A look into what's possible in Accessible Design. Tactile Allergens are created to be placed on food packages as an additional method of learning allergen information. Using 3D modeling, 3D printing, and vacuum-forming, they are a testament to the multidisciplinary field of graphic design. Scroll down to see the step-by-step process work.
Sketches
Tactile Allergens are an accessible feature of Piper's Pantry, created to provide a fast and easy way to check for allergens on food packages. The visual aspects of them are less important, instead the focus was on the 3D forms being distinct and clear enough for someone to be able to 'read'.
I decided on creating a set using the top 9 allergens (sesame, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, eggs, dairy, soy, wheat), as well as adding 3 difficult-to-navigate dietary restrictions (gluten, vegan, sugar).
During my beginning sketches, I was still focused on the visual quality of the allergens and how they looked. I was focused on the learned iconography of them-- such as milk being a glass milk bottle and gluten being a slice of bread. I failed to realize that if you are visually impaired, you will not have the same learned visual associations with the allergens. I instead chose to focus on the textures and tactile qualities of each allergen, such as the grooves in a peanut shell.
Going 3-Dimensional
Going from 2-D to 3-D was a whole different mindset you need to be in. I quickly realized through making rough versions of my allergens with air-dry clay that not only did I have to rethink some of my designs, but I also needed to lower the detail down and make sure everything had enough of a contrast to be able to feel it, not just see it.
Dairy
Tree Nuts
Peanut
Egg
Shellfish
Fish
Wheat
Sesame
Soy
Gluten
Sugar
Vegan
I had to learn Blender in order to make my creations officially in a 3D space. These preliminary models were rough around the edges, and after watching (many) tutorials and troubleshooting, I was able to get all of the allergens closer to my final vision.
Dairy
Tree Nuts
Peanut
Egg
Shellfish
Fish
Wheat
Sesame
Soy
Gluten
Vegan
Sugar
3D Printing
Learning how to 3D print led to many failures...
...and successes...
...and now it was time to vacuum-form.
Vacuum-Forming
Now it was time to make my tactile allergen symbols useful for the real world. How was I going to add these onto packages? I decided to do vacuum-forming, where you vacuum heated plastic onto a mold like 3-D prints. But was that actually going to work?
Well,
The Machine
Inside
Dusting with Corn Starch
Test 1
Test 2
Tests 1,2,3
Not really.
The large vacuum-former was hard to work with and control, and didn't give the amount of detail needed for the tactile allergens to become functional. Not only that, but each mistake took up an entire sheet of plastic, and with a limited quantity of sheets, each pull counted. But there was one last thing that could be done.
A dental vacuum-former. These were smaller, allowing the plastic to heat up much faster, gives you more control, and the smaller area being vacuumed allowed for far greater detail.
Test
Test
How the Molds are Used
Final Results
Putting It All Together
So how does this all connect to Piper's Pantry? How will this be implemented?
Both the 3-D printer filament and plastic used are food-grade materials, which means it is safe for it to come into contact with food. These symbols go on plastic or cardboard food packaging.
Mock-up of what a package with allergens could look like
Tactile Allergens is accessible product design created using Clay, Blender, 3D Printing, and Vacuum-Forming.