Emoji Communication Keyrings – FreeCAD Quick-Craft with Purpose

This project came to life after a conversation with my partner, who supports elderly individuals and people living with dementia. She shared how difficult it can be when someone can’t find the words to express how they feel — and how powerful simple visuals can be. Inspired by her experiences, I jumped into FreeCAD and, 30 minutes later, these emoji keyrings were born.

Designed as a friendly and intuitive way to support communication, these little tokens have already made a difference. They’ve been used not only with dementia sufferers but also within the neurodivergent community — especially for those who are non-verbal or find it hard to express emotions verbally.

I’ve also gifted a few sets to a local primary school, and the feedback has been amazing — the kids absolutely love them! Whether used in the classroom or at home, they’ve become a fun and thoughtful tool to help children express how they’re feeling.

And of course, they’re just fun too! I’ve got a VW that definitely deserves the angry emoji some days 😅 — and these also work great as keyrings or can be resized for shopping trolley tokens. Get creative with how you use them!

💡 Update: Thanks to some thoughtful feedback, I’ve updated the design to include smoother, rounded edges — making them even more user-friendly and safe for all ages.

If you like this design, please consider giving it a like, following me for more, and leaving a comment with any ideas, feedback, or suggestions for improvements — I’d love to hear from you! If you’ve made one yourself, it would mean a lot if you could post a make with a photo — it’s always amazing to see how these designs are used in real life, and it helps others get inspired too. Let’s keep making useful, inclusive tools together!

Emotion Tiles Keyring, communication aid

0.2mm layer, 3 walls, 15% infill