Research and Markets may be a bit ignorant of the history of Universal Design but it does get the motivator right for its ubiquitous adoption in Japan -- the demographic age inversion that will sequentially impact all countries in the world:
DEMOGRAPHICS TRENDS & A NEW DESIGN MOVEMENTChanging demographics in Japanese society mean that the population is ageing rapidly, resulting in dramatic changes in lifestyles and consumer expectation.
UNIVERSAL DESIGN (UD) is a new revolutionary movement to promote a different way of thinking about the functionality of the package builds accessibility and user-convenience into the initial concept: easy opening for the elderly yet child proof, clearly labeled instructions for eyesight impaired yet hold shelf appeal, pre-cooked meals in retortable or mircrowavable pouches are self-venting to release steam and prevent scalding.
This new UD movement has been adopted by ALL of the major packaging producers and brand owners in Japan collaborating to develop new active intelligent packaging materials, substrates and closures.
This report analyses the impact of UD and includes practical examples of new packaging formats which have found success in the market as a result of UD.
Press release:
Top-Level Data and a Strategic Analysis of the Key Drivers of Japan's US$54.8 Billion Package Production Industry