When the eyes became a language / Asha Ek Hope Foundation "Blink To Speak"

The problem

An estimated 60 million people around the world live with ALS or spinal injuries—fully conscious, but unable to move their bodies. The existing ways to communicate are often troublesome or expensive, out of reach for many. And as people live longer with these conditions, their silence stretches on longer too.

The insight

It started with something a TBWA India staff member saw while caring for an ALS patient at home. They'd written commonly used words on a curtain, and the patient would point to them with their eyes. Watching this, they realized something: the only thing that still moves in a paralyzed body, right to the end, is the eyes.

The idea

Close, blink, left, right, up, down, roll, wink—eight eye movements combined to create 50 different messages. One wink means "talk to me." A left wink, a right wink, and two blinks means "thank you." After months of testing with doctors, patients, and caregivers, they created a book for speaking with your eyes.

What happened

More than 5,000 copies of the book were distributed for free, and more than 5,000 patients are using it or being trained on it. It was also downloaded 2,500 times online. At Cannes Lions 2018, it won the Health Grand Prix for Good, along with Gold in Pharma and Silver in Product Design.

Afterthought

It feels almost too practical to call this an ad. But I think this is exactly what advertising should do. From one small moment witnessed in a caregiver's home, a language made entirely of eyes was born. Just thinking about that fills my heart.

Awards

• Cannes Lions Grand Prix 2018

Featured in

• The People Who Invented Words That Didn't ExistFive projects that had to design a notation system before they could write a single line of copy.

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