Living Every Graphic Designer's Dream
No. It's not me, silly. It's Deborah Adler. She's the one who redesigned prescription drug bottles for her MFA thesis at the School of Visual Arts. She's the one whose design received endorsement from the US Surgeon General. She's the one working as a senior designer for Milton Glaser Inc. She's the one who pitched her new SafeRX prescription packaging system to Target creative director Minda Gralnek. She's the one who sold SafeRX to the retail giant. She's the one who worked with Target to create the company's ClearRx prescription bottles. She's the one who is only about 30 years old. She's the one featured in STEP's Women of Design issue as one of 10 "Women to Watch" in 2006. She's the one who has been featured in New York Magazine and has appeared on NBC Nightly News and CBS Sunday Morning. And it was the reception for the exhibition of her work that I attended last Thursday.
"ClearRx: From Master's Thesis to Medicine Cabinet" is an exhibition that follows a three year journey from Adler's initial concept to redesign prescription bottles and labels to her partnership with Target to launch ClearRx in May 2005.
Adler's motivation to redesign the ugly amber-colored bottles came when her grandmother accidently swallowed her grandfather's pills. Additional research showed they weren't the only ones making this mistake.
"I wanted to design the bottle so that when you open up your medicine cabinet, you instantly know which is your drug," says Adler.
The results are a new bottle with easy-to-read labels, removable info card, color-coded rings and new warning icons (image at right)redesigned by the man himself, Milton Glaser.
The exhibition is divided into three sections:
1) Identifies specific problems with current system.
2) Outlines the collaboration between Adler and Target.
3) Displays the final product and showcases the advertising and awareness campaigned launched by Target.
Oh yeah. One more thing. The ClearRx system is also part of the "SAFE: Design Takes on Risk" exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art.
Whether you are puking with envy, beaming with happiness, or both, her meteoric rise to design stardom should be enough to instill hope in every designer out there. I really recommend visiting this exhibition because it does show how all this happened. There is even a display of the pitch letter Adler e-mailed to Minda Gralnek at Target to get things moving. As with most success stories, it comes down to idea, talent, hard work, location, luck, and timing.
The exhibition is located at The Westside Gallery, 141 West 21st Street, NYC from October 29 through November 23.
Good luck!
I am a pharmacist and inventor of several medication compliance devices for the blind. Can anyone help me with obtaining contact info for Deborah Adler, developer of the Clear Rx system.
Thanks,
JCD
jcd323dobbs@cox.net