Parents want the best for their children, while using products that make their own lives easier. Many parents choose diapers with a stretchy waistband for their active babies and toddlers, desiring more comfort and freedom of movement for their little ones than traditional diapers secured with tape. However, parents were frustrated with the disposal process of these pull-up style diapers when it was time to change and dispose of them. Removing the diaper can be tricky, and there was no way to secure the mess within the used diaper before throwing it away.
In response, Procter and Gamble developed new EZ-Off tabs, which retained all the benefits of a pull-up-style diaper with the added benefits of easy removal and secure disposal. Design Central supported P&G to help users understand and interact with this new feature.
Utilizing the technology for the EZ-Off tabs, Design Central worked closely with the P&G technical team to design a solution that balanced manufacturing with a delightful experience for parents. Our extensive knowledge of non-woven materials and soft goods manufacturing enabled us to identify the best placement, shape, and bond pattern for the tabs that was also easy and ergonomic for the end user to interact with.
The next challenge was to help users identify the tabs on the product and understand at a glance how to interact with them. We explored many iterations of visual indicators, all while staying within the strongly established brand language of Pampers. The end solution included brand-recognizable color blocks, an arrow-shaped bond pattern, and a visual guide indicating the direction of interaction.
Once the design was selected, P&G was ready to take the product to consumers for testing to validate their understanding of how to use the EZ-Off tabs feature. We created the research stimuli in the form of functional prototypes for the studies. The tests indicated extremely high praise from the consumers.