Safety at Home – Through the Eyes of Children
“Smart technology must be based on how children actually live – not just adults.”
– Project Lead, Living with Adults, IKEA Home Smart
When IKEA wanted to explore how smart technology affects children’s sense of safety at home, they launched the research program Living with Adults. The goal was to understand the home from a child’s perspective – and how technology can support play, independence, and everyday life.
Photo: IKEA
The Assignment
The project was carried out as a collaboration between IKEA Home Smart, Future Minds, and Our Normal. Our Normal was responsible for involving families with children with different abilities. We ensured that their voices and needs were an integral part of the research – from start to finish.
Approach
Together, we carried out a two-phase design process:
Phase 1 – Inclusive insight work
- Project planning with a clear inclusion strategy
- Recruitment of families with diverse needs
- Interviews, empathy mapping, and co-creation ideation workshops
- Final report and presentation of results at an internal conference
Phase 2 – Product testing in real homes
- Testing of smart home products with families from our network
- Feedback directly from children and parents
- Design improvements based on real-life use
We followed the principles and process of universal design and ensured high accessibility throughout all activities. Our role also included an internal training introduction on universal design and inclusive innovation for IKEA’s innovation teams.
Read an interview with IKEA project lead Marco Guadarrama and read about a conference presentation about Living with Adults among our news and articles (Swedish).
Photo: IKEA
Results
Project results
- A new research model for children, technology, and universal design
- Insights from real user journeys – perspectives on safety from children and parents
- Product evaluations based on the principles of universal design
- Stories and needs that highlight new perspectives in product development
- Recommendations for continued development and deeper research
The insights now form a foundation for more inclusive product development within IKEA – and for future research on technology, children, and participation.
“Collaborating with Our Normal Association has helped IKEA Home smart position inclusive design as a practice-based method to drive innovation and foster a meaningful, diverse and open collaboration. Together we have co-created research frameworks, built design principles, and explored new opportunities for a better life at home.”
– Head of user experience research, IKEA Home Smart
