Austialasian Neuical Iouinal 2uu9, 1, 12, 146-1S1

146





kLVILW

Þlease clLe Lhls paper as: Medlev S. 1he feellna's neuLral for
pharmaceuLlcal packaalna: how Lhe pharmaceuLlcal aesLheLlc
equals Lhe ModernlsL aesLheLlc. AM! 2009, 1, 12, 146-131. uol
10.4066/AM!.2009.121









Abstract

LmoLlon ls now a conslderaLlon for lndusLrlal deslan wlLhln
Lhe healLh sphere Lo help speed Lhe recoverv of paLlenLs.
CommunlcaLlon deslan however, laas behlnd oLher deslan
dlsclpllnes ln Lhls reaard. 1hls paper demonsLraLes Lhe
hlsLorlcal reasons for Lhls: 1haL Lhe healLh and
pharmaceuLlcal araphlc aesLheLlc ls Lhe embodlmenL of Lhe
neue Schwelzer Craflk. l wlll flrsLlv esLabllsh LhaL Lhere ls a
aeneral aesLheLlc ln Lhls aenre of araphlc deslan, and secondlv
LhaL lL comes from posL-war SwlLzerland. 1hls mld-cenLurv
modernlsL approach Lo araphlcs whlch held deslaners ln Lhrall
lnLo Lhe 1980s sLlll has a sLranalehold ln Lhose lndusLrles
where lLs asepLlc appearance seems Lo be approprlaLe:
medlclne, pharmaceuLlcals, chemlsLrv. 1hls paper explalns
some of Lhe flaws ln Lhe modernlsL araphlc approach,
speclflcallv ln lLs re[ecLlon of lllusLraLlon and humour, and
araues for deslan based on psvcholoav and emoLlon raLher
Lhan flawed and ouLdaLed manlfesLos.


Introduct|on
Puman emoLlon has beaun Lo appear as one of Lhe
conslderaLlons of deslan for healLh. lL ls noL uncommon, for
example, Lo see suralcal 'scrubs' ln a ranae of colours, and
worn speclflcallv Lo llfL Lhe mood of paLlenLs and hosplLal
sLaff. lurLhermore, Lhese conslderaLlons of paLlenL well-belna
appear Lo be worklna. A recenL arLlcle ln Lhe !ournal of Cllnlcal
nurslna reporLs LhaL 'Chlldren's percepLlon of nurses was
slanlflcanLlv lmproved bv Lhe use of mulLl-coloured aLLlre'
1
.
ALLempLs Lo lmprove relaLlons beLween healLh-care
professlonals and Lhelr charaes have exLended lnLo lndusLrlal
deslan, lnLerlor deslan and archlLecLure Lhrouah, amona oLher
Lhlnas, Lhe use of brlahLlv coloured sLeLhoscopes (lla. 1), wall
murals, and wards llL bv naLural llahL. Powever, a browse












Lhrouah pharmaceuLlcal packaalna ln Lhe local ChemlsL
wlll reveal a far more conservaLlve approach Lo deslan for
medlclne. A wlde ranae of colour and packaalna mav be
on dlsplav buL closer lnspecLlon wlll show, noL onlv an
absence of Lhe klnd of vlsual levlLv rlslna ln oLher spheres
of healLh deslan, buL a welahLv oeuvre heavv wlLh
common vlsual moLlfs. ÞarLlcular approaches Lo lavouL,
lmaae Lvpes, araphlc devlces (such as arcs and recLanales)
and Lvpoaraphv (especlallv Lhe use of well-esLabllshed
sans-serlf Lvpefaces) are repeaLed, from shelf Lo shelf, ln a
dlsplav of homoaenous vlsual communlcaLlon (llas. 2, 3 &
4).


llaure 1. SLeLhoscopes are now avallable ln a ranae of
colours lnLended Lo lmprove Lhe hosplLal experlence.

