Bubba Board:
Stress Free Air Travel With Young Kids
The brief
Founders of Bubba Board had been working on a product which they believed would make travel easier and more relaxing for young children (and therefore their parents!). In their words “Bubba Board is a simple carry onboard fold out table/mat to assist infants to become more comfortable on plane journeys. It is a fold out fabric covered board that slots between the seat and the seat back, and the magazine holder of the seat in front.”
Alexis, the co-founder of Bubba Board, approached us at Bang Creations with a prototype they had mocked up and tried, but they were struggling to get it to work as they wanted.
They knew what they wanted to include in the design:
- Dark in colour as this would be more practical
- A handle added - again for it to be practical
- The addition of a flap to secure between seat and seat back.
- Ideally it would fit in a rucksack or over shoulder bag
- An adjustable area where it fitted into the seat in front.
- Ensure child's movement would not disturb the passenger in front
- It must not be price prohibitive and ideally £39, but there were products on the market at up to £70 for a similar solution. Ideally the price would enable a family with three infants to buy three.
The bang
After reviewing the prototype we identified a number of challenges we needed to overcome. The struggle was to find the best way for the board extension to fit against the seat in front. Previously they had been using industrial strength Velcro, which had not tested well. There was concern that a child's movement would disturb the passenger in front so this needed investigating in development.
Bang Creations researched the standards and ergonomics of aircraft sizes, train sizes, seat back heights etc, also looking at competitor products which inflate within the seat gap.
We made mock-ups to see what hinging arrangements would work best and how we could get a strong board extension. Creating material sample mock-ups and exploring some alternative concepts, whilst gaining feedback & sourcing various materials, considering the pros and cons of cost v weight.
A new design was created which did not hinge, but used a sliding mechanism which worked really well. This was an advantage over other similar products as this design could be quickly set up and put away, unlike competitors’ versions which were cumbersome and could be problematic should the seats need to be cleared quickly.
With some further tweaks and extra features, like the dual purpose carry strap which could also be used as an extra strap over the tray table and support the board, the design proceeded into production.
The result
The founders were thrilled with the final product and we were proud to have been involved in such an exciting project. Young families take an average of almost two holidays abroad every year, so this product is sure to prove very popular!
Travelling with small children can be so stressful, but if the kids can be comfortable and relaxed then this makes life a lot easier for everyone.
Bubba Boards have been used successfully on several major airlines including British Airways, Virgin, Emirates, Jet2, Singapore Air, and TUI. Bubba boards can also be used on buses and in trains and cars.
In 2023 the Bubba Board won the bronze award for ‘Best Travel Product’ in the Made for Mums Awards. We really enjoyed the journey with Bubba Board and it was hugely satisfying to be involved in the transformation of this product from its initial design to the end result.
Bubba Board:
Stress Free Air Travel With Young Kids
The brief
Founders of Bubba Board had been working on a product which they believed would make travel easier and more relaxing for young children (and therefore their parents!). In their words “Bubba Board is a simple carry onboard fold out table/mat to assist infants to become more comfortable on plane journeys. It is a fold out fabric covered board that slots between the seat and the seat back, and the magazine holder of the seat in front.”
Alexis, the co-founder of Bubba Board, approached us at Bang Creations with a prototype they had mocked up and tried, but they were struggling to get it to work as they wanted.
They knew what they wanted to include in the design:
- Dark in colour as this would be more practical
- A handle added - again for it to be practical
- The addition of a flap to secure between seat and seat back.
- Ideally it would fit in a rucksack or over shoulder bag
- An adjustable area where it fitted into the seat in front.
- Ensure child's movement would not disturb the passenger in front
- It must not be price prohibitive and ideally £39, but there were products on the market at up to £70 for a similar solution. Ideally the price would enable a family with three infants to buy three.
The bang
After reviewing the prototype we identified a number of challenges we needed to overcome. The struggle was to find the best way for the board extension to fit against the seat in front. Previously they had been using industrial strength Velcro, which had not tested well. There was concern that a child's movement would disturb the passenger in front so this needed investigating in development.
