Working Hands
An Interactive Game For Exactly 1 User
In the summer of 2026, my mother had a stroke. It was minor, and the doctors tell her she’s lucky that it only impacted her fine motor skills (”lucky” is a crazy word.) She’s been in physical therapy 3-4 times a week, where she has to play with marbles and pick up cards. At home, they tell her to play puzzles and do other things that require exercising her left hand.I wanted to do something to help. I wanted to make her something that would supplement the PT, and like puzzles, be something she could enjoy. My mom is no better than my 6 year old. She’s on her iPad a lot. This actually worked out for me. I knew I could make an experience for her iPad that would get her to use her hand more.
Unlike traditional product research phases, I was designing for one single user. This gave me the exact breakdown of technical limitations, behavior, and interaction requirements. My mom uses a not-new-but-not-old iPad Air, and she has to do exercises that train her fine motor skills on her left hand: pinching, spreading, and deliberate presses. I worked through each concept that would prioritize those exact motions, and landed on a series of minigames she could play.
I illustrated the assets as SVGs, worked with GSAP for interaction and animation, and built the page with Claude Code. In just 3 days, I had a working game in my mom’s hands. She’s been using it 10 times a day, and calls me every night to giggle about scratching the bear or feeding the baby.
I always view design as a way to service people, to improve lives. In this case, it was just one person that I happened to care a lot for.
Check out the live version here..
It works best from a touchscreen device.
I always view design as a way to service people, to improve lives. In this case, it was just one person that I happened to care a lot for.
Check out the live version here..
It works best from a touchscreen device.