This packaging design project was inspired by Lydia Millet's The Great Dying: Happiness Comes on Day Five, published in the December 2016 issue of Wired. This story invites the reader into a not-so-distant future world in which the environment is so damaged, the human race is dying off. To ease the remaining population's journey into the unknown, companies have popped up to provide five-day pill regimens which slowly erase feelings, memory and, ultimately, life.
After reading about this terrifying-but-imaginable future, I began to wonder how a company might package such a deadly product while still making it come across as an inviting, calming experience. As many companies encourage vacationing during their client's last few days on earth, I thought it would be an interesting challenge to create a package that was wholly unassuming from the outside--more like a paper weight than a pill package--so it would not act as a macabre reminder in the midst of the user's final days. The only indication on the outside of the package is the brand name and tag line on the bottom, along with a simple reminder to keep out of reach of children.
Upon taking off the protective blue-skies covering, the information sheet and pills are revealed in a correlating sunset-like color theme. The info sheet folds out into a near-circle, representing how the user's journey with the company comes just short of full-circle (as they die before they can tell their friends about how great the product was). It also mimics the color scheme of the inner package and is printed on thin, easily-folded paper stock. Along with written and illustrated directions for each day (which is the same for each of the five days--take the pill), it lists common side effects the user might experience. These effects get more and more grisly as the days go on but, while the vernacular shirts to a darker tone, the visual cues remain the same. In terms of the flower-like box, the pills are on a separate insert from the outside to give easy access to the blister packs. On the flaps surrounding each pill, there is an inspirational quote about either life or death, reinforcing the light but slightly-off mood. Finally, the pills themselves are pretty huge so as not to totally negate the gravity of the situation. This package will kill you. End of story.
After reading about this terrifying-but-imaginable future, I began to wonder how a company might package such a deadly product while still making it come across as an inviting, calming experience. As many companies encourage vacationing during their client's last few days on earth, I thought it would be an interesting challenge to create a package that was wholly unassuming from the outside--more like a paper weight than a pill package--so it would not act as a macabre reminder in the midst of the user's final days. The only indication on the outside of the package is the brand name and tag line on the bottom, along with a simple reminder to keep out of reach of children.
Upon taking off the protective blue-skies covering, the information sheet and pills are revealed in a correlating sunset-like color theme. The info sheet folds out into a near-circle, representing how the user's journey with the company comes just short of full-circle (as they die before they can tell their friends about how great the product was). It also mimics the color scheme of the inner package and is printed on thin, easily-folded paper stock. Along with written and illustrated directions for each day (which is the same for each of the five days--take the pill), it lists common side effects the user might experience. These effects get more and more grisly as the days go on but, while the vernacular shirts to a darker tone, the visual cues remain the same. In terms of the flower-like box, the pills are on a separate insert from the outside to give easy access to the blister packs. On the flaps surrounding each pill, there is an inspirational quote about either life or death, reinforcing the light but slightly-off mood. Finally, the pills themselves are pretty huge so as not to totally negate the gravity of the situation. This package will kill you. End of story.