CommunlcaLlon deslan appears Lo laa behlnd oLher deslan
dlsclpllnes ln lLs reaard for healLh cusLomer saLlsfacLlon.
1he prlnclple reason ls, LhaL unllke Lhe oLher deslan
dlsclpllnes concerned wlLh healLh, araphlc deslan has an
enormous obsLacle Lo overcome. namelv, Lhe healLh and
pharmaceuLlcal araphlc aesLheLlc ls Lhe embodlmenL of
Lhe cenLral ModernlsL aesLheLlc: 1he credo for
communlcaLlon deslan lald down ln Lhe LwenLleLh cenLurv
was esLabllshed and developed bv Lhose worklna for Lhe
pharmaceuLlcal lndusLrv. 1here ls an lnLernaLlonallsL
aesLheLlc ln araphlc deslan LhaL has spread LhrouahouL
Lhe world slnce Lhe 8auhaus of Lhe 1920s. 1hls school of
deslan reached lLs zenlLh ln posL-war SwlLzerland where lL
developed under Lhe paLronaae of pharmaceuLlcal
companles. Whlle lLs arlp has been loosened elsewhere,
Lhls 'Swlss SLvle' malnLalns a sLranalehold on Lhe vlsual
ldenLlLv of LhaL lndusLrv.


Tb¢ f¢¢ling's n¢utral for pbarmac¢utical packaging:
bow tb¢ pbarmac¢utical a¢stb¢tic ¢quals tb¢ Mod¢rnist a¢stb¢tic.

Bi. Stuait Neuley
Euith Cowan 0niveisity
Correspond|ng Author:
ur. SLuarL Medlev
School of CommunlcaLlons and ArLs
LdlLh Cowan unlverslLv
8radford SLreeL
ML Lawlev WA 6030
AusLralla
s.medlev«ecu.edu.au
Austialasian Neuical Iouinal 2uu9, 1, 12, 146-1S1

147

llaures 2, 3 & 4. 1he narrow aesLheLlc ranae of conLemporarv
pharmaceuLlcal deslan has lLs orlalns ln 1930s Swlss deslan.

1he c||n|ca| aesthet|c
1he Lvplcal lnaredlenLs of Swlss araphlcs (llas. 3, 6 & 7) are
sans-serlf Lvpefaces (Akzldenz CroLesk, unlvers and PelveLlca
are mosL popular) a sophlsLlcaLed conslderaLlon of space
wlLhln a composlLlon (based on 'arlds': non-prlnLlna
frameworks upon whlch each plece of Swlss deslan was bullL)
and Lhe use of phoLoaraphv and/or slmple aeomeLrlc shapes
usuallv of a solld colour. 1he approach has been descrlbed bv
varlous crlLlcs as raLlonal
2
, sclenLlflc
3
, neuLral
4
, and cold
3
. lLs
properLles were lnLended Lo make lL an approach LhaL could
be used wlLhouL needlna Lo defer Lo local senslblllLles: 1he
araphlc equlvalenL of Mles van der 8ohe's lnLernaLlonal SLvle
of archlLecLure. lndeed lL ls referred Lo as Lhe lnLernaLlonal
1vpoaraphlc SLvle
6
as ofLen as lL ls called Lhe Swlss sLvle or
neue Schwelzer Craflk.

Whlle Lhls aesLheLlc pre-exlsLed lLs adopLlon bv Lhe
pharmaceuLlcal lndusLrv (l wlll explaln lLs 8auhaus orlalns
below) lL was mosLlv developed Lhrouah work for Lhls Swlss
lndusLrv and Lhen carrled over lnLo all aenres of publlclLv,
lncludlna Lhe arLs. As Pollls, ln 5wlss Ctopblc uesloo
7
explalns,
ln Lhe posLwar era:

Chemlcal and pharmaceuLlcal companles were a
slanlflcanL parL of Lhe Swlss economv. Clba, Celav,
Poffman-La 8oche, Sandoz-Lhen lnLernaLlonal
names-were based ln 8asel . Lhev expecLed ob[ecLlve
adverLlslna, clear lnformaLlon on producLs . Lhe
'anonvmous' sLvle was perfecLlv flLLed Lo meeL Lhese
demands.

