I’m a mechanical design engineer, dad, certified Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST), and founder of Design4023—a design studio dedicated to creating better products for babies from zero to three.

When I became a parent, I noticed that many essential baby products simply didn't work well in real life. Despite manufacturers' claims, their products actually create a great deal of difficulty, discomfort and even sacrifice safety. Status quo design prioritizes a myriad of features that do nothing for the primary user of the product - the baby. Below is one such example.

Molded parts are often designed to be "stackable" (think molded plastic bowls). The main reason for doing this is that stackability lowers product cost because more product can be shipped and stored in a given volumetric space. When making baby gear stackable, the bottoms may become narrow and include oddly shaped features that would otherwise be unwanted. This can undermine the functionality and safety of the end product by making the product more restrictive, less comfortable and less stable. How do manufacturers address this and other shortcomings? Most often by using safety labels and instructions that require caregivers to restrict the product's use and assume all responsibility for accidents, injuries and even deaths that result from the product's "misuse". This cynical, half-hearted approach to meeting safety regulations is common industry practice. 

At Design4023, I partner with manufacturers of essential durable baby products (e.g. strollers, car seats, sleepers, feeding chairs, play spaces, bathtubs, etc...) to rethink design from the ground up. My approach is baby-first, blending a deep understanding of early childhood development, environmental factors, injury prevention research, real-world use and human factors engineering to create innovative products that work better, support development and are inarguably safer.

Babies come into our world instinctually hardwired for development. It's their “Job #1”. In the first months and years, babies seek opportunities to play wherever and whenever their innate curiosity leads them. They are on a quest to become competent and capable human beings. Interacting with all their senses, babies will experiment, move, play and test themselves and their surroundings. Above all else our job as parents is to guarantee safety but we often don't need to sacrifice developmental opportunities. Daily routines are rich, regularly repeated experiences that allow babies to reinforce and build on things they are learning. Our modern environments present challenges to the natural instincts that humans have developed over hundreds of thousands of years. The products we use to keep our babies safe should help them adapt to modern lifestyle and environments. Car seats should adapt babies to ride safely in cars. Strollers should adapt babies to move safely through a diversity of walked environments. High chairs adapt babies to eat at tables placed above smooth, hard floors. Baby bathtubs adapt babies to experience the joy of water play within ill-suited, adult sized bathtubs. With every essential device, the imperative of good product design is to prevent injury, function well AND support the baby's developmental journey.  We should not accept design that unnecessarily restricts natural movement and frustrates babies to the point of having uncontrollable temper tantrums. This isn't good or necessary and it certainly isn't convenient. Safety, function and supporting early development is the mission. Below are a few of the specific strategies and tactics that I've developed to support that mission. 

• Design with Empathy: Babies can't tell us what they like. They don't rate products, write product reviews or make buying decisions. Good design requires our understanding and empathy.  

• Create Better Space: Whenever possible, provide the stage appropriate space a baby needs for normal movement and play eg. lying down, rolling over, sitting up, standing up...

• Restrict Less:  Using straps and/or container geometry, many products are designed to unnecessarily immobilize babies. This in itself is frustrating. Allowing adequate space to move, even a little, can transform a baby’s experience. Strollers for instance use straps and excessive seat angles to forcibly recline. This basically shuts off a babies’ ability to sit up and forward which is how they learn to balance. Ideally, babies should be allowed to independently move into and out of any developmentally appropriate position. They should be able to do this freely, without permission or assistance.

• Do More on the Floor:  Rethink products, spaces and routines to do more of them on a soft floor where falls are safer. As product designers we should question ourselves whenever we require parents to raise their baby off the floor. The floor is the safest and most natural place for a baby.

• Falling is Learning:  Falling is a necessary part of learning how to balance oneself. Falling is acceptable when done safely such as on grass or on a cushioned mat or rug. Devices should be designed so that falling from either a seated or standing position can be done safely. Well designed cribs and playpens do this. Strollers and bathtubs should do this too!

• Understand the Environment: Tile floors are smooth, hard and dangerous. Ceiling lights to a baby lying on their back can feel threatening and painful. Babies are sensitive to noise, drafts and temperature. Design for the environment.

• Inspire Confidence: The use of hands and feet is crucial for early development. Surfaces for hands and feet should be solid, well-placed and behave predictably. Handholds should be firm and correctly sized. Feet should also meet firm and correctly sized surfaces. Too often feet are allowed to dangle and proper handholds don’t exist.

• Sleep Well: Babies prefer to fall asleep while laying belly down against their parent’s chest. This goes against prevailing SIDS guidance which advocates for back sleeping in every situation. For parents, sleep continues to be an extraordinarily difficult problem and is an opportunity for innovation.

• Respect Anatomy: Avoid curved or slouched positions that can distress babies or impair breathing. In some cases curved seating positions have even suffocated babies who were able to roll into these positions but were unable to roll out of them.

My current project goal is to develop a forward facing car seat that is as safe as rear facing car seats. The latest prototype is promising and could be ready this year for crash testing. When babies are two years old or more, most parents would prefer to turn their baby from rear facing to forward facing. This is a difficult and stressful question for parents. A forward facing car seat, proven to be as safe as rear facing car seats, would facilitate this decision and could potentially disrupt the lucrative car seat market. Obviously, car seat development requires investment and I am actively looking for one or more development partners. This is an exciting project! Please click the button below or visit the contact page if you're interested.