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Compensatory Design for Difficult Packaging: A Kitchen Tool for Opening Yogurt Containers

Looks like it would work, but sure wish they made it look better

By Rain Noe - April 15, 2022

in Packaging

Another object in the "I'm sad this exists, but I see why it exists" category: This Sanizone tool, designed for arthritic people who cannot easily peel the seals on yogurt packages, sour cream containers and the like.

It's also got this lamprey-like feature for aiding in the removal of screw-on caps.

A small magnet embedded in the handle lets you stick it to the 'fridge.

I don't doubt that the tool is useful for those with grip issues, but I do wish the designers had made it a bit more sightly. Or that they'd chosen different colors for the plastic; those specific tones of pink and blue make me think of the Chinatown dollar store I used to live near, which hawked cheapie clothespins and colanders made of the same stuff.

Lastly—and I say this as a former package designer—I wish that every package designer, or their boss that forces certain decisions, would be made to spend a weekend opening 1,000 of their creations.

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Juan Cano

2 years ago

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I would buy this in a heartbeat. And I don't have arthritis. Those containers take several tries to open and usually I just stab it with a knife. I do agree the color is not the greatest.

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Dee An

2 years ago

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I do agree with Rain on how packaging can be hard to open, even for those of us who enjoy better than average grip strength and dexterity.
I'm assuming their must be variation in the sealing process (I don't know, temperature, pressure), and that to prevent the risk of the seal breaking prematurely the choice is made to err on the side of a more secure (but harder to open) seal. I don't know, but I would look at the communication between the designer and the manufacturing engineer for a solution.

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Dee An

2 years ago

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That the colours chosen make these kitchen tools look like kitchen tools is a *feature* not a bug.
The target market might not only suffer from arthritis, but may also have a degree of Alzheimer's. There have been many studies that suggest that people with Alzheimer's are more comfortable and functional when their usual environment resembles that of their youth.
What purpose would be served by adding to the user's mental overhead by disguising these tools?
A designer should consider these things.

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Alan Nomoto

2 years ago

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…like a sardine can key. Better to incorporate it into the fridge door.

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