Casper, Wave Mattress
Strategy, User Research, Design, & Development
Working closely with design research and engineering, I led design and development of the Wave, Casper’s flagship foam mattress. Together, we identified authentic user needs, designed and developed custom knit fabrics and foams, and created one of the best selling products in the portfolio. Plus, it feels absolutely amazing to sleep on.
The Problem
Casper had 2 years of phenomenal success and growth, based on a single product, the Casper Mattress. With the customer base saturated, and repeat purchases every ~10 years, new products and customers were needed to maintain aggressive year-over-year growth. How could Casper mature from startup to grownup?
User Needs
Could an expanding mattress portfolio introduce a more tailored way to meet user needs?
Business Needs
How can an expanded mattress portfolio attract new customers and grow the funnel?
Research Methodology
Qualitative
For this formative research project, the team chose a qualitative approach to understand key behaviors, attitudes, and user needs.
Geographies
Research was conducted in suburban neighborhoods in both California and Georgia. A comprehensive recruitment screener was prepared to find recent mattress purchasers.
In-Home
9 families in each location (18 total) participated in ~3 hour interview sessions. Various activities and discussion prompts were prepared to stimulate conversation and data collection.
Perform Better & Support My Body
Research produced a wealth of information which was synthesized and distilled into various outputs. Our target user emerged as someone who has a vested interest in good sleep, with fairly high expectations of how proper support and comfort can improve their lives. I crafted the following design principles to kickoff design concepting.
Strengthening
This is… active, not passive, physical recovery and rejuvenation, protective.
This could be… spinal alignment - contour cut foams, supportive core that is pushing back on your body, mixing hard and soft elements, temperature regulation for optimal recovery.
Healthy
This is… good for your body, boosting.
This could be… organic cover, silver fabrics, dust mite protection, natural foam additives, custom layers or pillow top.
Cool / Breathable
This is… weightlessness, floating, open, not suffocating, breathing, light, not dense and heavy.
This could be… breathable foam & fabrics, cotton, mesh, wool, visible vents, seamless cover, soft.
Concept Development
A mattress can be a difficult object to design as it has to sell itself on looks, which are soon covered by sheeting. Ergonomic and thermal comfort play an enormous role during a decade of use. Thousands of ideas were rapidly sketched and discussed. Concept design direction focused around a very clean and unembellished look, while introducing subtle visual cues of performance and comfort.
Seamless
Subtle color gradation makes the mattress visually disappear. No seams to disrupt the eyes or body during sleep. Floating from the future.
Rx
Blending athleisure, performance, and well-being. Soft and feminine material qualities combined with an open & airy look.
Design Development
As a flagship product, material technology and innovation was key in creating a premium mattress. An aggressive calendar and multiple development partners were engaged in a 6 month sprint to get to launch. Hundreds of prototypes were sampled, tested, burned, ultrasonically welded, sewn, slept on, compressed, and stuffed into boxes over the course of development.
Engineered knit
The Wave mattress cover is a double-faced knit using some of the largest knitting machines in the world. Every stitch can be computer controlled yielding an effective design canvas of approximately 3800 x 2400 pixels/stitches. Making use of existing colored yarns, combined with a custom developed merino wool/polyester yarn, the finished wave fabric has an amazing hand feel, stretch, and thermal regulating properties.
Testing & more testing
Wherever possible, we used calibrated testing equipment to quantify what our bodies were feeling (or wanted to feel). The engineering and design team spent countless hours interpreting data, which then informed the next sample builds.
Working with a lab in Belgium, we developed a unique testing protocol to capture dynamic temperature and humidity data. Combining some novel materials and processes allowed us to improve thermal performance by 12%.
Expertise in foam
We sampled many variations of foam pouring, cutting, and combining of layers to provide immediately recognizable comfort as well as ergonomic support for while you lounge and sleep in bed.
The team developed a nuanced sensitivity to various types of foam and stack-ups. We laid on a lot of foam and had some very interesting conversations about feel.
Launched
The Wave mattress successfully launched in 2017 and helped push Casper into a multi-mattress product portfolio. It has garnered lots of press as well as an International Design Award. Sales continue to grow year-over-year, generating over $100 million annually.
