Purpose: The purpose of this case study was to pitch a piece of technology to a new parent that they could see themselves using. Show them why they need it, how they would use it, and the impact it would have on their lives.

Preface: Being a parent in this day and age can often be a scary and expensive burden to hold. The worry of providing your child everything you possibly can, while being as financially savvy as possible can lead to some difficult decisions. One of the biggest financial commitments (besides baby diapers) are car seats. Purchasing a car seat usually sets parents back close to 400 dollars, and being able to put your trust in a car seat takes the purchase commitment to a whole new level. The impact that this purchase will have on your life goes far beyond the comfort that the baby feels in the seat, but also the comfort that you feel of placing your trust in the product. It’s all about the impact.

Understanding the User: Persona Profile

Perhaps the most important part of my initial research was understanding my user. Getting to know who I was designing for and speaking to. The first part of this was done by making simple observations of habits of patterns that new parents showed. Whether it was through laid back conversations or actually taking a minute to go out of my way to pay close attention to what the user was doing, I was able to gather my findings to develop the archetype of this user to make a persona. For the sake of this case study, a persona profile can be defined as, characteristics and background info, based on research, that defines an idealized user of a system for specific scenarios.

He is someone who is always paying attention to detail and is very committed to his work ethic, he finds himself working long days in order to get everything done he needs to.  He is a night-body and finds himself being most productive after dinner when his daughter has gone to bed or late at night when he gets home from grad school. In the morning, the stress of switching the baby’s car seat from his car to his wife’s car, or even the babysitter’s car, tends to be a timely task. Ensuring the seat is inserted securely and the baby travels safely from point a to point b is a thought that is always on his mind as a new parent.  The thought of purchasing multiple car seats to leave in the different vehicles seems like an unnecessary expense at this point.

The nuances of being a new parent elevate the daily stress that he and his wife already endured. He is very interested in latest technologies and ways that technology can help to positively influence his daily routine.

Diving Deeper

After getting a better understanding of my user, I needed to research the ways that technology has influenced parents over the years. This would allow me to build a stronger case for the way that technology is changing parents in today’s world. Starting with my parents, who became parents in the early 90’s, I initiated a conversation about technologies that they used that played a key role in parenting. From there, I took to the internet to solidify my findings further.

Development timeline of the baby car seat

After gathering information about the ways that technology has shaped parenting, I began research on the way that car seats have changed over the years. This was important because the piece of technology that I would be pitching to the new parent was a car seat that had an interface on the side of it. Understanding how car seats have changed would help me to understand the importance role that car seats play in the safety of children’s lives and the trust that parents place in them.

So What Does this Mean?

From my research, I learned that car seats didn’t start to be regulated until the late 70s, which we could see from the images above that this was quite apparent. Car seats seemed to go through a period of trial and error before then. It was not until the 90s, that car seats with a low latch were introduced in order to provide extra protection. In today’s society, most seats have multiple buckles and straps in order to make sure the seat is in place. This often takes a decent amount of time to figure out.

They require installation and a process everytime it is switched from car to car. If this process is not followed, the parent is often left with an uneasy feeling not knowing if their child is properly buckled. However, in 2016 the worry of the child simply being securely fastened is unfortunately not a parent’s biggest worry anymore.

The worry of people texting and driving, recklessly driving or simply just being in a rush causes parents to build up an extra layer of worry. This is a way that technology is negatively impacting parenting. It adds an extra feeling and set of things to worry about. But, in a world that is so directly impacted by technology, we must learn to place our trust in the technologies that are presented to us rather than let the technologies scare us away.

AT A GLANCE

• Over 1,600 children under 15 years of age die each year in a car accident

• Road crashes are the single greatest annual cause of death of healthy U.S. citizens traveling abroad

• In the United States during 2015, 602 children ages 12 years and younger died as occupants in motor vehicle crashes

• In one year, more than 618,000 children ages 0-12 rode in vehicles without the use of a child safety seat or booster seat or a seat belt at least some of the time

The Solution

After conducting all of my background research about technology, car seats, and car accidents I knew that I had found a solution for parents in 2016 that would be a financial commitment that could trust and the impact that it would have on their lives went far beyond the parameters of the car seat.

A Better Understanding of the Impact

When I found the 4Mom’s car seat, I thought it was a perfect example of how technology has impacted the patterns and lifestyles of parenting today. Since I am not a parent, I wanted to further my research by conducting a research method called body-storming. Body-storming is a way of thinking that allows brainstorming to be thought out in a physical way, meant to create a deeper understanding of the research that is being executed. When I babysit, I think of responsibility in a new way. I never thought the way that a parent would think, until I was put in a position of having to do so. By simulating an experience while using a certain product, I was able to immerse myself in research that was personal and relatable. It forced me out of my comfort zone and forced me to change my mindset and priorities, the day I placed a car seat in my car for the first time. I had been used to driving other’s people’s cars where the car seat had already been installed by the parent.

This was the first time I had placed a car seat in my own car. I had new concerns and worries while driving. I was worried I didn’t install the seat correctly and there was no way for me to know. Since babysitting is something I enjoy doing, it didn’t really feel like research but it was insightful to pay attention to the way that my mindset changes. This gave me a strong validation for my research, knowing the emotions that were triggered.

At the conclusion of my research, I realized that the physical impact was just as important as the mental impact the product would have on their life. This allowed me to build a deep understanding of the persona of a new parent as well as their needs and desires when integrating technology into their new parenting routine.