Design and Maxi Pads

Design is as much about empathy as it is about selling products. I think that’s my favorite part about what I do for a living. Like actors, designers must place themselves into a character when working to solve a communication design problem. By understanding the end-user (for lack of a better way to say it) designers can speak visually in an appropriate way.

Take maxi pads as an example, the end-user and as a result, the packaging must look very different from what a box of nails might look like. The words, textures, colors, image choices, photography, and type choices must be specific to the maxi pad user, or else the design will be speaking in a language they won’t understand. Of course, what a maxi pad package must look like is debatable. It depends on what kind of user you’re talking to. But the core of the problem is the same – speaking visually with a focused tone is essential.