Re-design of a Baby Carrier for Intuitive and Ergonomic Use

Abstract: This master thesis was performed in collaboration with Najell AB with the purpose to improve their product, the SleepCarrier. The SleepCarrier can be used as a baby nest, a play mat and a soft carry cot. With the additional harness, the product can also be used as a baby carrier. The main focus of this project was to improve the user experience of the harness by focusing on ergonomics and intuitivity. The design process initiated with identifying customer needs through reading reviews online, interviews and user testing of the current product. The key findings along with findings from benchmarking competitive products resulted in the development of six new concepts which were prototyped and tested. The concepts were evaluated and two were chosen, combined and further developed by solving the identified problems through an iterative prototyping process. The final concept is a three part sling that is carried over one shoulder. The first part wraps around the back and has a zipper to allow size adjustment of the sling. The second part is built up by bunched fabric to offer softer padding and to enable adjustment of the contact area over the shoulder. The last part consists of two fastening points, one buckle that connects to the front of the SleepCarrier and one buckle that offers stability. Both the sling and the front buckle can be tucked away into pockets on their respective sides. User testing of this concept showed that it was easier and more comfortable to use while still offering the same functionality as the current product. The design is simple, minimalistic and corresponds well with Najell's vision.