Laasya Bosukonda       

 

Work  


Aria

 
Problem:
Traditional birth control packaging is bulky, visible, and hard to personalize, making daily use inconvenient and easy to forget.

Solution:
A discreet, compact dispenser that tracks daily pills and simplifies intake with a single sliding motion. Refillable weekly tubes offer flexibility to carry only what you need or skip placebo weeks. 

Currently developing an advanced, technology-enhanced iteration of this project.


Skills

Industrial design, Protoyping, CAD, User-research


Timeline

8 weeks - Spring 2025


Materials

Grey foam, 3D printing filament

Tools

Solidworks, Keyshot, Photoshop, 3D printer, Figma  


Dispense


A seamless interaction that effortlessly tracks and dispenses your pill in a single, smooth motion. 

The pills remain discreetly hidden within the dispenser, allowing you to retrieve one without revealing the rest.


Transfer


The second funnel device enables you to effortlessly transfer pills from the current blister pack into the designated tubes required for Aria.

Mechanism


A simple spring-based mechanism that dispenses one pill at a time with ease.

How-To-Use


  1. Open – Pull off the top of Aria and remove the dispensing tube
  2. Attach – Secure the tube onto the funnel
  3. Load – Slide your blister pack into the funnel
  4. Dispense – Press down to release pills 
  5. Store – Place the tube back into Aria
  6. Close – Secure the top back onto Aria
  7. Repeat – Use as needed



Visual System


The design system features the classic days of the week, along with dots representing weeks 1–4. 

For those starting the pill midweek, a customizable sticker can be placed over the days to maintain accurate tracking.


Process


Problem Space

Many prescription medications, including birth control, need to be taken at the same time every day. But what happens when you find yourself in a public setting and need to take your medication around others? I want to know if the act of taking medication in public can be uncomfortable, and what concerns people may have about privacy or stigma. 

I hope to explore people's experiences of taking their medications in public by understanding how they feel about it, whether they experience any stigma, and how we might design packaging that provides a more discreet and empowering experience for pill-taking in social environments.



Concept Maps

Mapping out concept diagrams and user flows for accessing and using birth control in both public and private settings.

Interviews

Conducting conversational-style interviews with 8 diverse individuals to gather valuable insights.

Users
Birth control pill users
Prescription medication users

Professionals
Nurses
Healthcare 
University health promotions
Peer health advocacy groups


Key Insights


The research can be divided into six main categories. 

However, this iteration of the project focuses on three key aspects: 

Scheduling

Stigma

Access




“The minute you pull out a blister pack of little round pills, people know exactly what it is.”“The sex health vending machines are so important because they create privacy around health, and they’re easily accessible as well.”“If I had a more fun way to carry it around, I probably wouldn’t forget it as much.”



Generative Research

This process included examining the ecosystem of everyday items people carry to understand how a pill pack might seamlessly integrate into their routines. 

I invited individuals to share the contents of their daily bags, along with the emotions and associations they have with each item.



Key Insights

People are ashamed of
  • Drugs (Nicotine)
  • Menstrual products
  • Safe sex supplies
  • Trash

People are empowered by
  • Books
  • Color coded objects
  • Sentimental objects - toys, keychains, stickers
  • Functional objects that have cool packaging
“It’s not even shame, it is just a sense of discomfort.”

“Why do I am want them knowing that about me.”

“This is something that is private to me and my body.”

“I am often impacted by recognizable packaging and associations with those products.”



Initial Sketches

Visually exploring design ideas that preserve the form of the blister pack but also pushing further to imagine new possibilities beyond its traditional shape.


Key Considerations:

Discrete

Accessible

Calendarized 



Physical Prototyping

Key Considerations:

Sizing and proportions

Hold

Inclusion of mechanics + pills

Back to Work

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