulated.

To create illustrations which accurately depict the products I photographed each stethoscope in a range of pre-determined positions. This proved difficult as one model had thicker audio tubing which was less malleable, to counter this I used photoshop to manipulate the images, allowing for the correct reference position to be used.

The design has been inspired by the modern trend of colour blocking packaging with bold, bright colours carefully selected to compliment the bright orange of the Accoson brand. A distinct colour differentiates each model for simple identification during warehousing and sale. The illustration style has been inspired by instruction manuals and exploded diagrams. Used heavily in Ikea build guides and medical instructional leaflets, this style of illustrations offers an objective view of the device.

This packaging is a slide box design, constructed of an outer sleeve which encases the primary, solid box housing the stethoscope in a foam mould with included accessories.

The project was designed individually from South Wales, for Accoson who are based in Scotland. The project ran from January until May 2021.