A GRAPHIC DESIGN ANALYSIS OF USABILITY AND PUBLIC AWARENESS OF ANTI-COUNTERFEITING FEATURES ON ANTI-MALARIA PACKAGING IN NIGERIA

Every day in Nigeria, patients visit pharmacies to obtain vital anti-malarial drugs. Trusting the packaging, they may unknowingly purchase counterfeit, ineffective, or harmful medicine. This doctoral research examines a key visual communication failure: the "security gap" between anti-counterfeiting graphics on pharmaceutical packaging and their usability. Focusing on anti-malarial medicine, the study explores how design decisions impact public safety. Using a cross-sectional mixed-methods approach with 150 participants—including consumers, healthcare workers, and graphic designers—the study evaluated awareness, recognition, and usability of security features such as holograms, QR codes, and the NAFDAC registration number from a user-centred perspective. Results show a significant gap: 78% voiced concern about counterfeits, but only 34% verified security features. Awareness was not associated with education level (ANOVA, p = 0.912), suggesting that design shortcomings outweigh user knowledge. Notably, 61% of informed users found security features difficult to interpret. Tamper-evident seals were most recognised (70%), followed by the NAFDAC number (67%), while QR codes were least used (12%). The study concludes that security graphics fail without a user-friendly design, recommending increased intuitiveness, clarity, and a stronger focus on human-centred packaging.