Magic Massages

The Need

When your child is overwhelmed by treatments, how can you recreate a bubble of intimacy, complicity and well-being with him? The Fondation La Roche-Posay has worked with a team of committed and passionate experts to create the Magic Massages. These massages, designed on the principle of nursery rhymes acting like a game, with tickling, and tender hugs, are suitable for children with cancer. The app guides parents through each massage with animated instructions, soothing visuals, and calming audio, creating a playful moment of connection between parent and child during difficult times.

Building for a Vulnerable Audience

As lead developer, I built this mobile application in Unity for iOS and Android, translating the foundation's therapeutic vision into an engaging and gentle digital experience for families. I was responsible for the complete technical implementation, from initial architecture design through to App Store and Google Play submissions. I developed the animated tutorial system that guides parents through each massage technique step by step, synchronizing hand-drawn character animations with audio narration and on-screen timing cues. I built the child-friendly interface with soft colors, inviting illustrations, and large touch targets designed for parents who may be holding their child while using the app. I implemented the audio system with calming narration recorded by professional voice actors, layered over gentle ambient soundscapes that create a soothing atmosphere. I also developed the content management architecture that allows new massage sequences to be added without code changes, enabling the La Roche-Posay team to expand the library post-launch. Close collaboration with healthcare professionals and the foundation's medical advisors ensured that every interaction, animation, and instruction was clinically appropriate for children undergoing cancer treatment.

Making a Digital Experience Feel Warm and Human

The primary technical challenge was creating an application that feels warm, gentle, and human despite being a digital experience. Every design decision — from animation timing to color palette to transition speeds — needed to serve the emotional needs of families in difficult medical situations. I developed a custom animation sequencing system that synchronizes illustrated character movements, text prompts, audio narration, and background music with frame-perfect timing, ensuring that parents can follow along naturally without fumbling with playback controls. The UI needed to function in hospital environments where parents might be operating the device one-handed while comforting their child, so I implemented generous touch targets, swipe-based navigation, and auto-advancing sequences with pause capability. Audio management was particularly delicate — the app needed to blend narration, music, and ambient sounds without any harsh transitions or sudden volume changes that could startle a sensitive child. I built a custom audio crossfade system that ensures every sonic transition is smooth and calming. Performance optimization focused on ensuring instant responsiveness — any lag between a parent's touch and the app's response would undermine the gentle, flowing experience the foundation envisioned. The app was optimized to run smoothly on older devices commonly found in hospital settings, with minimal battery consumption for extended use during treatment sessions.

Release & Use

Magic Massages released on iOS and Android in partnership with Fondation La Roche-Posay, built as a tool for parents of children undergoing cancer treatment. Every technical decision here was in service of an emotional goal rather than a feature checklist — frame-perfect animation/audio/text synchronization, one-handed-friendly touch targets for parents holding a child, and a custom crossfade system so no audio transition is ever jarring. Of everything I've built, this is the project that most changed how carefully I think about the human on the other side of an interface.