Bang Creations researched the standards and ergonomics of aircraft sizes, train sizes, seat back heights etc, also looking at competitor products which inflate within the seat gap.
We made mock-ups to see what hinging arrangements would work best and how we could get a strong board extension. Creating material sample mock-ups and exploring some alternative concepts, whilst gaining feedback & sourcing various materials, considering the pros and cons of cost v weight.
A new design was created which did not hinge, but used a sliding mechanism which worked really well. This was an advantage over other similar products as this design could be quickly set up and put away, unlike competitors’ versions which were cumbersome and could be problematic should the seats need to be cleared quickly.
With some further tweaks and extra features, like the dual purpose carry strap which could also be used as an extra strap over the tray table and support the board, the design proceeded into production.
The result
The founders were thrilled with the final product and we were proud to have been involved in such an exciting project. Young families take an average of almost two holidays abroad every year, so this product is sure to prove very popular!
Travelling with small children can be so stressful, but if the kids can be comfortable and relaxed then this makes life a lot easier for everyone.
Bubba Boards have been used successfully on several major airlines including British Airways, Virgin, Emirates, Jet2, Singapore Air, and TUI. Bubba boards can also be used on buses and in trains and cars.
In 2023 the Bubba Board won the bronze award for ‘Best Travel Product’ in the Made for Mums Awards. We really enjoyed the journey with Bubba Board and it was hugely satisfying to be involved in the transformation of this product from its initial design to the end result.
Bubba Board:
Stress Free Air Travel With Young Kids
The brief
Founders of Bubba Board had been working on a product which they believed would make travel easier and more relaxing for young children (and therefore their parents!). In their words “Bubba Board is a simple carry onboard fold out table/mat to assist infants to become more comfortable on plane journeys. It is a fold out fabric covered board that slots between the seat and the seat back, and the magazine holder of the seat in front.”
Alexis, the co-founder of Bubba Board, approached us at Bang Creations with a prototype they had mocked up and tried, but they were struggling to get it to work as they wanted.
They knew what they wanted to include in the design:
- Dark in colour as this would be more practical
- A handle added - again for it to be practical
- The addition of a flap to secure between seat and seat back.
- Ideally it would fit in a rucksack or over shoulder bag
- An adjustable area where it fitted into the seat in front.
- Ensure child's movement would not disturb the passenger in front
- It must not be price prohibitive and ideally £39, but there were products on the market at up to £70 for a similar solution. Ideally the price would enable a family with three infants to buy three.
The bang
After reviewing the prototype we identified a number of challenges we needed to overcome. The struggle was to find the best way for the board extension to fit against the seat in front. Previously they had been using industrial strength Velcro, which had not tested well. There was concern that a child's movement would disturb the passenger in front so this needed investigating in development.
Bang Creations researched the standards and ergonomics of aircraft sizes, train sizes, seat back heights etc, also looking at competitor products which inflate within the seat gap.
We made mock-ups to see what hinging arrangements would work best and how we could get a strong board extension. Creating material sample mock-ups and exploring some alternative concepts, whilst gaining feedback & sourcing various materials, considering the pros and cons of cost v weight.
A new design was created which did not hinge, but used a sliding mechanism which worked really well. This was an advantage over other similar products as this design could be quickly set up and put away, unlike competitors’ versions which were cumbersome and could be problematic should the seats need to be cleared quickly.
With some further tweaks and extra features, like the dual purpose carry strap which could also be used as an extra strap over the tray table and support the board, the design proceeded into production.
The result
The founders were thrilled with the final product and we were proud to have been involved in such an exciting project. Young families take an average of almost two holidays abroad every year, so this product is sure to prove very popular!
Travelling with small children can be so stressful, but if the kids can be comfortable and relaxed then this makes life a lot easier for everyone.
Bubba Boards have been used successfully on several major airlines including British Airways, Virgin, Emirates, Jet2, Singapore Air, and TUI. Bubba boards can also be used on buses and in trains and cars.
In 2023 the Bubba Board won the bronze award for ‘Best Travel Product’ in the Made for Mums Awards. We really enjoyed the journey with Bubba Board and it was hugely satisfying to be involved in the transformation of this product from its initial design to the end result.