Gongi - The Smart & Supportive Asthma Preventer

Three questions to the project team

What was the particular challenge of the project from a UX point of view?
Our goal was to create a cohesive sound and visual experience that feels intuitive, calm, and emotionally supportive, like a friendly companion guiding users through the process of using their asthma inhaler. A key UX challenge was finding the right tone: we aimed to avoid sounding like a teacher, doctor, or worse, a judgmental voice. Instead, we prioritized trust, clarity, and emotional comfort through carefully crafted visual and auditory cues. Balancing audio and visual feedback was critical to making the static object feel more 'alive.' To achieve this, we defined a character for the inhaler, forming the foundation for both types of feedback.

What was your personal highlight in the development process? Was there an aha!-moment, was there a low point?
One of the key aha! moments emerged during a user testing session involving a child interacting with our full-scale prototype, which featured synchronized sound and animation. Our objective was to guide users through the complex steps of using a preventer inhaler by providing coordinated audio-visual feedback. To ensure the clarity and effectiveness of this guidance, we tested the prototype with both inhaler-naïve users and children experienced with inhalers. Their distinct perspectives revealed critical nuances we had previously overlooked, enabling us to refine the audio and visual feedback in meaningful ways.

Where do you see yourself and the project in the next five years?
For us, Gongi is designed to help children feel more confident during the inhaler-taking process while reducing instances of misuse. Upon completing the initial phase of the project, we recognized that other user groups could also benefit from the product. From a UX perspective, the next steps include advancing the technical implementation and conducting additional rounds of user testing to find out what other user groups wants and needs. Collecting broader qualitative and quantitative feedback will be essential to further validate the concept and ensure it meets us