Combining microphones and speakers in a single product, the speakerphone uses advanced acoustic technology to control both devices with precision; the technology itself hails from a field that is experiencing rapid ongoing innovation. To a degree, speakerphone design lags behind in its own technological development and in many cases does not progress until the technology itself is firmly established, sometimes to such a degree that the finished design ays completely different from the designer's original intent. Design and technology spur each other on in the epitome of a dynamic process of change, something not found in other areas of product design. The PJP-25UR, PJP-10UR, and PSG-01S are all compact devices intended for personal use, and have been designed less for meetings where each person speaks in turn than for “conversations” where everyone speaks freely. I believe that in any conversation the intent is not just to convey meaning clearly, but also to communicate the feelings and circumstances of each participants. For this reason the PJP-25UR and PSG-1S reduce the mechanical operations required of the user to a bare minimum, utilizing designs that center on natural, physical gestures in their operation. The `PJP-25UR, for example, features microphone arms that users can rotate outwards like the wings of a ladybug to adjust the sound capture area. Meanwhile, the PSG-01S microphone can be turned on and off by moving it from the vertical to the horizontal or vice versa. When placed horizontally it can be used as a speaker and in the vertical position functions as a speakerphone. Web-based voice communications systems such as Skype are now gaining a foothold not just in business but with consumers as well, and it was this interest that prompted us to create a way of controlling the “invisible” sound of this medium using visible shapes.