“As a product designer, I’m really interested in how sensory objects, like the HUG™, can offer people the comfort and connection they need, when they need it most.”
Dr Jac Fennell, Senior Lecturer in Product Design
I’m Jac, a lecturer in product design at UWE Bristol. I’d love to share the story of HUG™ with you.
HUG™ came from my previous role at Cardiff Metropolitan University. There, I worked on an AHRC-funded international research project – LAUGH – which was led by Cathy Treadaway, Professor of Creative Practice at Cardiff School of Art and Design. Through LAUGH, we explored playful handheld objects for people living with advanced dementia, those who are at end-of-life.
The comfort of a hug
HUG™ was one of six things that we designed, and it was developed specifically for one special lady. We spent a lot of time with her, listening to her story, hearing what she needed at that stage of her life. Her carers told us that all she really wanted was a hug. With those words, the idea for HUG™ was born.
HUG™ by LAUGH is a sensory product. It’s designed to be cuddled and to feel like it’s cuddling you back. It’s tactile, comforting, reassuring. It has long weighted limbs, and a beating heart inside a super soft body. There’s also a music player inside it so that it can play a person’s favourite music. They’re both important. Creating a sensory connection as well as a personal, emotional one through the music. It makes it feel like a proper hug and it feels like someone’s hugging you back. It’s a two-way thing.
Picked up by care professionals globally
HUG™ had an incredible effect on that lady. We saw a huge difference in her. She was much more alert, more connected to her surroundings. Her eyes were more open, she was eating and drinking more too. Really significant, important changes.
At that point, we developed a larger evaluation project with the NHS and a care home in Cardiff. It backed up what we saw with the lady. We quickly gained more interest from care professionals who wanted HUG™ for their patients. So, we launched a spin-out company, HUG by LAUGH (www.HUG.world) and collaborated with the Alzheimer’s Society as an Accelerator Partner. Today, HUG™ is being sold all over the world.
A real –life-changing toy
We’re now looking at how HUG™ could help other people too. School children with learning disabilities, autism or anxiety, for example. Last year Gwent Regional Partnership Board carried out a trial with schools in the Gwent region, with each school getting a HUG™. They quickly found a home in a school’s quiet room, so children could use them when they were having some time away.
That’s where my research is going now. HUG™ has been incredible and transformative. It’s gone far beyond what we ever expected. So, who else could benefit? As a product designer, I’m interested in what other sensory objects we can develop that will practically and emotionally help people.
Yes, there’s a whole huge body of research behind HUG™ but it started with that really simple idea: the power of comfort and connection to change real lives.
Contribution to the UN 2030 sustainable development goals
UWE Bristol is proud to align our research to the UN sustainable development goals. The above research aligns with the following goals:
