Orbit Baby Modular Stroller System- 03.23.08
Orbit Baby ~ if i were to have a kid (unlikely, anytime soon), i can’t imagine having one without this system. In fact, my back, sanity, and kid’s safety would demand it. This company is based right in east bay up in norcal and it’s nice to see such a sweet group of Stanford product designers leave IDEO to pursue their dreams and apply their skills to something that really needed some updating (full story here)…
I encountered Orbit Baby while at CA Boom V… this and the Nomad Yurt were the two things i walked away raving about. The Orbit Baby system is so modular that you have one main soft handled baby carrier (good for the day you leave the hospital), which docks into the easy car seat base as well as the quick collapsing stroller… and also with the simple eames rocker matching rocker base. And as your child grows, you can upgrade to the toddler stroller seat (still works with your stroller and car seat). And for those who like basinets, you can also go for the basinet option which also docks into all the bases, and even comes in a new organic super soft ‘green’ edition.
I know it seems silly, that i’m raving about a kid system that i couldn’t possibly have any use for, but the thought that went into every design detail and the incredible quality of the whole system were irresistible in person. I also even attempted my first vimeo video below from the show (vimeo, wow, sidetrack, but i’m loving their incredible user experience). As for design details worth noting… this system even comes with an easy adorable bag that stores nicely under the stroller! It has two cup holders (aka perfect cellphone holder?)… and the handles even adjust/rotate to your comfort position. Coolest thing of all… (other than making life easier on the parents) - “zoo viewing mode” since you can rotate any of these seats on the base… you can have a sideways facing stroller, which seems perfect for walking around a zoo/aquarium, and perfect for not taking up the whole aisle in a crowded restaurant like many new parents seem to.
Tons of pictures and a video after the jump!
Here’s the green edition
Here is a collage of some of the variations possible with the Orbit Baby system!
On cool noteworthy things ~ this company is based right in east bay up in norcal! and it’s nice to see such a sweet group of stanford product designers that left IDEO to pursue their dreams and apply their skills to something that really needed some updating… Here’s their adorable/admirable story:
The Orbit Baby Story
Over 12 years ago in the Product Design department at Stanford, Bryan White and Joseph Hei were pulling an all-nighter to meet a design project deadline and talked about starting their own company. They knew they wanted to build products that worked smarter, looked better, and addressed a challenging problem space. While that project is long since forgotten, the original dream and the vision from that night endures, and Orbit Baby is the result.
In the intervening years since that night, Joseph and Bryan each got married, started families and embarked on careers, gaining experience in design, engineering and manufacturing. Most recently they found themselves working together at IDEO, a celebrated design firm in Palo Alto, California. When Bryan and Joseph ended up leaving IDEO at around the same time, they took advantage of a great opportunity to start something together.
The challenges of child transportation that they observed in their own families and those of their friends revealed a unique opportunity - they would apply their experience to building a better child transportation system.
While they had learned lessons caring for their own children, nieces, and nephews, they still spent hundreds of hours observing and talking with other parents so that they could do more than just solve personal frustrations with baby gear. They pored through reviews and parenting blogs, ordered all types of products from overseas, and compiled “bug lists” of what bothered parents most. They also tapped the knowledge of some of the leading experts in the field of child seat safety.
This user-centered design approach led them to the first simple prototypes of the concept that would grow into the Orbit system. After analyzing the engineering challenges involved, and developing the innovative technologies and designs that make car seats and strollers significantly better, the first of a family of products began to take real shape. The team filed patents for over 10 key technologies.
To round out the founding team, their wives - Farrah White and Vivian Chiang - joined Orbit to energize the operations, sales and marketing efforts with their strong backgrounds in business and management. Also, fellow IDEO alum and decorated industrial designer Chris Loew joined to infuse all of Orbit’s efforts with his thoughtful designs.
Now, the little company that Bryan and Joseph dreamt about has grown to include a diverse team with varied backgrounds that encompass architecture, electrical and mechanical engineering, pharmaceutical research, marketing, business, and of course product design.
We are a company of passionate, committed, community oriented individuals whose personal time includes volunteering as mentors with local youth, coaching sports teams, supporting environmental causes, enjoying outdoor sports, and participating in local parenting groups.
This is from CA Boom V:
Did go today to Buy Buy baby in order to take a closer look of this stroller, yes and agree that the price is high compared with various strollers in the market. My wife she’s 20 weeks pregnant and she had no difficulty opening and collapsing the stroller. The 360 deg rotation makes this stroller our 1st option so far due to our life style. The removable storage compartment is a little too small, but again what’s the perfect or ideal size!!!, definitely the action of removing the storage compartment just take a load off my back. The stroller with the infant seat is a little heavy but stable at the same time. I’m wondering what are the “noticeable flows seen” described in a previous comment. It seems a big inversion in the beginning but at the long run its worth doing it….life is GOOD..:-)
----- Mia's daddy 04.04.09 20:13