iF Design Trend Report 2025 Excerpt: The ungendered Lifestyle for families
Ungendered Lifestyle is the development of a multifaceted, fluid approach to ascribed roles and lifestyle elements. In family life, a changing understanding of roles means an increase in individual leeway and the ability to let identities unfold.
In family life, a changing understanding of roles means an increase in individual leeway and the ability to let their own identity unfold. Especially in the early stages in young families, the new negotiation of roles is often experienced as an intensive process that is also shown to the outside world aesthetically. More and more fathers see their role as not just the provider for the family but play an active part in raising their children.
This creates new aesthetic needs, since many dads want to go for a walk with their baby in a carrier on their chest, but they don’t want to give up their accustomed aesthetic to do so. More and more, baby carriers, diaper bags and other baby accessories are being offered in gender-neutral designs as a result, and even with design elements associated with masculinity. But it’s not just dads who are redefining their role. New mothers are considering their role more closely and discovering new leeway and possibilities. This process is especially evident in relation to sports – not only because awareness for the post-pregnancy changes has grown and numerous health myths have been dispelled.
iF DESIGN AWARD 2025 winner: Gooseket 365 Toddler Sling Baby Carrier
Gooseket 365 Toddler Sling looks the way it does to emphasize on minimalism. The product is lightweight, weighing only 300 g, and can fold up to the size of a cellphone, so it is portable and handy to store in any bag. enabling parents to take it anywhere and everywhere they go. It is made of 100% cotton, and the subsidiary materials are high-quality YKK buckles and zippers.
iF DESIGN AWARD 2024 winner: Neonate N65 baby monitor
Neonate has been producing baby monitors since 2009, and has for a long time been the preferred brand for new parents in the Nordic countries. N65 is the result of an extensive project aimed at renewing the Neonate brand and preparing the company for the future. This interface makes it easy for users to customize all available functions according to their individual preferences and needs.
Authentic self-expression for all children
Breaking away from traditional gendered aesthetics requires a nuanced understanding of design principles that prioritize inclusivity, flexibility and neutral themes. Chris Down, Chief Creative Officer at Mattel, outlines some of the key design approaches that disrupt conventional gender norms:
Neutral color palettes
Instead of relying on gendered colors like pink for girls or blue for boys, modern design moves toward a spectrum of neutrals, such as pastels, earthy tones and even bold primary colors that appeal universally.
Modular and customizable elements
Customization invites consumers to personalize their experiences, moving away
from pre-defined gender-based functionalities. Toys, for instance, that allow users to build, style or modify items (e.g., from arts & crafts to tech-integrated dolls) appeal to a broader audience by focusing on play patterns (like creation, storytelling or experimentation) vs. gender.
Minimalistic and abstract forms
Avoiding overly gendered or stereotyped shapes, such as aggressive, sharp lines for boys or soft, round forms for girls, helps create more neutral, adaptable designs. Minimalistic or abstract forms focus on functionality and versatility, are seeking a neutral solution.
Character representation
Moving away from hyper-masculine or hyper-feminine characters with exaggerated features to more diverse and relatable figures help break stereotypes.Inclusive, universal representation (like animals, stylized kids or anthropomorphized
objects) allows children to see themselves in different roles, reflecting
varied identities without falling into rigid gender norms.
Inclusive play themes
Moving beyond action-packed or nurturing stereotypes and introducing broad,
relatable themes (e.g., adventure, exploration, creativity) allows more fluid
interpretations of play.
Choppy Bike, iF DESIGN AWARD 2024 gold
With Choppy, Stum has given the children’s balance bike the aura of a classic design. The use of birchwood ply ensures simple, clean lines in a robust and lightweight form. Designed for easy assembly without a single screw, there’s nothing superfluous here. Thanks to well-thoughtout craftsmanship, quality concedes nothing to aesthetics. Designed to make kids fall in love with cycling!
Banshili Magic Planet series children's projection lights, iF DESIGN AWARD 2025
The Magic Planet series children's projection lights extracts the image of Banshili Surprise Master and the technological elements of airplanes and rockets, ultimately forming an original and differentiated product. At the same time, the designer has expanded the product’s functions by adding a small fan and multi-angle adjustment at the back of the airplane mode and increasing the projection area under the airplane mode.