New feature release: Emojis ❤️ 🥳 👏

We heard from multiple people that images and icons would make the experience more user-friendly. Good news, the day is here!

I asked Gemini (Google’s AI) why iconography telegraphs so well for people recovering from traumatic brain injuries, and this was its response:

Iconography works well for brains after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) because it bypasses language-based communication difficulties by relying on visual, emotional, and non-verbal processing. A TBI can damage the brain's circuitry, especially in areas responsible for executive functions like processing speed, attention, and verbal communication. Because iconic communication is simple and direct, it helps circumvent these damaged pathways. 

Which comes as no surprise, really. The reason we waited to introduce visual elements into the Broca design was that we were reluctant to complicate the interface with imagery that could quickly become overstimulating and overwhelming.

There’s a principle in design called Jakob’s Law, which states that users spend most of their time on other sites, and that they prefer your site to work the same way as the ones they already know. This design philosophy prioritizes user comfort and convenience over novelty in order to minimize the learning curve and reduce cognitive load. 

Basically, familiarity is comfortable. Enter: emojis. The easy shorthand that most people already have some familiarity with. Give it a try, and tell us what features you’d like to see implemented next. ✅