Steph Bloom

BFA in Art & Design

Sublima

The birth control pill is a symbol of bodily autonomy. Such a product should be celebrated, not hidden under a veil of pearls, daisies, serifs and other delicate marketing metaphors. In my collaboration with the startup Sublima, I offer an alternative dialogue to this ongoing issue. Sublima is a female-led pharmaceutical company developing the first non-hormonal birth control pill in the U.S. With this revolutionary product now in trials, there is an opportunity to reimagine its branding and packaging design to reflect this new step in women’s reproductive rights. Since the 1960s, the Pill’s packaging design has prioritized discretion and ambiguous visual language, reinforcing the stigma that products like birth control should remain hidden. Inspired by this lack of fundamental change, my design frontlines education and product clarity, dismantling the narrative that a person’s agency over their reproductive health should be private. By utilizing a dispensing mechanism, ergonomic design, and bold and direct visuals, this packaging empowers users to not only reclaim, but celebrate, their daily contraceptive routine.
A close-up photo of Sublima's uterus logo on the front of the packaging box. The box is placed on a spray-painted red backdrop.
A side-on photo of Sublima's packaging box placed on a spray-painted red backdrop. The packaging consists of a light pink sleeve covering a red box. The top face of the sleeve shows Sublima's uterus logo with the words
A photo showing a user sliding the packaging sleeve off the box. Inside the box is an instruction booklet named
A photo revealing that the packaging sleeve has the ability to be opened.
A photo showing the packaging sleeve fully extended. The inside of the sleeve displays a timeline detailing important moments in history regarding women's birth control. The packaging box is out of focus in the background.
A photo showing a user looking through the instruction booklet. The packaging box and sleeve are out of focus in the background.
A photo showing the pill dispenser out of the packaging box and in the user's hand. The pill dispenser's exterior body is made out of a semi-transparent material featuring a gradient from light pink to white/transparent. The red interior body can be somewhat seen through the exterior body. The top button of the dispenser, where the user would push for a pill, has the company name
A photo showing the user interacting with the pill dispenser. This photo reveals how the hinge of the interior body allows for a shute to pop out of the bottom of the dispenser, dispensing a pill.
A photo showing the pill dispenser, at a distance, on a spray-painted red backdrop.

A flipbook of the instruction booklet seen in previous images. The flipbook contains information about the company Sublima, the importance of non-hormonal birth control, a description regarding the new design, and how to use and refill the dispenser.