As many OXO employees experienced for themselves, bathtime with your baby can be fun – the bubbles, splashing, playing with toys – it’s a nice way to unwind with your baby after a long day. We also know there can be some stress around it, especially for first-time parents or tots that are terrified of bathtime. That’s why we designed a tub that would allow you (and your baby) to enjoy bath time, everytime.
Tub Design
When thinking about bathtime, and babies in general, we know there are a lot of things, and those things take up a lot of space. We solved for this by creating a space-saving bathtub that collapses for compact storage. When you’re done with bathtime, just pop the the hook out and hang the tub from a bar or the shower head so it’s out of the way for your turn.
We also wanted to minimize the amount of extra “stuff” parents would have to deal with. That’s why we eliminated the need for a separate infant insert. That means one less thing to keep track of when you’re already juggling a lot. And, you can keep the same tub as your child grows from 0-18 months. The tub has an asymmetrical design with a narrow end for cradling newborns and smaller infants and a wider end for babies who sit up on their own. There’s a support post in the middle to keep squirmy babies safely in place.
We studied how parents bathe their tots. We noticed the process– from the pain points to what makes the experience better. We saw that parents often drain tubs for fresh water at least once during bath time, so we designed a quick-release, dual-sided drain that’s always accessible –even with baby in the tub.
Testing for All Babies
At OXO, testing is a key part of the product development process. We want to make sure our products last, so we do cycle testing to simulate how people use the products over time. For the tub we opened and collapsed it over 2,000 times to ensure it can withstand frequent use with your child -- and then be passed on to siblings, cousins and friends.
Of course we also do user testing. We want to see how people interact with a product and how it fits into their lives. But, before testing the tub with real babies and their parents, we 3D-printed a doll-size version to test out the shape and collapsibility. Once it satisfied bathing a baby doll, we created a working prototype. This was used with real babies (of all different sizes) and their parents.
Now that you’re familiar with the tub, you might have some questions about bath time. We answer 7 questions every new parent asks about baby baths.