In contemporary design class, we were assigned to find and choose a package that did not meet AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act) standards and redesign it accordingly. This assignment was impactful in ways beyond simply designing a package. The class learned quickly that accessible design is still rather uncommon and that a large number of disabled or visually impaired individuals live their lives without the ability to read or understand what certain packages or webpages may be selling. For this assignment, I spent some time looking for oddball packages that fit the description, and managed to find an Epson ink package that had inaccessibility written all over it.

The package lacked appropriate imagery and font sizes. I asked my peers what they thought about the package and many were unable to figure out what it was without reading the rather small text on the front of the package. For my redesign of this package, I focused on creating a strong visual identity tying it to black ink. This was done by using a drop of black ink as the main imagery rather than the original picture of dice. The design was further strengthened by using AODA compatible typefaces and setting them in size 12 or higher font in order to help readability for the visually impaired. This assignment drove home the importance of accessible design in the modern world and left me with more to take away than just a package redesign.