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Prescription For Profit
Channels: Film, Exhibition
Keywords: Space, Retro, Medicine, Ethereal
Position: Set Designer and Asset Creation

About the project:

It’s unfortunate to find yourself sick, and the patients who need these types of life-saving medications certainly know that better than anyone else, especially because of their obscene prices. My Partner, Thomas, and I looked for a way that we could highlight this issue while pointing out the predatory practices of these drug manufacturers. This exhibition is our way of doing just that.

The experience brings these drugs to a shelf they’ll never see, making them seem as easy to buy as headache medicine. That is, until you see their real price. Our biggest challenge was making sure all of our research was accurate, and that what we were stating was true. It blew us away when we saw the real prices that people are charged just so they can live. And yes, we mean live. These aren’t quality-of-life meds; they’re necessary for people with the afflictions that require each treatment we chose. This is what makes it so tragic. These companies are the only ones with the means to produce these medications, so they are able to jack up the price as much as they want.

Research:
Research consisted of looking up manufacturers, prices, and cross-referencing those prices with other manufacturers, if there were any. This helped us narrow down the real pricing before insurance, and we focused heavily on the name brands, as there are stigmas around “off-brand” medication not being as effective.

We then moved into the design and chose a few different styles related to the pharmaceutical realm, specifically the over-the-counter experience. What we found was that pill bottles have stayed largely the same since the 80s, so we felt that the older ASCII style paired nicely with the current designs of prescription meds. This is also where we found the inspiration for the name of our exhibition.

Prelim Sketches + Final Sketch

Personas

Prototypes + Research

Asset Creation & Early Setup

As we were building everything out, I was doing more of the physical craft and making sure that everything you could touch was thoughtfully and carefully curated exactly as it was supposed to be. I also made sure that the process of scanning the bottle, the video queuing, and the receipt printer then printing all worked as intended. Thomas, on the other hand, made sure the video that played worked on our portrait display and handled the ASCII asset creation.

End of the AR

Hello to Automation!

Final Assets!

Takeaways:
I took so much away from this project, but I’d say there was one thing that really stood out. This project challenged me to keep in mind how sensitive a topic this is for some, and that it demanded the utmost respect. So creatively, I learned how to put my skills into a more serious issue and to do it in a way that highlighted the issue and also drew out the raw emotions of those who would go through the experience themselves. I’m grateful to have gone through this project as it taught me so much, and I grew as a person and a designer.

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