In the last 15 years, voice communication traffic has fallen by about half, mainly due to the impact of messaging apps. Docomo, Japan’s largest mobile phone company, sought a way to remind people of the wonder of communicating by voice.

First, we measured the vibrations of voices and turned them into visible Chladni figures. Using 3D modeling, we transformed the Chladni figures into chocolate molds. Working in collaboration with Mont St Clair, the most famous patisserie in Japan, we sold the chocolates as Voice Chocolates that let women give their voices, transformed into chocolate, to the men they love for Valentine’s Day. The chocolates were delivered to the recipients on Valentine’s Day. By scanning the chocolate with a special app that recognized AR markers in the chocolate, the recipient could play back a voice message from his Valentine on his smartphone.