Hair care brand Herbal Essences has introduced a new bottle design to help visually impaired consumers.
Created by Sumaira Latif, P&G’s Special Consultant for Inclusive Design, the bottles will feature tactile indentations to differentiate shampoos and conditioners.
Latif, who is blind herself, has been with the firm for over 18 years and worked with other visually impaired consumers to create the products.
She said: “Imagine the daily challenges, like choosing matching clothes in the morning or simply taking a shower after a long day.
“As a blind person, you must do these things using touch rather than sight. You don’t really know which bottle the shampoo, conditioner, or soap is, you have to get creative.”
She continued: “It was important that we invent a feature, a universally recognisable tactile feature, which would work for people who haven’t had the opportunity to learn braille.”
The shampoo bottles have been designed with four tactile vertical lines on the label, while the conditioner has two rows of dots to distinguish it.
North American Brand Manager Lynn Hicks said: “Making our products more accessible can improve the experience for everyone.
“While we designed this tactile feature specifically for the visually impaired, other, like seniors or kids, will also benefit from this feature.”
Luxury skin care brand L’Occitane also incorporated braille into the design of its products last year.
Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind, hopes other manufacturers will take note of this effort and develop new ways to help blind people.
He said: “This new tactile feature enhances our independence and shows that the brand wants to truly serve all consumers.
“We hope other manufacturers will take note of this effort and work with blind people to find solutions that allow us to identify their products quickly and independently.”
The new products will be available from January 2019 in all of the brand’s North American stores.
