The background
2 million people in the UK live with sight loss, and 9-out-of-10 blind or partially sighted people feel that information on food packaging is difficult or impossible to read.
With inclusivity being a fundamental design strategy for Kellogg’s, to mark World Sight Day, they teamed up with the Royal National Insitute of Blind People (RNIB) to develop a limited-edition Coco Pops pack for the blind and partially sighted, featuring Braille and a UK first technology, NaviLens, which can be scanned via mobile to contextualise packaging information.
The brief
Kellogg’s appointed Aire to craft the accessible packaging design for this limited-edition Coco Pops pack. Our key objective was to offer blind and partially sighted shoppers an equitable shopping experience.
The approach
Working with the University of Cambridge, we employed evaluation technology to better understand the different degrees of sight impairment, highlighting potential barriers to purchase. Armed with this insight, we developed our very own inclusive design scoring system, allowing us to determine how colour, size, texture, technology and haptics can be optimised to suit varying degrees of sight impairment.
This scoring system guided the design process, allowing us to determine which specific semiotics needed to be simplified or strengthened. A large area on the front of pack was kept clear, not only to apply Braille, but to disrupt the line of sight for able-sighted shoppers, raising awareness of the initiative.
The result
The initial pack was trialled in 60 Co-op supermarkets across the UK and proved an instant success, receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback from the sight-loss community, with 97% of customers stating that the packaging was more accessible.
“At Kellogg’s, we are passionate about inclusive design and committed to making our packaging more accessible. The dedicated support and expertise from our partners at Aire made a huge contribution to the success of this initiative.” – Pete Matthews, Kellogg’s Director, Brand Design and Operations
Aire is now working with Kellogg’s to make their entire packaging portfolio more visually inclusive, and we’re also leading the conversation around the importance of visually inclusive design with other FMCG brand owners. To discover more about our leading inclusive design services, get in touch today!