Cano

Context

CloudMinds sponsored a co-design innovation workshop. Our brief: pick a small, everyday discomfort and reimagine the experience around it.

We chose mosquito bites — globally near-universal, intensely annoying, and treated almost entirely with folk remedies that range from harmless to harmful.

What we learned

• 60 — 80% of people are bitten frequently in summer.
• The itching mechanism is well-understood (histamine, neurotransmitters, immune response) but consumer products mostly mask the symptom.
• Common at-home methods (scratching, soapy water, cross-imprint with a fingernail) divert attention or break the skin — temporary relief at the cost of risk.

We saw room for a product that respects both the body and the moment.

The product

Cano is a small, palm-sized device. The user holds the affected area against the front sensor; a Teachable Machine model classifies the bite as small, medium, or large. A layered response begins:

• Mist — cool vapor releases for a calibrated duration.
• Pressure — a soft airbag inflates and deflates four times, a kind of rhythmic, gentle press.
• Light — a fading LED gives a visual companion to the rhythm.

The interaction is brief, predictable, and oddly meditative. The goal isn’t medical treatment — it’s redirecting the user’s relationship with the irritation.

My role

As team lead I owned the concept direction, primary prototyping, the Teachable Machine pipeline, and the iterative design refinements. I worked closely with the workshop sponsor to align our scope with what could actually be tested in a working session.

Outcome

A functioning prototype demoed at the closing workshop session, plus full process documentation and a co-designed visual identity.