Packaging Design Implications for Senior Consumers' Ease of Access with Respect to Container Closure Openability.

Older adult consumers need easy access to packaging contents through their closure mechanisms. We propose design requirements to make a product more inclusive of older adult users by providing useful packaging design guidelines for easier usage by senior citizens. We examined packaging-versus-consumer interaction in opening procedures for 50 varied consumer products in the Japanese market. The experiment comprised observational analysis and objective and subjective assessments of 48 young and older adult users of both genders. Senior users preferred firm, compact, familiar, and light packaging with intuitive closure and an uncomplicated grip. These results may aid manufacturers in producing more universally friendly closure mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]