First Years


The First Years Company was looking to create and introduce the most innovative baby care products on the market. So they asked HLB to transform utilitarian health and grooming tools into a ground-breaking line of exceptional baby care products.

Babies have tiny fingers, toes and teeth, all of which require delicate care. The precision required for trimming baby's nails or brushing their teeth, for example, is a source of anxiety, especially for first-time parents.

Through our iterative process of rapid envisioning, experiential prototyping, and collaborative assessment, we developed a number of concepts to address adult and infant ergonomics for a suite of baby care products. We translated adult-scale utility into baby-scale comfort. We created large, easy-to-maneuver grips to hold instruments steady, magnifying lenses to see tiny fingernails and oversized digital readouts on thermometers.

We made cleaning up more fun by consolidating bath-time needs into an All-in-one Brush for use with one hand, keeping the other free to secure and comfort baby. The built-in reservoir lets mom apply soapy water with a body brush or cradle cap brush. A three-in-one gum and toothbrush set helps parents provide consistent mouth care throughout early developmental stages with graduating attachments that gently clean gums, sooth teething pain and brush baby's first teeth.

The First Years' Comfort Care line received an Industrial Design Excellence Award and contributed to a 6% increase in sales. The Comfort Care line is now an officially licensed product of the American Red Cross.

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