THULA - Cardboard flat-pack furniture for babies

cardboard furniture baby product design industrial design children graphic design flat pack Packaging

Welcome to Thula, the fruits of a university project designing cardboard flat-packable children's furniture, but also, a visually guided adventure into the design process.

The aim of the project is to design load-bearing flat-pack children's furniture out of double-fluted cardboard. The furniture needs to incorporate an interactive graphics element as well as to be designed to fit onto a maximum of two 1 m x 2 m sheets of cardboard. Efficient use of material and minimal wastage is needed to be taken into consideration.

I have chosen to design a cot for newborns from the age of 0 -3 months. The reason being, is that many South African mothers do not have the means to buy a cot for their newborns and this leads to high infant mortality rates. I believe a solution such as Thula, can largely alleviate this problem as well as add much joy into new mothers' lives. Due to the low-cost nature of cardboard, these cots could be distributed freely nationwide through hospitals and local clinics to mothers who have just given birth.

The first phase of the design process is research - and here I explored existing precedent cardboard furniture to get a depth of understanding of flute orientation, strength and design considerations for cardboard.

Here I expanded my cardboard furniture research specifically looking at inspirational creative product ideas as well as interesting packaging and joining considerations.

This mood board is a further exploration of children's furniture and products as a whole, and gave me insight into what types of furniture parents prefer to buy for their children.

I began my ideation and exploration through sketching and prototyping. For my first prototype I really honed in on the animal-profile concept, and was developing my understanding of stability structures within cardboard. For my second prototype, I explored more modern designs that would cater to most tastes as well as an interlocking design that created stability and safety. For my third, I explored additional stability structures that would add to the strength of a cot - and decided to go in the direction of a cot rather than a cradle.

In the development phase I furthered my designs and solved many problems that were evident in my previous designs. In my first development model, I found an exceptionally strong method of creating stability within the cot, by splitting the base of the cot in half and having each side create a pillar of support in the center. However, when the cot was shaken, there was slight movement in the base, which caused instability. In order to make my design "as sturdy as Everest" I added two additional supports on either side, which solved the problem! Magic! The cot was now as sturdy as the pillars of Rome. However, the flaps which lay on the outer edges of the cot were flimsy and needed development.

And so I turned to the master designers of the natural world - the bees and their majestic beehive! They seemed to have created a structure of immense strength with the sole use of a hexagon. Perhaps there was something I could learn from their wisdom and use for inspiration.

The bees take tremendous care of their young, it is the reason that they produce honey in the first place. I really connected with the idea of creating a cot that has the strength of a beehive, as well as the the care and love towards growing and tending to the needs of the eggs - that is the life force of the hive.

I now began to refine my design and cot profile, exploring multiple shapes and concepts. However the leap of inspiration landed on a hexagon inspired cot - inspired by the beehive and all the symbolism and meaning that it entails.

And so, the Red Sea of my mind split, the angels called out their trumpet to alert that the final design had arrived. I inverted the supports, making them vertical instead of horizontal, which solved every problem!

For the interactive graphics - I took the inspiration from Africa in all her beauty and all that She represents. She is the reason behind this project, the blood pulsating through it. And so, fusing inspiration from the beehive and Africa, I started off with the silhouette of Africa made from honey-dripping hexagons.

I then took inspiration from a mother's prayer for her child, especially during the first few months, and the symbol of an angel's wings came to mind as a message of love, peace, and safety.

My first graphic incorporated the Africa-Angel-Wings, around my first interactive graphic - a vaccine tracker. This tracker shows all the vaccinations a child should have during their first 18 months - so that mothers are aware and can keep the tracker throughout the period for the health of their child, and for their own record-keeping. A mother can add a tick or mark on each month that her child has received a specific vaccination.

My next interactive graphic are the first few lines of the traditional South African lullaby "Thula Thul" - from which the name of the cot takes its inspiration. This lullaby is loved and cherished by homes across South Africa and is often the first lullaby a baby will be sung to. Many South Africans, from varying backgrounds, cultures and languages, make "Thula Thul" the cornerstone of their bedtime routine. The world "Thula'' means "Hush" in isiZulu - one of the 11 official languages of South Africa. It is so representative of the way in which a mother would want to comfort and soothe her child.

Thula Thul - Hush hush

Thula Baba - Hush-a-by little man

Thula Sana - Be quiet baby

These initial words of the lullaby would act as the beginning point of a mother singing to her child. Perhaps even reminding the mother to sing to her child, in times of sleeplessness - so that she can soothe herself too.

The third interactive graphic is for the parents to write their baby's name on the cot - so that family, friends and community members who are visiting the baby for the first time can be aware on their first visit - and can embrace the child by name on their first encounter.

The fourth interactive graphic is for both the parents and baby to see. The parents can use this in times of sleep-deprivation, to remind themselves of the reason they are up in the early hours of the morning. And for the baby too - to know that he/she is so truly loved.

This is Thula.

As Thula is designed for newborns - which are prone to mess and liquids flowing all over the place - and due to the cot being made out of cardboard - a design consideration has been made with this in mind. Thula's head and footboards can be lifted for the insertion of black plastic bags above the bed of the cot. The black plastic bags would be secured with the re-insertion of the head and foot-board - allowing the cot to be water-resistant to any mess that may occur. This is a water-proofing solution that is available to nearly everyone, allowing Thula to be used for its entire lifespan.

All the bits and pieces of what makes Thula what she is, comes in an already-assembled carrier. So that your journey from the hospital to home is as comfortable and easy as possible.

Thula comes with an easy-to-read instruction manual on how to assemble her. The greeting at the top of the manual is written in English, isiZulu, isiXhosa and Afrikaans (4 of the official South African languages) - for as wide an inclusivity as possible. So that each new parent feels that Thula has been designed with them especially in mind.

Thula ensures economical use of material and cares about the environment - each set of 3 1 m x 2 m sheets of cardboard fits 2.5 Thula cots. Hence for every 12 sheets, 10 cots are made (as well as their carriers). There is absolutely minimal wastage.