Hypochondriac Survival Kit

Designer: Flora Cruells Benzal
Type of Work: Student Project
Country: USA

We were asked to design and create a survival kit set for a chosen theme. The goal of this project was to creatively fit the design aesthetic to the theme.

With the readlly easy access that we have to medical information nowadays, and the many opportunities that we have for auto diagnosis, I decided to create a survival kit for the hypochondriac in all of us.

Instead of going for a contemporary look, I decided to design a throw back to the 1800’s and their snake oil charmers; the ones that would come to remote towns in order to sell their magic medicines that would cure all kinds of illness.

I created a type based logo reminiscent of the era along with some frames to keep it contained. I used old fashioned medical illustrations from gray’s anatomy to give it an air of medical authenticity. I also used vellum to print all the graphics in order to get a more a matte finish. The vellum also provided a little bit of bleeding, making it more old fashioned and distressed.

All the labels are tagged with their appropriate contents, but they also have a little tagline as a pun (for example, the Eye Drops are to be used in case of Pink Eye…but that could also be a sign for Glaucoma! The Sunscreen is to be used for skin redness… but it also could be a sign for Melanoma!)

Hypochondriac Survival Kit is full of remedies for the simplest diseases, because it may be nothing, but who knows…. you may die from it! 🙂