Accessible and inclusive packaging design: a practical guide

Most packaging is designed by people with good eyesight and strong hands, then used by everyone. That includes older adults, people with low vision or colour vision deficiency, people with arthritis or limited dexterity, people with cognitive or learning differences, and people reading in a second language. Accessible packaging makes products easier for all of them to find, understand, open and use. It also tends to make packaging better for everyone else. This guide covers the main principles and practical techniques.

Why accessible packaging matters

• It reaches more customers. A large and growing share of the population is older or has some form of impairment.
• It reduces frustration and returns. Packaging that is hard to open or understand creates complaints.
• It improves safety. Clear information about doses, allergens and warnings prevents mistakes.
• It supports your brand. Inclusive design shows care for customers.
• It may be required. Some sectors have specific rules, and accessibility law is developing.

The four tasks: find, read, open, use

Accessible packaging helps people with four tasks.

1. Find

Can people identify the product on a shelf, in a cupboard or in a delivery box? Can they tell variants apart?

2. Read

Can people read and understand the key information: what it is, how to use it, warnings, allergens and dates?

3. Open

Can people open the packaging without tools, excessive force or fine motor control?

4. Use and dispose

Can people use the product safely, reclose the packaging if needed, and dispose of it correctly?

Legibility: text that people can read

Size

Small text is the most common accessibility problem on packaging. Mandatory information often has legal minimums, but those are minimums, not targets. Wherever space allows:

• make key information larger than the minimum
• use larger type for critical items such as dose, allergens and use-by dates
• avoid long blocks of tiny text

Typeface

• Choose typefaces with clear, open letter shapes and distinct characters, so that 1, l and I, or 0 and O, are easy to tell apart.
• Avoid thin weights for small text, and decorative or script fonts for important information.
• Use sentence case rather than all capitals for long text, which is easier to read.
• Avoid condensing type so far that letters crowd together.

Spacing

Generous line spacing and letter spacing improve readability, especially at small sizes. Break text into short paragraphs or lists.

Placement

Avoid placing important text on folds, seams, curves or areas that will be covered by closures, labels or price stickers.

Contrast and colour

Contrast

Text needs strong contrast against its background. Dark text on a light background is easiest for most people. Avoid:

• light grey text on white
• text on busy images or patterns
• metallic or glossy finishes behind small text, which can glare under shop lights

Web accessibility guidelines suggest a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text, which is a useful benchmark for packaging too, although print conditions differ from screens.

Colour vision deficiency

Around 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women have some form of colour vision deficiency, most commonly difficulty distinguishing red and green. If you use colour to separate variants or communicate meaning:

• do not rely on colour alone; add text, numbers, icons or patterns
• test your palette with colour blindness simulators
• avoid red and green as the only difference between key variants

Clear hierarchy and plain language

People with cognitive differences, or anyone in a hurry, benefit from clear structure.

• Put the product name and type first, followed by the key benefit or use.
• Keep important information in the same place across your range.
• Use plain language: short words, short sentences and active verbs.
• Use icons to support text, not replace it.
• Number steps in instructions.

Opening: packaging people can get into

Packaging that is hard to open is one of the most common complaints, especially among older adults and people with arthritis.

Make the opening point obvious

Show where to open with a clear visual cue: an arrow, a contrasting tab or the words "Open here". Use texture or embossing for a tactile cue.

Reduce force and dexterity

• Use tear strips, tabs and pull ribbons that can be gripped easily.
• Avoid tight shrink wrap and clamshells that need scissors.
• Choose caps with good grip and reasonable torque.
• Make tabs and flaps large enough to grip.

Balance with child resistance

Some products must be child-resistant. Certified child-resistant packaging must also be tested for use by adults aged 50 to 70, but it can still be difficult for people with limited dexterity. Choose formats with clear instructions and test them with real users.

Reclosing

If the product will be used over time, make reclosing easy and obvious.

Tactile cues and Braille

Tactile features help people with low vision identify and use products.

• Embossed or raised symbols, such as a raised triangle for danger warnings, are required on some hazardous products in the EU and UK.
• Braille on medicine cartons is required in the EU and UK for the product name and, often, strength. It is also used voluntarily on some other products.
• Shape and texture can distinguish variants, such as different cap shapes for shampoo and conditioner.

If you add Braille, make sure it is produced to the correct standard, so dots have the right height and spacing, and placed where it will not be flattened.

Digital support

Digital tools can extend what fits on pack:

• QR codes linking to larger-text information, audio or video instructions.
• Accessible web pages for product information, compatible with screen readers.
• Apps that read product information aloud.

These help, but they should not replace essential information on the pack itself.

Accessibility for e-commerce packaging

Online orders bring their own challenges:

• Easy-open mailers with tear strips and no tape.
• Clear unboxing steps, so people know where to start.
• Minimal fillers that are easy to remove.
• Returns information printed clearly.

Testing with real people

Guidelines help, but testing is the only way to know.

1. Recruit a mix of users, including older adults, people with low vision and people with limited dexterity.
2. Check at actual size, not zoomed in on a screen: print the proof at 100%.
3. Ask them to complete tasks: find the product, read the dose, open the pack, reclose it.
4. Watch, do not explain. Note where people struggle.
5. Fix and test again.

Even informal tests with a few people can reveal major problems.

Accessibility and brand design can work together

Brands sometimes worry that accessible packaging will look clinical. It does not have to. Large, clear typography can be a strong brand statement. High contrast can make packs stand out on shelf. A distinctive cap shape or embossed pattern can be both a tactile cue and a memorable brand asset. Many of the best-known packaging designs are also among the easiest to read and open.

The key is to treat accessibility as a design requirement from the start, alongside brand, cost and compliance, rather than a fix added at the end.

A quick accessibility checklist

• Key information is large, high-contrast and in a clear typeface.
• Colour is not the only way to tell variants apart.
• Information is in the same place across the range.
• Language is plain and steps are numbered.
• The opening point is obvious and needs little force.
• Tactile cues or Braille are used where helpful or required.
• Digital support is available for extra information.
• The pack has been tested with real users.

How we help

We design labels and packaging and make printed and rigid boxes in our own factory. We check legibility at actual size, test contrast and colour separation, and can design easy-open structures and tactile features. We lay out mandatory and Braille text you supply; final regulatory review stays with you.

See our label design and retail packaging design services, or get a free quote for your packaging.

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Questions

What is accessible packaging?

Packaging that people with different abilities, including low vision, limited dexterity or cognitive differences, can identify, open and use.

What is the simplest way to improve packaging accessibility?

Increase text size and contrast for key information, and make the opening point obvious and easy to use.

Are there legal requirements for accessible packaging?

Some sectors, such as medicines in the EU, have specific rules like Braille on cartons. More general accessibility laws are evolving, so check your market.

How do I test packaging accessibility?

With real people, including older adults and people with visual or dexterity impairments, using the actual printed pack.

Does accessible packaging cost more?

Usually not much. Larger text, better contrast and clearer opening cues are design decisions rather than extra materials. Tactile features and Braille add some cost.

What size should text be on accessible packaging?

As large as the space allows, especially for key information. Legal minimums are a floor, not a target.