Buggie Bites
Toy Design internship at Kids II.
About
Summer 2014 I worked at Kids II with the Product Design and Development team in the Baby Toy division. During my time there I was tasked to come up with a new and improved version of their iconic best seller “Starry Teether”.
Research
A few things to keep in mind when designing the next teether was to understand what were the things that made the “Starry Teether” such a success. So I decided to conduct some research studies by partnering up with the Research team at Kids II.
Study Details
I talked to a total of 10 participants, parents between the age bracket 25-35.
6 of these participants had previously owned the Starry Teether and 4 had decided to go with a competitor’s teether.
When talking to them it was important to understand:
What factors were most important when buying a teether for their babies ranked in order (motricity development skills, overall shape and design, price point, materials, etc.)
What their point of view was on teethers? (Is this something you want your baby to still use and value as he grows up? Is this a momentary toy that your baby will only use during his teething months?)
Study Insights
After conducting this research study I came across the below key insights that informed my design process:
Story-telling is an important factor to get their babies to play with toys.
It is important to create a relatable theme for the beads on this teether. Something the parent could use to talk to their baby about in order to increase motricity and develop their baby’s senses.
Material choices and finishes are important to baby’s safety
Parents stressed the importance of softer (silicone-like) materials for the success of a teether their children would gravitate towards.
High perceived value at a low cost
It is important to create a teether with safe materials that could hike up price, but at the same time be able to offer something the parent can easily toss and replace as these items tend to get dirty quickly.
Proportions are important for the safety of babies
Beaded teethers are popular amongst parents, as finding the right balance between a teether that the children can hold onto but at the same time isn’t a choking hazard is hard to find in the market.
Ideation
Based on the research I decided I wanted to make a beaded teether that would have different bead designs all tied up to the same theme. When coming up with a theme I kept thinking about nature and things babies and kids could easily relate to. This is how I came up with a picnic theme involving bugs and fruits, allowing kids and parent’s imagination run wild when coming up with a backstory for all the beads on the teether.
Initial Bead Ideation
Refined Bead Designs
Refined Ideation + CADs
Technical Sketches
Another important finding during the research study was using materials that wouldn’t be hazardous to children. This is why I decided to use a lot of hard plastics with a POE finishes to make it softer and more comfortable for children when chewing on them.
Buggie Bites Neutral
Buggie Bites Pretty in Pink
Final Design
After presenting these teether concepts to the VPs they approved both designs to go into the market. These were produced in 2015 and are now being sold at major retail stores like Walmart, BuyBuy Baby and Amazon.
Everything shown here is property of Kids ii - Bright Starts ©.