1hls ob[ecLlvlLv of form seemed approprlaLe for
pharmaceuLlcal araphlcs slnce Lhe Swlss SLvle 'used Lhe
lanauaae of sclence as much as arL'
8
. 1he companv LhaL
qulcklv came Lo embodv Lhls sLvle, Lhrouah lLs ln-house deslan
Leam, was Celav. A formula of sans-serlf Lvpe, phoLoaraphs or
sLvllzed mechanlcal drawlnas wlLh a slnale Lhlckness of llne
was adopLed and applled Lo all producLs
7
. 1he foundaLlons for
Lhls sLvle come from Lhe School of ueslan ln 8asel
6
, and manv
of Lhe sLudenLs recelved Lhelr lndusLrv-placemenL Lralnlna aL
Lhe ln-house sLudlo of Celav '8eLween 1941 and 1970, more
Lhan 30 deslaners worked for Celav [.] on sLaff or as
commlssloned freelance araphlc deslaners'
9
.


llaures 3, 6 & 7. ueslans bv a ranae of Swlss pracLlLloners
(nellv 8udln, 1938, Pans neubura 1938, and CelesLlno
ÞlaLLl, 1963) for a ranae of cllenLs neverLheless show a
unlformlLv of approach ln Lerms of lavouL, flaL bold
colour, use of space and mechanlcal, aeomeLrlc forms.

Lxport|ng the 'Internat|ona| 5ty|e'
1he vecLors bv whlch Lhls araphlc aesLheLlc reached all
corners of Lhe LarLh are worLh mapplna ouL. 1he Swlss
SLvle mav have had some alobal success ln and of lLself vla
Lhe ublqulLv of chemlcal and pharmaceuLlcal producLs-
1he vlsual sLvllnas of Celav A.C. were dlssemlnaLed
Lhrouah Lhe companv's subsldlarles ln Lhe uS and Lhe uk,
and Lhrouah Lhelr publlclLv deparLmenLs ln Spaln, lLalv,
Canada and AusLralla
9
. 1o furLher consolldaLe Lhls
relaLlonshlp beLween commerclal work and educaLlon as
lL perLalned Lo pharmaceuLlcal araphlcs, several of Lhe
deslaners aL Celav reLurned Lo Lhe 8asel School of ueslan
Lo Leach. 1he school lLself ls cenLral ln Lhe hlsLorv of 20
Lh

CenLurv communlcaLlon deslan
6
. ln addlLlon, as lf
provldlna earlv career opporLunlLles Lo deslan araduaLes
and provldlna Leachers back Lo Lhe School of ueslan was
noL enouah Lo lnculcaLe a sLvle lnLo Lhe arowlna dlsclpllne
of araphlc deslan, Celav also manufacLured manv of Lhe
prlnLlna and reproaraphlc chemlcals necessarv for deslan
producLlon-8uL, lL was Lhe Swlss SLvle's consolldaLlon of
Lhe 8auhaus prlnclples lald down decades before, and Lhe
neLwork of deslan schools and sLudlos seL up bv 8auhaus
Leachers LhrouahouL Lhe world LhaL auaranLeed a
sanaulne lnLernaLlonal upLake of Lhe Swlss araphlc
Lhemes. lL was Lhe 8auhaus LhaL had beaun concerLed
efforLs Lo make deslans (lndusLrlal, archlLecLural,
Lvpoaraphlcal) LhaL were funcLlonal, LhaL dlspensed wlLh
Austialasian Neuical Iouinal 2uu9, 1, 12, 146-1S1

148
decoraLlon and emoLlon ln favour of a Lechnlcal and raLlonal
approach lLs Leachers araued would sulL anvone, anvwhere.
lor Lhe 8auhaus, Lhe slanlflcance of Lhe aeomeLrlc, unadorned
approach Lo deslan lav ln lLs afflnlLv Lo machlne repllcaLlon
and a Lechnlcal aesLheLlc: 'Lralned ln Lhe lanauaae of form,
8auhaus deslaners seL abouL developlna proLoLvpes for Lhe
mass-producLlon of deflnlLlve, sLandard forms for Lhe ob[ecLs
of evervdav llfe, baslna Lhelr approach on Lhe premlse LhaL
people's pracLlcal needs are laraelv ldenLlcal'
10
. 1he 8auhaus
pre-war LemplaLe ls seen as provldlna a model for arL and
deslan schools around Lhe world slnce World War ll. Powever,
lL ls less wldelv known LhaL 8auhaus ldeals also Lravelled
Lhrouah Lhe malnsLream commerclal channels of lLs dav:

