The Sink Step

How might we design a children's step stool for the bathroom that is safe, durable, and aesthetically neutral? The Sink Step helps children reach the bathroom sink safely and is designed to last and look great in a variety of bathroom styles.

I approached Sprout Kids, a company that makes Montessori-inspired furniture for children, and they agreed to provide me a custom brief to design a bathroom step stool aligned with their design language and manufacturing capabilities.

Analyzing competitive products and becoming familiar with their pros and cons kickstarted my research process.

Interviewing parents gave me key insights into preferences, experiences, and issues with bathroom step stools.

Sketching a myriad of concepts ranging from mild to wild possibilities gave me plenty of options to receive feedback on.

Narrowing down the concepts, based on feedback, lead me to focus on a particular method for improving stability by extending each of the stool’s legs just beyond the perimeter of the top step.

Creating early prototypes allowed me to determine the proper scale for the stool.

Creating refined prototypes out of Baltic Birch Plywood, the actual material Sprout Kids uses with their products, helped me test for usability.

Thoroughly analyzing the context of where this product would live led to the inclusion of various features to improve the overall safety and durability of The Sink Step.