Usability evaluation of daily products' packages for eldery people.

An example of improvement for the shrink film of the toothpaste.

Abstract

Elderly people often complain difficulties about such simple operation like unsealing of the packages of daily products. In this study, unsealing behavior of the shrink film of a tube of toothpaste was analyzed to clarify the characteristic of the operation behavior, and the improvements of unsealing of the shrink film were discussed. Unsealing behavior was recorded with video tapes, and transition of action was analyzed. Based on the results, it turned out that subjects observed first the whole of the tube to compose the mental model of the tube, and also observed details before unsealing. It turned out that there is a problem that the sign of unsealing position was poor so that subjects couldn’t notice the exact position. An improvement was made where arrow signs were clearly printed at the unsealing position on the film, and it led remarkably reduced trouble for unsealing of the shrink film. We can conclude that the indication signs which can construct proper mental model at users when they observe the object, are very important.