1hls work had an enormous lnfluence on Lhe Cerman
adverLlslna lndusLrv, and lLs lmporLance was
lmmedlaLelv recoanlzed. ln 1927, for lnsLance, Lhe
AssoclaLlon of Cerman AdverLlslna SpeclallsLs held lLs
Lralnlna course aL Lhe uessau 8auhaus.
11

ln addlLlon, Lhls lnfluence soon became a alobal one wlLh Lhe
ºforced emlaraLlon of proaresslve deslaners from Cermanv"
under Lhe rule of Lhe nazls
11
. Manv of Lhese deslaners found
Lhelr wav lnLo Lhe 8rlLlsh and Amerlcan malnsLreams of
adverLlslna deslan whlle oLhers, such as Moholv-naav worked
ln London (ln documenLarv fllm-maklna) and wenL on Lo
esLabllsh courses ln emlnenL deslan schools ln Lhe u.S., such
as Lhe 'new 8auhaus' aL Lhe Chlcaao lnsLlLuLe.

neue Schwelzer Craflk or Swlss SLvle ls Lhe naLural
proaresslon from Lhe 8auhaus deslan proarams. 1he neue
Schwelzer Craflk movemenL developed ln posL-war
SwlLzerland and Cermanv cllnalna Lo Lhe 8auhaus' araphlc
deslan meLhods, noL leasL because lLs prlnclple pracLlLloners
and Leachers had been 8auhaus sLudenLs. ln Cermanv, CLl
Alcher founded Lhe ulm deslan school chooslna Max 8lll (an
ex-8auhaus sLudenL and Swlss 1vpoarapher) as lLs Pead.
Accordlna Lo Alcher's bloarapher, Marcus 8aLhaeb
12
, Lhe
lnvlLaLlon Lo 8lll Lo be head of Lhe school was aL leasL ln parL
Lo aeL Lhe new 8auhaus of Chlcaao on slde and Lo encouraae
u.S. fundlna for Lhe school. AL leasL some of Lhe school's
approach was deslaned Lo appease lLs poLenLlal sponsors, also
ex-8auhaus sLaff now ensconced aL Lhe Chlcaao lnsLlLuLe.
lrom ulm, as well as from Lhe Swlss pharmaceuLlcal
companles deLalled above, Lhe formulalc use of sans serlf
Lvpe, arldded lavouLs and aeomeLrlc deslans spread
LhrouahouL Lhe wesLern world, even lnLo Lhe deslan schools of
SouLh Amerlca
3
. lLs anonvmlLv and dlsreaard of local
vlsuallLles mav well have assured lLs wldespread upLake
ouLslde of SwlLzerland and Cermanv. 8eaardless, Lhrouah Lhe
laLLer half of Lhe lasL cenLurv 'lLs ob[ecLlve clarlLv won
converLs LhrouahouL Lhe world'
6
.

1here were some alLernaLlve approaches durlna Lhe laLe 20
Lh

CenLurv, and lndeed Lhere were excepLlons Lo Lhls
aesLheLlcallv cllnlcal rule even wlLhln Lhe pharmaceuLlcal
lndusLrv: Andv Warhol, for example, ln hls pre pop-arL davs as
a commerclal arLlsL, produced loose and expresslve hand-
drawn lllusLraLlons for several pharmaceuLlcal companles
durlna Lhe 30s, lncludlna Clba-Celav and up[ohn
13
. Lven some
ouLposLs of Lhe Celav emplre lLself, especlallv ln Spaln (lla. 11)
manaaed Lo escape Lhe edlcLs of head offlce for a Llme.
1hese deparLures were ln Lhe mlnorlLv. ln anv case,
amona Lhe adherenLs Lo Lhe Swlss approach was a
parLlcular LemperamenL readv Lo crlLlclze anv wanderlnas
from Lhe narrow paLh of prescrlbed araphlc cholces. !osef
Muller-8rockmann, a once alfLed and expresslve arLlsL
who had puL hls hand-drawlna skllls Lo commerclal use
felL lL necessarv Lo denlaraLe lllusLraLlon ln hls LexL-books
and lecLures for sLudenLs, evenLuallv denvlna even
hlmself Lhe creaLlve ouLleL of Lhe drawn lmaae:

comparlson wlll show LhaL Lhe drawlna ls a
sub[ecLlve expresslon of Lhe arLlsL's mlnd and ls
resLrlcLed Lo Lhe momenL of lLs creaLlon. lL deplcLs
an ob[ecL or a Lheme as he experlenced lL aL a
speclflc momenL whereas phoLoaraphv shows
whaL Lhe camera could ob[ecLlvelv record when
Lhe shoL was Laken. 1he phoLoarapher slmplv
polnLs Lhe lens of hls camera aL whaLever lL ls he
wanLs Lo phoLoaraph. 1he drawlna convevs Lo us
Lhe feellna of Lhe arLlsL whereas Lhe camera
reproduces solelv maLerlal facLs and evenLs.
14


