A seamless blend of design & engineering
Alfa Romeo. Maserati. Ferrari. babyark.
This is not a game of “which one of these does not belong.” Incredibly, they all do.
What do all of them have in common, other than being on the wish list of many a wise consumer?
Designer Frank Stephenson.
How did Frank come to bring a new meaning to the word convertible?
For someone who spent his entire adult life designing some of the world’s most iconic vehicles, it must have been somewhat surreal to sit down and talk about babies. And to design car seats? It certainly required drinking from a different sippy cup of creativity.
But according to Frank Stephenson, babyark’s Design Director, and the man behind such design icons as the Fiat 500 and Mini Cooper, whether you’re designing for speed or for safety, design is about desirability. But it also needs to serve a purpose.
When meeting Shy Mindel, babyark’s founder and CEO, in London for the first time in September of 2018, Frank was beyond impressed with the logic and science behind the engineering choices, and he immediately knew this was a project he wanted to be a part of. His mind began racing on how to design what they believed could eventually revolutionize the way car seats are engineered. Stephenson loved the incredible potential of the project - spearheading an entirely new way of seeing (and making) safe car seats that look phenomenal.
An opportunity to redefine state of the art
Unlike the ever-changing world of cars, car seats for infants and toddlers had remained largely unchanged for 50 years. It’s not often you have the opportunity to create true change, and change that impacts some of our most important passengers.
Frank recalls entering a boutique for baby goods and being struck by how clunky and antiquated all the car seats appeared. Everything looked the same and did not appeal to his sensitivities as a premium designer with sophisticated taste and an emphasis on functionality.
None seemed designed from the perspective of the tiny passenger whose protection is pivotal, with his comfort and safety at the forefront.
“Most designers talk about form following function, but I’ve never believed in that — for me, form equals function,” says Frank.
Nature knows best
In design, as in life, it’s easy to overcomplicate things and it’s difficult to simplify.
When it comes to design, nature knows best. While forms and formats come and go, nature sustains.
“I’ve always looked to nature for answers. From speed to protection, nature always has the right answer,” says Frank. “Nature is not a trendy thing. It's timeless."
He knew egg-xactly where to get inspiration
babyark’s unique egg-shape not only visually sets it apart from any other car seat, it lies at the heart of both the design and engineering philosophy. While at first, many may think of eggs themselves as fragile, their shape is ideal for protecting the entirety of what’s within, surrounding baby with safety at all angles.
“On the one hand, the egg shape is nature’s most robust structure. The egg protects the life that is growing inside it. It is a perfect shape for designing safety. But it also is a symbol of fertility…of life itself.” It is also what first grabs the eye and creates that immediate bond between the new parent and the product. The ergonomic design and sleekness of the egg shape are one example of how Frank brought his decades of design experience and unique perspective to push beyond the limits of what was previously feasible.
A Well-Designed Process
“Most products are first engineered, then the designer has to find a way to work around that. With Shy, the process was much more seamless. We had a constant back and forth of great ideas, feeding off each other’s creativity. I ended up thinking like an engineer and Shy like a designer.”
“From the get-go, Frank perfectly understood the mechanics and performance we were aiming for. He designed the product and then our engineers jumped through hoops to come up with the needed solution to any given design,” adds Shy. “It took us 3 years of hard work and over 200 different safety tests, most of them not even required by regulation, but the outcome was worth it. It was really all about setting a new standard for safety.”
When design and engineering work in harmony, it should be no surprise when the result is a masterpiece. And when you bring together a team of the greatest minds? The work is never done, with continuous iterations and improvements across the board.
Because, like the world around us and the beauty of nature - creation means tomorrow we’ll try harder, and do better.
For more on the strength of engineering, check out our engineering story.
