The problem I chose to base my project on is the fact that a big portion of the products we use daily are marketed against either men or women. The result of that is an exclusion of the people who do not fit inside the norm, which states that there are only two genders. My purpose during the project was to investigate this problem and in the end also criticize it in a suitable way.
Later on, my focus was shifted towards a specific category of products - menstrual hygiene products. More specifically their packaging. They are marketed only towards women and exclude all who are not cis-women. The subject of menstruation is also a loaded one and at the moment frequently discussed within certain circles. Most people seem to have a lot of feelings and opinions regarding the subject, which will hopefully get my project into the public eye.
My process started in collecting a broad range of facts and theories surrounding the subject, which the remaining parts of my project is based on. The information about norms, stereotypes, gender, packaging, transpersons, menstruation and menstrual hygiene products was something I could always go back to whenever I needed help in decision making during the project. The contact I had with the consumers through the surveys were an important part in building my understanding of what creates attention and feelings, which has been valuable in working towards critical design.
The packaging is created as a contrast against the packaging for menstrual hygiene products existing today. The period is allowed to take up space in the form of illustrations of the menstrual product as well as the color red, which symbolizes menstrual blood. This is also combined with clear plastic on two sides which show the containing products. The font used on the majority
of the packaging is a combination of hard shapes, often considered masculine, and thin round shapes, often considered feminine. Together they create a gender neutral appearance. The name of the company ”har du mens eller?” is chosen after a phrase commonly used by men to disparage women’s feelings and opinions. In this case, it is written in a typically feminine font which is very common in this category of products. With the different parts of the packaging, my hope is to rise attention and bring awareness to how the products surrounding us are marketed and how this affect us.