8lchard Pollls ln hls hlsLorv, 5wlss Ctopblc uesloo, asks,
'Was Lhls a consclous re-orlenLaLlon, or was Muller-
8rockmann swepL lnLo Lhe ModernlsL sLream bv Lhe
powerful personallLles of Lhe dlehards, Lohse and
vlvarelll?'
7
. LlLher wav, Muller-8rockmann ls now
reaarded as a personlflcaLlon of Lhe Swlss meLhod
3
, hls
dedlcaLlon Lo Lhe sLvle clear wheLher he was deslanlna for
headache powders or Lhe opera [lla. 8]. lL ls Lhls posLer
serles more Lhan anv oLher of hls works LhaL
demonsLraLes a dedlcaLlon LhaL, for adherenLs of Lhe
Swlss SLvle, became a slavlsh devoLlon. 1he anaular
araphlcs, bold no-nonsense machlne Lvpoaraphv and flaL
colour mav seem approprlaLe for Lhe pharmaceuLlcal
lndusLrv, buL for Lhe passlonaLe and LheaLrlcal world of
opera Lhev are ouL of place. Several deslan crlLlcs have
sLaLed LhaL Lhe Celav deslaners such as Muller-8rockmann
were LaraeLlna a hlahlv educaLed Lechnlcal class wlLh Lhelr
pharmaceuLlcal deslans: 1he packaalna speaks Lo Lhe
aeneral pracLlLloner and Lhe chemlsL raLher Lhan Lhe
consumer
9,13
. Powever, Lhe adherence Lo Lhe Swlss SLvle
no maLLer Lhe lnLended audlence, as can be seen ln Lhese
opera posLers, suaaesLs LhaL Lhe approach was prescrlbed
for all posslble producLs and publlclLv.

ln Lhe wesL, mosL of Lhe few canonlcal LexLs we have
devoLed Lo araphlc deslan educaLlon were penned bv
Swlss 1vpoaraphers. 1hls has had Lhe funcLlon of llmlLlna
posslblllLles for deslan educaLors ever slnce because of
Lhe absoluLe clalms Lhese auLhors made abouL Lvpe, arld
and lmaae. 'Modernlsm ln SwlLzerland became a crusade
ln Lhe vears followlna Lhe Second World War. lLs
assumpLlons became maLLers of falLh' araued for ln Lerms
of ob[ecLlvlLv and Lhe lanauaae of sclence
13
.
Austialasian Neuical Iouinal 2uu9, 1, 12, 146-1S1

149

llaure 8. !osef Muller-8rockmann deslans (1964-69) for Lhe
Zurlch Cpera Pouse producLlons of 8laoleLLo, eL al, reveal an
approach LhaL would look aL home on pharmaceuLlcal labels
or chemlcal conLalners.

Þsych/Lmot|on & A Way Iorward
So, whaL oLher ob[ecLlve meLhods mlahL Lhere be Lo approach
araphlc communlcaLlon for parLlcular users? Lspeclallv ln Lhe
fleld of medlclne, where human recoverv and well-belna
should be paramounL, deslaners mlahL reasonablv enqulre
wheLher Lhls Swlss sLvle even sulLs pharmaceuLlcal packaalna,
leL alone Lhe promoLlon of Lhe arLs. 8v whaL means mlahL
deslaners examlne wheLher Lhls Swlss, one-slze-flLs-all
approach can be lmproved upon? 8ecenL research ln Lhe fleld
of svnaesLhesla mlahL be helpful. lL suaaesLs Lhere ls a sLrona
correlaLlon beLween senses, beLween sound and vlslon for
example, whlch shows LhaL mosL of us have Lhe ablllLv Lo
undersLand a sLlmulus for one sense as analoaous Lo a
sLlmulus for anoLher. 8amachandran and Pubbard, ln
5vooestbeslo. A wloJow loto petceptloo. tbooobt ooJ
looooooe. surveved Lhousands of people of boLh Lnallsh and
1amll lanauaae backarounds Lo LesL whaL ls known as Lhe
'8ouba/klkl effecL':

