The project brief was to design a low-cost baby carrier for the base of the economic pyramid which would suit the Indian context. In the current scenario, commercial baby carriers are not used widely by the Indian population. A large section just prefer to carry them in their arms.
The caretakers of babies are not just parents, but grandparents and in some cases surprisingly young siblings even.
The caretakers of babies are not just parents, but grandparents and in some cases surprisingly young siblings even.
Why are we doing this? Why would anyone buy it?
A pricing comparison of commercially sold baby carriers
Most people in India cant afford to buy a baby carrier worth as much as even the least priced ones that we see above. So what do these people do? How do they cope with having to carry their baby all the time, everywhere?
Two of the most common and dangerous physical problems that can affect the baby due to badly designed baby carriers are 'hip dysplacia' i.e. displacement of the hip joint due to lack of support to the thighs and lack of or improper neck support.
Material research
Trying out some initial prototypes
While dealing with such a complex problem, making your consumer a part of the problem solving process is vital. After all, no one understands their problems better than they themselves. We decided to conduct a co-creation session with them before we finalise on a concept.
Co-creation session 1
Co-creation session 2
The design of the baby carrier was kept extremely simple involving basic sewing. This way the women in the communities we worked with could produce these themselves, thus making it a more wholesome solution. They could function as micro-entrepreneurs for the product. This would help the product get greater and faster acceptance.
Final concept
Steps to wear the baby carrier
The material chosen for the finalised concept was twill weave cotton.
The reasons being:
- It doesnt stain easily (a useful property given the living conditions in slums in India)
- It is extremely durable and resistant to water.
- It is an inexpensive material.
The final concept design was measured such that it would fit in 1 square metre piece of the cloth (pic below). Calculating the cost of the material and the labor cost, the cost of the final prototype comes to Rs.170, which would further go down with the economy of scale.
Layout of the final concept
