Client: EllieFunDay
The Challenge: Design a blanket that will keep kids warm and clean, inspire wonder while they travel on their many adventures.
Outcome: Launched on Indiegogo to sell $25,000 for initial market tests and eventually 250 stores globally, with unpaid press in Travel & Leisure and Huffington Post.
The Nomad Travel Blanket
The Process: Many of us have traveled and wondered if the blankets that airlines provided for us are even sanitized before use. The Wall Street Journal discovered that airplane blankets mostly only cleaned their blankets every five to 30 days. Even after testing sealed blankets, yeast, mold and high bacteria were found on these blankets. With this design challenge we set out to design a blanket that both parents and children would love to carry around. When we first interviewed parents we took them through a survey of their process of travel and what they would pack for their children. The general finding was that snacks, a water bottle, and an activity for the child were standard. Some carried stuffed toys, pillows, and blankets for longer travels all into a bag. We then hypothesized and prototyped a blanket that folded into a pillow to see if children wanted to carry it in the form of a backpack. Small 3”x 3” hand-sewn miniature versions were created to prototype functionality and animals that we thought children would like. Then we made larger versions out of various materials like polyester and cotton for the children to test.
We had children wear and play with these prototypes to see how they would function. Upon our user tests, we discovered that many parents already had backpacks that their children would already be carrying and didn’t want them to carry a separate bag, they wanted something that was durable, yet soft and non-staticky, and warm yet not too hot for an airplane’s fluctuating temperatures. We then iterated on another version of blankets that were made out of an organic cotton flannel which addressed the warm, breathable, washable desires. We added a carry-loop that they could hook onto a back-pack, stroller or coat hook for easy transportation and storage.
To test the prototype we launched an Indiegogo campaign and named the product The Nomad Travel Blankets. Then we created three animals based on a vote by children and their parents and named them after travel explorers. We structured a tiered campaign with perks ranging from travel journals, posters, custom travel blankets, and even a trip to India to visit the artisans that made the blankets.
Raised $25k on Indiegogo
This campaign garnered $25k in initial sales, press mentions in Huffington Post and Travel & Leisure. Our work has been featured on hugely popular Instagram Influencers, like Eva Chen (1.8M Followers) and LauraIz (557k). EllieFunDay has now gotten numerous requests to make adult-sized versions and is seeing a repeat buying history of these blankets as gifts for kids.
“EllieFunDay is design-focused and committed to using all their products to
empower the poor.”
Fay Johnson from THE HUFFINGTON POST