Inclusive by design: practical ways to build accessibility into product-packaging ecosystems in pharma and MedTech

Inclusive design has been a much talked about principle in pharma and MedTech for years. Yet its practical application still often lags behind what patients and healthcare professionals actually need. Validation frequently requires only a narrow population sample, or relies on predicate devices that were never designed with today’s diverse users in mind. At the same time, the complexity of drug delivery systems continues to grow, and with it, the risk that critical parts of the experience, from packaging to instructions to storage, unintentionally ignore the reality of lived experience and device interaction.

As someone who spends much of my time working with client teams wrestling with these realities, I see inclusive design not as an additional step, but as essential to successful product design. When we widen the lens on who we design for, involve them earlier, and consider the full product –packaging ecosystem, we uncover insights that make products safer and more intuitive for end users, and more commercially effective for our clients.

What follows is a practical look at why inclusive design matters, how it accelerates rather than delays development, and what it takes to embed it meaningfully across the product lifecycle.

Why inclusive design matters: for business, safety and ethics

Let’s be clear: inclusive design isn’t just the right thing to do. It’s a business imperative. In the UK alone, over 40% of people with a disability report difficulty accessing products and services, a group worth £274 billion to the economy.¹ If we don’t design for them, we risk not only ethical and regulatory consequences but also brand reputation and commercial failure.

But inclusion goes beyond compliance. It’s about understanding the lived realities of users: the daily multi-tasking, the comorbidities, the diverse home environments, and the need for clear, accessible user-friendly experiences which lead to consistent and accurate use. It’s about designing products and packaging that fit seamlessly into people’s lives, not just into regulatory frameworks.

Team discussing and collaborating during user research

Think in ecosystems, not components

One of the biggest shifts we advocate at Ensera Design when considering inclusivity is moving from component-level thinking to ecosystem thinking. For instance, “packaging” isn’t just a box; it’s the first touchpoint in the user experience. It’s everything from the labeling and instructions for use (IFU), to the storage context and the way products are differentiated in a crowded kitchen or bathroom cupboard.

Take insulin delivery as an example, which is a project we worked on with our clients at AstraZeneca. Through early research with people managing multiple medications and comorbidities, we uncovered needs that went far beyond the device itself:

Visibility and differentiation: Color cues and tactile aids help users with sight loss or dexterity challenges quickly identify the right medication.
One-handed operation: Many users are multi-tasking: holding a baby, preparing food, or managing other everyday tasks. So, packaging must be accessible with one hand.
Dexterity-friendly closures: Limited grip strength and sensitivity mean that fiddly packaging can be a real barrier.
Multi-location storage: Products may often need to be stored in different places (fridge, cupboard, travel bag), each with its own requirements.

These insights only emerge when you look at the whole ecosystem: not just the device, but everything that surrounds it.

Inclusion accelerates market entry, not delays it

There’s a myth that inclusive design slows projects down and therefore is something of a “nice to have” if time allows. In reality, when done early and collaboratively, it accelerates learning and reduces risk.

We’ve found that combining remote diary studies (using platforms like Inkling), targeted in-person sessions, and cross-functional workshops with R&D, packaging, and manufacturing partners can surface limitations and opportunities much faster than traditional methods. Involving suppliers and manufacturers from day one ensures we design within real-world constraints and avoid costly surprises later.

Digital tools like finite element analysis (FEA) and accelerated ageing simulations allow us to test and validate packaging performance quickly and safely, without waiting for physical prototypes. These kinds of tests enable us to model how packaging will behave under stress (e.g. crush tests, drops, temperature changes, passage of time) so we can optimize designs before they hit the production line.

Where to start: a playbook for every stage

Inclusive design, by definition, can never be one-size-fits-all. Depending on where you are in the product lifecycle, there are different entry points to incorporating a more inclusive approach, with a range of different research techniques you could explore to generate actionable insight:

New territory: Ethnographic discovery research enables you to map lived experience and edge cases before defining user needs.
Concept maturation: Co-creation and concept evaluation with underserved users will help you shape their usability and functionality requirements, not just verify desirability.
Late-stage refinement: Even at the latter stages of development, formative studies with high-fidelity prototypes can target known inclusion risks (e.g. vision, dexterity, cognition, multitasking).
Scale and sustain: Once you’re ready to move into production and commercialization, human factors validation, FEA-supported packaging simulations, and manufacturing partner alignment with your vision are all tangible ways to keep inclusion intact as you enter market.

