ONE Asia Creative Awards
ONE Asia Creative Awards celebrates the best creative work of the year from the Asia Pacific region. Formerly known as the One Show Greater China Awards, which was founded in 2014 by The One Club for Creativity, the awards were established because of the tremendous growth and evolution of creativity in the Asia Pacific market. It presents an unparalleled level of prestige and honor for creatives, designers and innovators in the region. The awards are a fusion of culture where East meets West that brings the creativity of the region to the global stage.
THE SYMPHONY PLOTTER
Agency TBWA\HAKUHODO Inc. / TOKYO + Y’s inc. / TOKYO + HAKUHODO Inc. / TOKYO + HAKUHODO PRODUCT'S INC. / TOKYO
Category
Data Visualization
Annual ID
OA25_CUD005M
Background
Our client, the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, was founded in 1956. It remains one of Japan’s most prestigious professional orchestras.
But like many in the classical music world, it now faces a critical challenge—attracting new audiences. As its core fan base ages, younger generations are attending less and less. Reaching them has become more urgent than ever.
In Japan today, this challenge isn’t unique to classical music. Across all kinds of events—from concerts to exhibitions—whether or not attendees can visually document and share their experience on social media has become a make-or-break factor for engagement. Being “shareable” is no longer a bonus; it’s essential.
However, classical concerts come with strict rules. In Japan, using smartphones is prohibited during the concert. Even radio signals are often blocked in most concert halls. This helps preserve the atmosphere of deep focus and respect. But it also prevents audiences from doing what comes naturally to many today: capturing and sharing the magic of a special moment.
While a few global concert halls have experimented with loosening smartphone restrictions, many of these attempts failed due to complaints from performers and disruptions to the experience. Simply allowing photography wasn’t the answer. A new kind of solution was needed.
Here lies the dilemma: Classical music treasures the purity of a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But at the same time, it yearns to be discovered by more people, especially the next generation.
But like many in the classical music world, it now faces a critical challenge—attracting new audiences. As its core fan base ages, younger generations are attending less and less. Reaching them has become more urgent than ever.
In Japan today, this challenge isn’t unique to classical music. Across all kinds of events—from concerts to exhibitions—whether or not attendees can visually document and share their experience on social media has become a make-or-break factor for engagement. Being “shareable” is no longer a bonus; it’s essential.
However, classical concerts come with strict rules. In Japan, using smartphones is prohibited during the concert. Even radio signals are often blocked in most concert halls. This helps preserve the atmosphere of deep focus and respect. But it also prevents audiences from doing what comes naturally to many today: capturing and sharing the magic of a special moment.
While a few global concert halls have experimented with loosening smartphone restrictions, many of these attempts failed due to complaints from performers and disruptions to the experience. Simply allowing photography wasn’t the answer. A new kind of solution was needed.
Here lies the dilemma: Classical music treasures the purity of a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But at the same time, it yearns to be discovered by more people, especially the next generation.
Creative Idea
In the tradition-bound world of classical music, where photography is often prohibited, this project took an innovative approach—turning one-time live performances into visual memories audiences could take home. Rather than abstract visualization, the music was translated into portraits of the performers, capturing the human presence and live atmosphere of the concert. These illustrations, created in real-time by a custom pen plotter synchronized with the performance, evoke the essence of the moment. THE SYMPHONY PLOTTER is a branded work of music performed by the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, with content created by the orchestra. Each illustration becomes a poster which includes an NFC tag that lets audiences relive the performance through an interactive digital experience—anytime, anywhere. The system is open-sourced on GitHub, allowing orchestras and musicians worldwide to use and adapt it freely. The project not only preserved the once-only nature of live music, but also helped attract a younger, more diverse audience to a genre traditionally associated with older generations.
Insights & Strategy
Classical concerts, particularly in Japan, have a strict no-photography and no-recording culture, leaving attendees frustrated by the inability to document a once-in-a-lifetime experience. However, this “culture of silence” must be respected, and a new method of recording was needed. Classical venues often block signals and lack Wi-Fi, making traditional recording difficult.
This project innovatively used data not for analysis but for expression, visualizing the performance through sound data. Instead of merely recording, it captured the emotion and atmosphere of the live experience, offering a solution to the issue of “no recordings left” in classical music performances while respecting cultural rules.
Posters were photographed and shared on social media. NFC tags on the posters allowed attendees to access an interactive experience, where visuals and audio from the concert were linked, enabling them to bring the experience home.
This project innovatively used data not for analysis but for expression, visualizing the performance through sound data. Instead of merely recording, it captured the emotion and atmosphere of the live experience, offering a solution to the issue of “no recordings left” in classical music performances while respecting cultural rules.
Posters were photographed and shared on social media. NFC tags on the posters allowed attendees to access an interactive experience, where visuals and audio from the concert were linked, enabling them to bring the experience home.
Execution
Microphones were set up in the concert hall, and five songs from the live setlist were selected. During the performance, a pen plotter captured the music in real-time, creating a poster that was displayed as soon as the live show ended. The poster, drawn based on live audio, was the result of a series of trials to translate sound data into visuals.
The process began by converting the performer’s photo into points, then connecting them with lines. Four audio parameters were extracted to influence the lines: mean amplitude, harmonic strength, spectral centroid, and spectral entropy. These parameters allowed the visual representation to change dynamically with the music’s characteristics.
The system, capable of handling a wide range of performances, ensured flexibility and adaptability. The project also prioritized direct expression of the music, without using AI, relying entirely on human design and engineering to create a unique visual representation of each performance.
The process began by converting the performer’s photo into points, then connecting them with lines. Four audio parameters were extracted to influence the lines: mean amplitude, harmonic strength, spectral centroid, and spectral entropy. These parameters allowed the visual representation to change dynamically with the music’s characteristics.
The system, capable of handling a wide range of performances, ensured flexibility and adaptability. The project also prioritized direct expression of the music, without using AI, relying entirely on human design and engineering to create a unique visual representation of each performance.
Results
This project marked the first-ever adoption of a digital experience at Suntory Hall — Japan’s most prestigious and tradition-rich concert venue.
At each show, over 300 people participated in a 1,000-seat hall — a remarkable level of engagement for classical concerts, which are typically attended only by older audiences.
To make the impact more far-reaching, the system was open-sourced on GitHub, allowing orchestras and musicians around the world to visualize music like never before and take home the fleeting moments of a classical concert.
At each show, over 300 people participated in a 1,000-seat hall — a remarkable level of engagement for classical concerts, which are typically attended only by older audiences.
To make the impact more far-reaching, the system was open-sourced on GitHub, allowing orchestras and musicians around the world to visualize music like never before and take home the fleeting moments of a classical concert.
2025 Awards
Total Points: 2
Merit Award
Credits
Agency
TBWA\HAKUHODO Inc. / TOKYO
HAKUHODO INC. / Tokyo
Production Company
Y's inc. / TOKYO
HAKUHODO PRODUCT'S INC. / Tokyo
Art Director
Takuya Miyazaki
Chief Creative Officer
Takahiro Hosoda
Copywriter
Seri Morikawa
Creative Director
Masatoshi Usami
Creative Technologist
Eiki Kurokawa
Ryo Nishikado
Designer
Hajime Sunada
Film Director
Ryosuke Shinohara
Wataru Mizutani
Photographer
Eizo Matsunaga
Mikuri Tada
Producer
Shu Matsuura
Taro Iwato
Yuma Takahashi
Product Manager
Yuka Ueda
Senior Art Director
Yuhei Ito
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