The Parent’s First Book by Kirsten Marie Freud-Blomquist (Research conducted together with Amanda Karmark Bro)
- Education
- Master
- Skill
- Accessory Design
Communication Design - Focus area
- Design for People
- Year
- 2021
- Education project type
- Course
What
I designed a sample of a pop up-/interactive workbook for first-time parents, to help them prepare mentally for their new roles as parents. It is not gendered or tied to any specific family construction, but is made for individual parents to use, and to initiate insightful conversations with the user’s partner, friends, family etc.
Why
The theme of this project was “From inclusion to exclusion”. In Denmark 11 weeks of earmarked parental leave for fathers had just been introduced, but it seemed like the product design and support system around new parents was still mostly directed to the parent giving birth. Since Amanda, who I did the research phase with, and I both see this issue in our friend groups, we wanted to research the exclusion that fathers might experience and afterwards come up with two different takes on a solution.
How
The research phase was done using a combination of desk top research and participatory design, where we used a probe kit and follow up interviews with fathers on parental leave as our main source of data.
In the design phase, I conducted a co-creation workshop with a first-time father, made an online survey, tried out loads of mockups and tested out my final prototype with a couple who had just had twins 6 months earlier.
One of my most important insights was that family stereotypes play a big role in the perceived exclusion of fathers, and led me to the decision of creating something for all first-time parents, regardless of gender, sexuality, family structure etc.
Finally, I learned, that looking back at your own childhood can be a help, when you want to reflect upon your own role as a parent, which is why I wanted the aesthetics of the book to take you back to the 90s – the decade (most of) first-time parents of today grew up.
There already exist a ton of apps on the topic of becoming a parent. But they are mainly focused on the parent giving birth, and the experience of pregnancy. I believe there is also a need for support regarding the mental experience – which kind of parent do I want to become, what am I afraid of, how can I cope etc. This could of course also be another app, but since this project aspires to initiate conversation and reflection, I believe the material and tactile nature of the workbook has something different and maybe more efficient to offer – an engaging common third to talk and think from.
