Comforting Companion (CoCo)
A hybrid mobile application and weighted teddy bear duo, designed to help children aged 11-15 with learning difficulties develop essential life skills through the use of integrated NFC tags to connect physical touch points on the teddy directly to step-by-step video and image task sequences in the app.
CLIENT
Comforting Companion (self-initiated project)
ROLE
UX/UI, Concept Ideation, Brand Identity Design, Interaction Design, App Design, Product Designer
TOOLS
Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Procreate
Context
Primary research identified a crucial need for life skills development (such as cooking, cleaning, and personal hygiene) to help SEN children live independently after leaving education.
Sensory objects like soft-touch weighted teddy bears provide significant emotional comfort and physical connection, which is especially beneficial for non-verbal children.
Children on the autism spectrum perceive colours more intensely, requiring a specialised pastel colour palette and clean, non-distracting typography (such as Degular) to optimise accessibility.
Ideation & Process
Worked directly with a local SENCO to identify the needs of children within the target audience.
Developed user flows to map out core features, including daily checklists, parental security gates, customisable routines and video/image task libraries.
Sketched and refined wireframes and UI screens for both the mobile app and the physical product, incorporating custom icons and calming pastel visual language.
Designed the physical companion (teddy bear) features, including weighted glass micro-pellets (for sensory comfort), a night-light nose, fidget accessories, removable NFC patches for easy washing and a clear, hands-free phone panel for the app to work hands-free.
Outcomes
Delivered a cohesive product ecosystem that seamlessly combines a physical comforting companion with a digital routine-builder to promote personal independence.
Created an accessible, fully customisable daily task checklist function, paired with video guides to boost self-belief and confidence.
Designed a cohesive and accessible yet friendly and welcoming brand identity.
