Minneapolis ? Target Corp. is turning the old pill bottle design on its head — literally.

Target pharmacies this month rolled out a flattened bottle with easier-to-read labels and plastic rings that can be color-coded for each family member.

“They’re easier to read,” said Holly Neary, pharmacist at SuperTarget in Lawrence, which has been dispensing hundreds of the new bottles daily since their arrival April 7. “They’re easier to use, especially for people who have a hard time opening or handling bottles.”

Target literally flipped the bottle on its head, so that it now rests on the cap. The label now wraps over the top, making drug information visible from above. The name of the drug appears prominently on the spine, and a card with information about side effects slips into a slot aimed at keeping it with the pills.

Bottles for liquids get a receptacle for oral syringes, key for dispensing children’s medications such as Amoxicillin.

“It’s easier and safer,” Neary said.

The redesign is the first of the traditional pill bottle by a national pharmacy in some 40 years, said Don Downing, an associate professor in the University of Washington School of Pharmacy and a former pharmacy owner who has consulted on pharmacy safety.

Most pill bottles have cramped labels that leave little room for important information, he said.

“We’ve all been concerned about font size and readability, and I think this improves that dramatically,” he said.

Designer Deborah Adler shows some examples of her ClearRx prescription system at the design studio Milton Glaser Inc. in New York. Target pharmacies this month rolled out the flattened bottle with easier-to-read labels and plastic rings that can be used to color-code bottles for each family member.

Besides reducing the chance of errors with medications, Target is hoping the redesigned bottles will help it grab customers from other pharmacies.

“When opening your medicine cabinet for the first time, you instantly know the name of the drug you’re taking, how to take it, and that it’s yours,” said Deborah Adler, 29, who designed the bottle and label.

In February, Target announced it would add 150 pharmacies to the 1,000 it already runs, part of a “ClearRx” strategy to increase its share of the business.

Even so, mass merchandisers such as Target and Wal-Mart account for just under 10 percent of prescription drug sales, according to the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, and it’s not clear if other pharmacies will match Target’s move.