The key is to involve the right people, at the right time, with the right methods.

Close up of design wireframes and prototypes

Proof points: inclusion in action

What I love most about inclusive design is that above all it’s practical, and it delivers significant ROI. It’s rooted in the real-world of your users, and is single-mindedly focused on putting them at the heart of design decisions.

Here are just a few examples from our work at Ensera Design:

Insulin delivery ecosystem: Early research revealed a need for one-handed operation, clear on-pack differentiation, and dexterity-friendly closures. Integrating manufacturing expertise early into the design process helped us understand the constraints any solution had to factor in, keeping timelines intact and reducing risk.

Global self-collection kit documentation: Co-designing reading-light and reading-free IFU variants with clinical partners improved accessibility for low-literacy and multilingual contexts, showing that inclusion is as much about information design as hardware innovation.

Pediatric use cases: Designing for children and caregivers (hemophilia routines, ostomy products, infant formula workflows across multi-home caregiving) surfaced needs around dosing hand-overs, temperature stability, and clear shared instructions. These were all needs that “shrink it” or “pink it” approaches simply don’t address.

Overcoming potential objections

We know from conversations with so many of our clients that the will and desire to improve the inclusivity of their products is firmly in evidence. But they also anticipate objections from within their wider organization that prevents them from moving forward.

In my experience, these misgivings are largely unfounded. Or rather, they can usually be overcome through pre-emptive planning, close collaboration, and lateral thinking.

“We can’t change the line.”
Engage manufacturing and suppliers early; use FEA and accelerated testing to de-risk material and form changes before tooling.

“We don’t have time or budget.”
Remote methods, targeted local studies, and front-loaded cross-functional workshops reduce iteration costs and speed up delivery.

“Regulatory equivalence is enough.”
Predicate-based pathways can perpetuate historical bias; inclusive involvement earlier reduces safety, legal, and commercial risk downstream.

Two middle aged men talking during a workshop

The next wave is mandated in governance and embedded in operational process

For organizations that have already embraced greater inclusivity in areas of their product portfolio, the next frontier is operationalization. In other words, making inclusive design a repeatable, auditable part of R&D.

At Ensera Design, we’re developing lightweight checklists and governance tools that prompt teams to ask the right questions at every stage at an organizational level, just as they do for sustainability. We’re working with clients to audit their processes, identify gaps, and build practical tools for inclusive practice. To me, this stage is the truly exciting one. Where inclusive design shifts from product optimization to being a strategic driver of business growth. And it opens up a world of possibilities for better health outcomes for all, no matter how specific the need.

How Ensera Design can help

If you’re planning a new device, revisiting an existing platform, or scaling a packaging refresh, start with broad questions: what assumptions are we making about our users, who are we excluding today, and how can we involve them?

If you’d like to see our inclusive design R&D checklist, or understand where there’s potential to build in greater inclusivity to your current project pipeline, please get in touch. Let’s build products and packaging that work for everyone.

Lucy Baldwin is Head of Research and Strategy at Ensera Design’s UK studio. She leads cross-disciplinary project teams to deliver inclusive, evidence-based innovation in pharma and MedTech. Lucy recently spoke at Pharmapack Europe 2026 about our work on Designing and De-risking Inclusive Packaging Ecosystems for AstraZeneca.

Read the latest article featuring Lucy Baldwin in the European Pharmaceutical Manufacturer: Q&A: De-risking Inclusive Packaging Ecosystems – European Pharmaceutical Manufacturer

¹ Source: The Purple Pound – Infographic, Purple (wearepurple.org.uk), https://wearepurple.org.uk/the-purple-pound-infographic/#content

Want to understand what taking an inclusive design approach looks like for your business? Our team is always happy to discuss specific challenges or help you understand which research techniques best suit your project or lifecycle stage.

Get in touch with our Research and Strategy team