Academic studies suggest emojis will become a universal visual language of the future. So we wondered: what if technology could offer a new tool to restore the ability to communicate to those affected by aphasia and their loved ones? In partnership with Samsung, we developed Samsung Wemogee: the first chat app working as a word-to-emoji translator, and vice versa. A real new communication code, for talking through images.

Samsung Wemogee performs a dual function: instant messaging app for chatting with people far away and communication support for face-to-face interactions. The Samsung Wemogee user experience has been designed around the needs of the final recipient. The simple and intuitive interface avoids overstressing the ideational area of the aphasic’s brain: through a single button, the patient can start or continue a chat with his contacts. The predefined phrases on which to build communication have been divided into six main categories, to make the selection by the user easier; thanks to a careful study of the logical connections between the various phrases, Samsung Wemogee also offers a system of suggested answers to specific messages.

Only in the first week, the project got over 3,000,000 impressions among users, the media and professionals, generating more than 145,000 global stories. The app is currently up for testing at several health structures in Italy, such as Niguarda Hospital in Milan.