The Pill Dispenser

An interactive and transportable pill container.

Project Duration: 5 weeks | Fall 2021

Project Vision

At Bormioli Pharma, designers produce pharmaceutical packaging systems that are used by millions of patients around the world every year. They are present in Europe with 10 production plants and count on the work of more than 1300 people to offer their products in over 100 countries. Desall and Bormioli Pharma’s industrial design competition required a design of a tablet dispenser capable of releasing medication in a controlled manner according to prescribed dose.

Our team was made up of five industrial designers who worked together biweekly to create our unique design. We organized and scheduled meetings that would follow a product schedule.

Requirements

Designing a new product capable of containing and dispensing oral drugs, particularly tablets and micro-tablets, in a controlled manner.
Be flexible in changing the dosage, and modulating the amount of tablets according to age, weight and other variables.
Be easily transportable, manageable and simple to use, and one-handed solutions will be appreciated.
Improve patient adherence by maximising the match between the doctor’s prescription and the drug actually taken by the patient.
The dosage mechanism will have to be relatively versatile or scalable and not rely on volumetric measurement principles to deliver the dose.

We designed an innovative, transportable pill dispenser with futuristic features and design.

Inspiration Boards

First, we started with inspiration and mood boards. Our team was inspired by futuristic yet minimalistic aesthetics and created moodboards to portray certain design languages during the initial stages of the project. We also researched the Bormioli Pharma website to consider type, color palette, and aesthetics for our final design.
Concept Sketches

From there, we created our ideation sketches, conceptualizing different forms and shapes for the product’s appearance. After a few rounds of sketching, we chose a small cylindrical shape that allows users to easily transport, utilize and operate, and delivers the pills to users in an efficient and effective way.
Innovation

We designed an aperture-mechanism that allows users to easily attach any sized pill bottle to the dispenser. This aperture feeds into a ramp that separates the pills and controls the amount that is then distributed onto the tray. Once the user is ready to take their medicine, they simply open the tray to reveal their pills. On the front of the dispenser, there is a curved screen to notify users of the current pill’s activity.
Competition

Problems with our competition include not being easily transportable, user friendly, batteries need to be replaced often, and the design is lacks creativity.
Materials & Manufacturing

The dispenser is injection molded in ABS material. The dispenser's primary color is Pantone 000C White, and the secondary is Panton 2350 C Red. There is also a silicon ring and LED plastic screen included. We chose a matte finish for a clean and futuristic look.