lf vou show fla. [9] (lefL and rlahL) Lo people and sav 'ln
MarLlan lanauaae, one of Lhese Lwo flaures ls a
ºbouba" and Lhe oLher ls a ºklkl", Lrv Lo auess whlch ls
whlch', 93° of people plck Lhe lefL as klkl and Lhe rlahL
as bouba, even Lhouah Lhev have never seen Lhese
sLlmull before. 1he reason ls LhaL Lhe sharp chanaes ln
vlsual dlrecLlon of Lhe llnes ln Lhe lefL-hand flaure
mlmlcs Lhe sharp phonemlc lnflecLlons of Lhe sound
klkl, as well as Lhe sharp lnflecLlon of Lhe Lonaue on Lhe
palaLe.
16






llaure 9. ºuemonsLraLlon of klkl and bouba. 8ecause of
Lhe sharp lnflecLlon of Lhe vlsual shape, sub[ecLs Lend Lo
map Lhe name klkl onLo Lhe flaure on Lhe lefL, whlle Lhe
rounded conLours of Lhe flaure on Lhe rlahL make lL more
llke Lhe rounded audlLorv lnflecLlon of bouba." from
8amachandran & Pubbard, 2001.

8v Lhls same reasonlna, a clrcle mlahL appear more
relaxlna Lhan a Lrlanale for example, because Lhe clrcle
has no sharp corners on whlch, ln Lhe phvslcal world, we
mlahL caLch ourselves, Lhe [aaaed llne mlahL appear
poLenLlallv danaerous and unpleasanL. lurLhermore, a
aesLural llne drawlna made wlLh a pen held bv a human
hand mlahL suaaesL an lmmedlaLe and personal
connecLlon wlLh anoLher human belna. And bv Lhls same
reasonlna Lhe crlsp aeomeLrv of Lhe Swlss appears as
neuLral and ob[ecLlve as lL was lnLended Lo be.

neuLrallLv ls a caLch-crv of Lhe Swlss lnLernaLlonallsLs, buL
does Lhe drua Laker wanL Lo feel neuLral? AfLer all, a
svnonvm for 'neuLral' mlahL as easllv be 'unfeellna' or
'numb'. ÞaLlenLs and prescrlpLlon drua users mlahL
reasonablv wanL well-belna above and bevond an
unfeellna sLaLe, and pharmaceuLlcal packaalna mlahL
reasonablv be asked Lo reflecL Lhls expecLaLlon. 1he
auLhor edlLs a bloa whlch seeks, vla reader commenLarv,
feedback on Lhe effecLlveness of araphlc deslan. A recenL
comparlson of Lwo pharmaceuLlcal deslans for Lhe same
producL ellclLed some lnLeresLlna responses. 8eaders
were shown Lwo deslans for Lhe same producL [llas. 10 &
11]. 1he deslans were chosen from Spaln allowlna Lnallsh
speakers Lo concenLraLe more on Lhe dlfference ln
araphlcs and less on Lhe wrlLLen lnformaLlon. 8eaders of
Lhe bloa were asked:

WhaL klnd of words would vou use Lo descrlbe
each deslan? ls one more appeallna Lhan Lhe
oLher? lf so, whv? uoes one seem more or less
llkelv Lo work? lf vou had Lo choose beLween Lhese
Lwo packaaes based on Lhelr vlsual deslan, whlch
would vou reach for aL Lhe chemlsL's?
Austialasian Neuical Iouinal 2uu9, 1, 12, 146-1S1

1Su

llaures 10 & 11. CurrenL uLabon deconaesLanL araphlc, aL lefL
(C. 2000) and Lhe one lL made obsoleLe (C. 1960s). ueslans
from Spaln, deslaners unknown.

