Our VP, suffering from a terrible cold last winter, decided that the best remedy would be the DayQuil/NyQuil dual pack. Perfect, right?! Symptoms dealt with day and night with the added bonus of deep sleep. Alas, the development at Vicks clearly didn't realize that the NyQuil was a shade of green while their DayQuil was a shade of red. Remind you of anything?
Much to the chagrin of our VP, she associated the green-colored NyQuil with "Go" and the reddish-shaded DayQuil with "Stop". She took a NyQuil before heading out the door and fought the Z's throughout the workday.
Clearly in this instance, the color of the medicine did not carry a significant risk with it (unless you count our VP's productivity as a critical issue!). Think, though, what might happen if a manufacturer created an emergency stop button that was colored green. In that instance, the poor design of the product could cost a patient their health or, heaven forbid, their life.
-RTK
Image Credit: Grendelkhan on Flikr