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Phase: Final Feedback

An emergency bag for babies & parents

This is an emergency bag designed for babies & parents to evacuate safely and to improve life in a natural disaster.

Photo of Taisei Mishima
15 13

Written by

In no more than 3 sentences, please tell us who your idea is designed for and how it reimagines the new life experience.

An emergency bag designed for babies & parents. The reason I design this bag is that it always happens a shortage of baby supplies when a natural disaster occurs, but there is no emergency bag for babies on the market. Thus, this bag would help babies and parents to improve their life in the emergency situation.
Primary Research Primary Research
Design Criteria Design Criteria
Development Stages Development Stages
Prototypes Prototypes
Design Detail Design Detail
Component Component
User Scenario User Scenario
Video

Inspiration

Natural disasters are increasing all over the world, about 160 million people have been affected each year. Accordingly, many emergency bags for adults have been produced, but there is still no emergency bags for babies on the market. The thing that triggered my idea was the 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan. In this time, since nappy and milk were insufficient at the evacuation area, and it often arose situations that necessary supplies were not in hands of parents and babies. Therefore, I would like to solve this social problem and to bring peace of mind to families by designing the emergency bag for babies and parents.


Function

Safety : This outside of the bag is made with waterproof and fireproof materials, and the inside is made with EVA mat which is soft for baby and is float on the water. These features will help families evacuate safely in response to various disaster. This bag weighs only 3 kg so that the parent can easily hold it with the baby. The bag can turns into a shoulder bag with hands-free by repositioning the shoulder strap. In addition, the GPS device attached to this bag, works with smartphones, to inform the safe situation.

Comfort : The main feature of this bag can be transformed into a baby bed with the comfort as the family spends time in the emergency. In busy places, sleeping in an enclosed area protects the baby from surrounding noise and dust and reduces the possibility of being kicked. This bag contains necessary items (diapers, milk and radio etc) to improve their lives in the evacuation area.

At what stage is your idea?

  • Prototyping: I have done some small tests or experiments with prospective users to continue developing my idea.

What early, lightweight experiment might you try out in your own community to find out if the idea will meet your expectations?

First of all, I interviewed some parents who had babies about disaster preparedness and their experience stories in emergency situation. Next I analyzed what is needed for babies and parents in emergency situations, and then defined my concept following design criteria from research findings. Next I drew initial idea sketches to generate ideas, and then I have made four types of bag prototypes while repeating the refinements.

What skills, input or guidance from the OpenIDEO community would be most helpful in building out or refining your idea?

I would like to share this project in general and seek collaborators who help developing this project. For example, I require people having engineering skills and design skills to make a high-quality prototype, and people who have business skills to make this bag in production. Finally I need a lot of feedbacks and opinions from parents in the OpenIDEO community in order to develop my idea.

Tell us about your work experience:

I am a product designer graduated from UCA (University for the Creative Arts) in 2017. I have two work experiences in baby product manufacture and design film.

This idea emerged from...

  • An Individual

Are you an expecting, new, or experienced mom?

  • no

Are you a healthcare practitioner?

  • no

Are you a current employee of UCB Pharmaceuticals or Sutter Health?

  • no

How would you describe this idea (in 2-3 sentences) while in an elevator with someone?

BEAB BAG is an emergency bag designed to equip parents with the supplies to care for their babies in natural disaster situations.

What is the specific problem your idea is trying to solve? 1 sentence.

The reason I design the emergency bag for babies & parents is that it always happens a shortage of baby supplies when a natural disaster occurs, but there is no emergency bag for babies on the market.

How has your idea improved or evolved throughout the Refinement Phase?

I have interviewed my friends and other people who have a baby or a child for a month. Then I have received many feedback on the prototype of this concept from users. These feedback are really useful to refine my idea. For example, a mother said I need a box containing baby supplies in the emergency situation, and it will be helpful to stay in the car, the office, or the evacuation centre. One mother said that I want to use this bag not only in emergency case but also in daily life. I mainly have refined two things. Firstly, I made a emergency box for babies and parents, and put everything for babies items in the box. You can put this box in the bag, or put it in the car or office as a individual. Secondly, I have attached an emergency whistle to the bag to the pull tab of the fastener of the bag. The whistle is very helpful when a person can not make a voice or when a person is confined. And, a person said, for everything to be contained in one bag is very essential. This is because that it will take a week to arrive for baby items like diapers and milk, and there are few cases that evacuation centers are equipped with baby supplies. Therefore I thought that those items should be contained in this bag for babies and parents.

How do you plan to measure the impact of your idea?

I will start a crowdfunding to measure the impact of my idea. In addition, It will lead to commercialize this bag and to become known better.

What are your immediate next steps after the challenge?

Currently I prepare for crowdfunding to gather funds and to commercialize this bag such as the presentations, high-quality prototypes. Moreover, I would like to popularize this project in general and seek collaborators who help developing this project. In the future, I believe that parents can relieve their anxiety and stay safely by letting this emergency bag sale in Japan and all the world.

How is your idea different or unique from what is currently on the market?

This is the world's first emergency bag designed for the babies and parents. The BEAB BAG has more advantage, compared to other emergency bags for adults on the market. As contents, this bag contains necessary items such as diapers and milk for helping babiesʼ and parentsʼ lives to survive, whereas the bag for adults only contains items for adults such as water and snacks.As a function, this bag has an innovative feature that turns into a baby bed although the bag for adults is just a bag.

This inspired (1)

Safe care of mother and baby.
Safe care of mother and baby.

15 comments

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Photo of Bettina Fliegel
Team

Hi Taisei.
Thanks for sharing your idea here! It is great to see the prototype.
I wonder if including a checklist or prompt for parents to add other items that they use for their child daily might help them prepare for any sudden emergency situation? (a few changes of clothes, pacifier, any medication, copies of any important documents etc. ) Also suggesting that parents check milk expiration dates and update the bag regularly, maybe every month or two for an infant that is growing and will need different sizes of diapers and clothing so that the bag is always ready to grab and go?

Good luck developing the project!

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