11 commenLs were submlLLed for Lhls posL. Seven of Lhe
respondenLs sald Lhev would choose Lhe second (now
obsoleLe) araphlc from Lhe chemlsL's shelves. CommenLs
descrlblna Lhls deslan lncluded Lhe words, frlendlv, fun, cuLe,
easv Lo comprehend. Cne respondenL sald Lhls lllusLraLlon
suaaesLed Lhe producL was easv Lo use. lnLeresLlnalv, Lwo of
Lhe respondenLs used Lhe word cuLe ln a neaaLlve sense: 1hev
LhouahL Lhe brand less LrusLworLhv and less serlous because
of Lhls smlllna face. Cenerallv Lhouah, Lhe commenLs suaaesL
LhaL humour or llahL-hearLed approaches Lo araphlcs do noL
necessarllv resulL ln an assumpLlon of a lack of auLhorlLv,
quallLv or effecLlveness. MosL who found Lhe packaalna
appeallna sald Lhev would also be happv Lo use Lhls producL.
AdmlLLedlv, Lhls was a small sample of responses Lo one
palrlna of araphlcs, buL Lhe responses could suaaesL LhaL
furLher aesLheLlc experlmenLaLlon ln Lhe fleld mlahL ellclL
poslLlve reacLlons ln users of pharmaceuLlcals. naLurallv, anv
reaulaLlons reaardlna correcL labelllna lnformaLlon musL
remaln, buL Lhe scope for plcLorlal and Lvpoaraphlc
experlmenLaLlon ouLslde of Lhese Lechnlcal requlremenLs ls,
because of Lhe prescrlpLlve deLermlnaLlons of Swlss araphlc
deslan, laraelv unLesLed on Lhe end-users of producLs from
Lhls lndusLrv.

lL wlll never be easv for araphlc deslaners or Lhelr lndusLrv
paLrons Lo break Lhe hablLs of 30-plus vears: 1here are onlv a
handful of verv larae corporaLes lnvolved ln Lhe producLlon of
pharmaceuLlcals. ÞarL of Lhe problem mav be a relucLance on
behalf of Lhese brands Lo esLabllsh sub-brands whlch break
Lhe araphlc mould, especlallv when exlsLlna vlsual modes
seem Lo be selllna well. Lven Lhe producLlon slde of Lhls
equaLlon, ls ln verv few hands (Alcan Þackaalna, a buslness
unlL of 8lo 1lnLo Alcan, and ÞrocLer & Camble for example, ls
Lhe 'uk's leadlna suppller of prlmarv flexlble packaalna Lo Lhe
pharmaceuLlcal and healLhcare lndusLrles'
19
). Also, currenLlv, a
araphlc deslaner charaed wlLh produclna a new deslan can
refer Lo a subsLanLlal bodv of prevlous work ln Lhe area of
pharmaceuLlcal packaalna and publlclLv. CelebraLed deslaners
such as karl CersLner, !osef Muller-8rockmann, and Armln
Pofmann each have subsLanLlal bodles of work locaLed
wlLhln Lhls pharmaceuLlcal fleld. ln Lhe back of Lhe mlnd
of everv LerLlarv educaLed araphlc deslaner exlsL Lhe Swlss
exemplars shown Lo Lhem bv Lhelr Leachers, furLher
lnaralnlna and perpeLuaLlna Lhls sLvle. ln Lhe economlcallv
drlven pracLlce of araphlc deslan lL ls easlesL Lo sLlck Lo
esLabllshed moLlfs. Lspeclallv when Lhose moLlfs obLaln
seducLlve and sophlsLlcaLed packaalna for an lndusLrv LhaL
has been hlahlv proflLable. Cn Lhe oLher hand, economlc
lmperaLlves can be Lhe verv drlvers LhaL dellver a deslaner
Lo new aesLheLlc desLlnaLlons whlch mark a clear polnL of
dlfference beLween Lhelr cllenL's producLs and Lhose of
Lhelr cllenL's compeLlLors. WhaL's requlred ls a fleld of
research whlch explores Lhe lmporLance of such
packaalna and lnsLrucLlonal deslan (dosaaes, eLc.) Lo Lhe
end user. 1he research musL alve due deference Lo local
pharmaceuLlcal reaulaLlons and lnvolve lnpuL from all
sLakeholders, lncludlna Lhe pharamaceuLcal companles
and medlcal professlonals. 1he qulck llootesmoo survev
above shows aL leasL LhaL non-medlcal people do have a
response Lo Lhe dlfferenL packaalna and would conslder
uslna or noL uslna a producL on LhaL basls alone. 1o reLurn
Lo Lhe survev on scrubs clLed aL Lhe bealnnlna of Lhls
arLlcle, lL mlahL be assumed LhaL chlldren would naLurallv
aravlLaLe Lowards colourfullv dressed sLaff: lL ls a cllche of
all klnds of deslan for chlldren (Lovs, plavaround
equlpmenL, eLc.) LhaL producLs should be rendered ln
saLuraLed and brlahL colours. Powever, lL was found ln
Lhe nurslna survev LhaL Lhe coloured unlforms also
lmprove Lhe parenLs' percepLlon abouL Lhe rellablllLv of
Lhe nurse.

