Comfort Kit
Supporting those affected by disasters by providing them with essential products in a sustainable, user-friendly package.
The Opportunity
In the event of natural disasters, the American Red Cross distributes "Comfort Kits", containing essential personal care items to the people affected by these catastrophes.
The current American Red Cross Comfort Kits rely heavily on single-use plastics. From speaking with Red Cross representatives, we found out that existing products have been known to melt in the heat or leak in distribution. Reducing plastic will also promote a sustainable image for the Red Cross and further its mission. We also wanted the kit to be more welcoming than the current design, bringing some positivity to the recipient's day.
With a team of 3 packaging engineers and one other designer, we redesigned the packaging and graphics for the American Red Cross Comfort Kits, making them out of 100% recyclable paperboard.
This project will be submitted to the Paperboard Packaging Alliance 2023 student design challenge.
Current Comfort Kit; Photo: Red Cross Central California Blog
Our Approach
With permission to use the Red Cross brand system, we wanted to create literal, iconic graphics for each package within the kit. The other designer and I created a mood board to present to the packaging engineers, illustrating our plan to use iconographic patterns and color blocking.
Graphics Drafts
An issue we ran into is that we cannot assume each user speaks English. So, it must be clear what each package contains. We struggled to avoid illustrating plastic renditions of the personal care items, as it would be misleading since the kit includes no plastic.
Final Flat Graphics
Eventually, we landed on simple icons which were later created into a pattern for further usage. We drew upon the secondary colors in the Red Cross brand system to create a color coding system with the icons and their associated packaging.
Final Graphics and Packages - Large Kit
The overall kit stays true to the Red Cross brand while still being inviting and cheerful. We ended up with some panels colored and applied the pattern to others, creating more visual interest. On the back, we creatively listed the contents, sustainability aspects, and let recipients add their names on the box, preventing mix-ups with others.
Final Graphics and Packages - Inside Packages
The packages inside the kit all include the icon relating to that item, the "Comfort Kit" wordmark and Red Cross logo, as well as colored-coded paneling. Each item also has the necessary instructions, ingredients, and piece count included in the box. The packages dispense each product successfully without the use of plastic.
Our team presented the final product to The American Red Cross and was well received.
Final Flat Package Dielines
Our Prototype In Use
