This was a semester long collaboration project between Nike's Global Innovation Design Director, Rob Bruce and SFSU's Product Design: 2 class. The project goal was to develop a system of products which encourage physical activity in the lives of a chosen “At Risk” demographic. Our teams video conferenced weekly with Rob, who gave us feedback during each stage of the design process, including research, ideation, prototyping, and final reviews.
Problem Statement: "New mothers are at risk of becoming inactive with the lifestyle and biological changes that occur within the first year of having a newborn child."
My team decided to focus our research on new mothers. We specifically targeted the first couple of years following childbirth, which is when they experience the longest duration of physical stagnancy. We conducted a survey in collaboration with Kaiser Permanente that received an overwhelming 821 responses, which revealed that over 70% of new mothers face difficulties becoming active again after pregnancy. But why is this trend occurring?
We entered the field to interview and witness mother’s in their natural routines and to experience ‘a day in the life’ for ourselves. We attended ‘mother-meetup’ groups and participated in various 'mother+child’ exercise classes. With all of this experiential data coupled with our investigative research, we concluded that the ideal solution must solve the four main problems new mothers face when trying to become active again:
1. Serve as a catalyst for mother+child bonding, which is essential in the development of the child.
2. Include the child in the workout routine, which would effectively eliminate the need for 3rd party childcare.
3. Help mothers acknowledge the hard work they do daily so that the work feels rewarding 4. Be quick/easy enough to give the mother an opportunity to exercise at any given moment and work around her own schedule.
2. Include the child in the workout routine, which would effectively eliminate the need for 3rd party childcare.
3. Help mothers acknowledge the hard work they do daily so that the work feels rewarding 4. Be quick/easy enough to give the mother an opportunity to exercise at any given moment and work around her own schedule.
We began with experimenting with the idea that the baby could be used as a "tool" in a workout routine. We decided to create a suit that would enable the use of a child for more physically strenuous & full body exercises, while at the same time promote constant mother-child interaction which is critical to the development of infants.
Sketching and prototyping allowed us to fine tailor the product around the target users. The product had to be comfortable, so we experimented with soft fleece and a padded neoprene core. Then we addressed the safety of the product by using ensuring extra padding was added around the neck to support the child's head, incorporating unique layups of fabrics that stretch in one, two, and three directions, and engineering our patterns to distribute weight and force in areas without causing pinching, strain, or friction. Since infants require constant diaper changing, we designed the suit to be cleanable and easily opened at the bottom while remaining secure when closed.
Sketches by C. Baldauf
Our final product is "Syncra", synchronizing the schedules and needs of mother and child. The suit features handles on the sides and back which allow the mother to safely and securely hold her child for focused workouts and to turn daily motherly duties into exercises.
The system also includes a baby carrier which enables her to use the product on the go and increase the number of exercises to target different muscle groups.