lf neuLrallLv ls Lhe sLaLus quo for a bodv, ls lLs equlllbrlum
polnL or a place of balance and polse, perhaps Lhe
aesLheLlc pursulL of such neuLrallLv ls a aood Lhlna as lL
perLalns Lo human well-belna. Powever, lf neuLrallLv
equaLes Lo numbness, a sLaLe of unfeellna exlsLence
raLher Lhan 'llvlna', araphlc deslaners and Lhelr cllenLs
mlahL do well Lo conslder Lhelr role ln hasLenlna a
paLlenL's reLurn Lo a full and pleasanL llfe. lf lauahLer ls
Lhe besL medlclne, Lhe humourless Swlss deslans seem Lo
dlaanose a delaved recoverv.

keferences
1. !ournal of Cllnlcal nurslna volume 18 lssue 7,
Þaaes 1018 - 1026 Þubllshed Cnllne: 13 CcL 2008
(8eLrleved 20 !ulv 2009)
2. Peller, S. (1993). CulL of Lhe ualv, 8eLrleved
uecember, 2004 from Lve Maaazlne:
hLLp://www.evemaaazlne.com/feaLure.php?ld=40
&fl d=331
3. lernandez S: 1he Crlalns of ueslan LducaLlon ln
LaLln Amerlca: lrom Lhe PfC ln ulm Lo
CloballzaLlon. ln uesloo lssoes 22 (1), 2006:3-19
4. nelvetlco tbe movle [lllm]. new ?ork: Þlexlfllm,
2007
3. Muller, L. (2000). !osef Muller-8rockmann, Þloneer
of Swlss Craphlc ueslan. 8aden: Lars Muller
Þubllshers.
Austialasian Neuical Iouinal 2uu9, 1, 12, 146-1S1

1S1
6. Meaas Þ.8 & Þurvls A.W: Meoos´ nlstotv of Ctopblc
uesloo. new !ersev: !ohn Wllev & Sons, 2006: 336-363
7. Pollls 8: Swlss Craphlc ueslan, London: Laurence klna,
2006:162-166
8. 8oberLs L (Ld.): CtlJs. cteotlve 5olotloos fot Ctopblc
ueslooets. Pove, uk, 8oLovlslon, 2007:16.
9. !anser A & !unod 8 (Lds.): cotpotote ulvetsltv. 8aden:
Lars Muller Þubllshers, 2009:10-20
10. 8owland A: 8auhaus source book. new ?ork: van
nosLrand 8elnhold, 1990:12
11. lbld: 126-127
12. 8aLhaeb M: Otl Alcbet. London: Þhaldon, 2006
13. LupLon L & Mlller !.A: uesloo wtltloo keseotcb. new
?ork: Þhaldon, 1999:78
14. Muller-8rockmann !: 1be otopblc ottlst ooJ bls Jesloo
ptoblems. Zurlch: verlaa nlaall, 1983:27
13. Pollls 8: Ctopblc Jesloo. A cooclse blstotv. London:
1hames & Pudson, 1994:130
16. 8amachandran v.S & Pubbard L.M: SvnaesLhesla: A
wlndow lnLo percepLlon, LhouahL and lanauaae. ln
Iootool of cooscloosoess 5toJles, 8(12), 2001b:3-34
17. Muller L: !osef Muller-8rockmann, llooeet of 5wlss
Ctopblc uesloo. 8aden: Lars Muller Þubllshers, 2000:38
18. 1vpoLheque
[hLLp://www.LvpoLheque.com/arLlcles/wolfaana_welna
arL:_Lvpoaraphv]
19. lmaalnaLlon MaLerlallzed: Alcan webslLe
[hLLp://www.cramllnaLon.alcanpackaalna.com]


ÞLLk kLVILW
noL commlssloned, exLernallv peer revlewed

CCNILIC1 CI IN1LkL51
1he auLhor has no compeLlna lnLeresLs Lo declare