baby monitor 'suzy snooze' designed by map office is characterized as a cute sleep-assistant

‘suzy snooze’, is the latest in the bleepbleep line of devices designed by map office that make parenting easier. the all-in-one baby monitor, sleep trainer, and nightlight helps young

children get to sleep, stay asleep, and learn healthy habits.

its ‘sleep sequence’ function uses patterns of light and sound to induce sleep at bedtime, before turning into a constant nightlight to fill the room with a cozy light creating a consistent

and calm environment. at a time set by the parent or guardian, ‘suzy’s’ hat gently pops up to let children know it’s time to get up, allowing the whole family get a better night’s rest. the

gadget can also be connected to the bleepbleeps app, allowing parents to monitor their child’s sleep via a smartphone and making it easy to schedule and log routines, even recommending

unique schedules based on their age.

traditional bedside lights utilize translucent plastic or frosted glass to diffuse light as opaque materials are notoriously difficult to emit light through. map needed to overcome this

challenge to prevent seeing the internal components when suzy snooze is switched off. they carried out numerous lighting experiments and material studies before deciding upon 1 mm ABS

plastic for the hat. the polymer provided an opaque material which was thin enough to allow the light to emit through. low energy LED’s were used and stay cool to touch with optimized color

output that promotes natural sleep hormones. when the sleep cycle has finished a comforting night light keeps the child reassured throughout the night.

‘suzy snooze’ illuminates the room in the evening and is cool to touch

the project has been developed using the latest in sleep science to help young children learn healthy routines. with guidance from professor colin espie, founder and chief medical officer of

sleepio, a clinically proven digital sleep improvement program and one of the world’s leading authorities on sleep at the university of oxford. espie advised on how light and sound could be

used to create the most relaxing environment for children to sleep in, all with the understanding that good habits in early life lead to a lower incidence of sleep disorders later on.

working closely with london-based industrial designers map, one of the biggest challenges was giving ‘suzy snooze’ facial characteristics without making it seem hyperrealistic. their design

process led the team through various iterations before settling upon a simple stylistic cylindrical form. a character-like appearance is generated through both the large top hat and the

facial details cut out from a felt band. felt was selected to soften the look and feel of the design and is not just decorative; the cut-out for the mouth also functions as the hole for the

microphone. the band also hides the speaker holes without preventing sound loss.

alongside its own team of designers, bleepbleeps has also brought together the UK’s leading creative talent to develop ‘suzy snooze’ including industrial designers map, technology

consultancy hirsch and mann, and world-leading electronic music producer and dj erol alkan who has created a unique soundscape for the product. like all bleepbleeps products, it was inspired

by the simple geometric shapes of kids toys, with a wide range of other influences from iconic industrial design by the likes of italian studio alessi and germany’s dieter rams to

distinctive japanese vinyl toys.

this emphasis on design stems from the belief that parenting products should be designed with both child and parent in mind: stylish enough to fit in any contemporary home and with enough

character to appeal to children. above all, the design needed to have longevity, to allow ‘suzy snooze’ to grow old with the child, remaining useful for years and not just weeks. ‘suzy

snooze’ has been created with ‘mumsnet’, with hundreds of parents from the online community developing and co-creating the product. the same parents will help with beta testing  before it

reaches kickstarter pledgers.