Iron Baby, Kids' and Children's Products Design · 2019
Tick Tock Turtle Kids Alarm Clock
by Daniel Lau
- A' Design Award 2019 Iron Winner in Baby, Kids' and Children's Products Design
- Awarded April 15, 2019
- CLIENT: emagine A
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 14,142
- Verification code 616FDB704C · Verify this award
About Tick Tock Turtle Kids Alarm Clock
Tick Tock Turtle is designed for children of all ages. Children can easily understand the passage of time by viewing the illuminated dots on the shell which also act as gradual sunrise wake up lights. When the alarm activates, the lights fill the entire surface as if they were plates on the turtle's shell. The shell also functions as a button for children to activate the red night lights while the rest of the parental setting buttons are hidden away under the removable shell. The bottom half of the turtle is made of soft food grade silicone and sticks securely to the bed at night
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Tick Tock Turtle is a fully modular design that can be outfitted with various child friendly outer appearances. The patent pending inner design allows an array of parental settings buttons to be hidden away from view inside its shell which also a button for kids. When the sunrise lights are activated, the plates of the shell illuminate one by one slowly getting brighter form a fully lit shell.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- 200 mm x 200 mm x 76 mm
0.47 kg - Tags
- Kids clock, sleep trainer, learn time, sleep aid, light alarm, sleep cycle alarm, portable alarm, activity timer
- Production Technology
- A significant amount of time was spent prototyping to account for the optics of the shell light effect. Varying shapes of the lenses needed to be adjusted to produce a rounded circle on the shell when lit up. Different finishes on the lenses and translucency on the shell were experimented with to reach the desired illuminated soft dot effect.
- Design Challenge
- Based on user survey, it was unanimous that a two tone design was the favored as opposed to a single tone design. The most difficult challenge of this design was ensuring the two tone silicone outer housing was reproducible in a production environment at a cost that would support retail of the product. After multiple trials, it was found that double injection of plastic to produce a two tone silicone product could not meet the product target costs and quality requirements. The final product uses a single tone color injection mold with a silicone paint spray overlay to produce the desired design.
- Project Duration
- The project started in April 2017 and was finished in May 2018
- Operation Flow
- Tick Tock Turtle was designed to be the all-in-one sleep companion. With a wide range of functions, its key features include wake up lights and sleep cycle detection, both of which require the clock to be placed on the mattress next a sleeping child. The silicone material allows the unit to securely stick to the mattress even through child movement on the bed. Settings are made by parents in a hidden layer under the shell. Throughout the night the child can press the shell as a button to activate the night light function of the clock. This also shows the progression of time throughout the night.
- Research
- The design of the clock originated based on market survey and patent research where the goal was to implement all of the key health and learning features of existing clocks in a new kids friendly design. Market surveys were done based on online retail analysis tools and patent research was outsourced prior to design. The design was further validated by going through a successful crowdfunding campaign.
- Inspiration
- The inspiration behind the design was it had to be beautiful yet functional. The shape and pattern of the clock naturally led to a turtle as a child friendly design. The design was created with the thought that the display and the clock numbers needed to be large enough for children to easily see while keeping all parental buttons completely hidden away. Considerations were made that physical buttons must be included for ease of use as opposed to a wireless approach.
- Image Credits
- Image Credits: Duncan Longden Photography
- Patents
- Patent Pending. 29616289. Daniel Lau. 2017. USA
Patent Pending. 29616301. Daniel Lau. 2017. USA
Patented. ZL 2017304632325. Daniel Jiarmin Lau. 2018. China
Patented. ZL 2017304621458. Daniel Jiarmin Lau. 2018. China
Colors of Tick Tock Turtle Kids Alarm Clock
Design Interview about Tick Tock Turtle Kids Alarm Clock
The design firstly needed to meet our product goals which was to be a highly functional sleep aid for children. The core functions required it to be a portable design with a large illumination surface and at the same time have buttons hidden away from younger children. Our goal was to design a modern and child friendly form to have not only children, but parents use it in their beds.
Our goal was to achieve a design that would be the all in one solution for a child’s sleep companion. This meant integrating as many features possible while keeping the user experience simple. Our removable shell design enabled us to hide all of the parental buttons inside the product while displaying a fully illuminated shell. The shell itself also acts as a push button for kids to turn on and off the lights on the design. The gyro sensor used for sleep cycle detection is also used to turn off the alarm. When the alarm is ringing, the child picks up the turtle and shakes it to deactivate the alarm. An added level of interaction.
We would like to continue developing new features while at the same time make this design more accessible to parents around the world. We would also like to further explore eco-friendly designs.
As a new father of two, I could see many new concepts being developed for adults, however nothing was out there that addressed the issue of sleep for children. As many know, sleep is one of the most important activities for young children. Especially with the rise in usage of electronic devices and bedtime being pushed later, children who are on a schedule of day care or school in the morning need every bit of help they can get.
We are currently producing ourselves
Toddlers all the way up to adults
Tick Tock Turtle is a fun name that we thought would really stick. The turtles Kai, Leilani and Makani were named with a Hawaiian theme in mind where green sea turtles are prevalent. We chose this because Hawaii and the turtle represents the beauty of the ocean, but also sea turtles have been a big topic of conservation. With our future designs, we hope to be able to raise awareness and make strides to provide a better environment for future generations.
Besides all the technical design features, we feel the most unique aspect of our design is the asymmetrical sleepy head. Although it poses more production challenges, it gives the turtle character and symbolizes our products core function to give a good nights rest.
Our design is one of the most advanced alarm clock for kids on the market. We have spent thousands of hours testing and fine tuning our sleep cycle detection feature. We also integrated many other features such as long wave sleep enhancing night lights, visual timer display, sleep training queues and sunrise light alarm.
With all commercial products, it is always a challenge during design to keep production costs at an acceptable level. We originally hoped to use recycled or sea plastics however there were cost constraints as well as material safety concerns that could not be addressed.