Emoji have changed the way we communicate, popping up in the place of words in every other text that we send. A new LED handbag lets you literally wear emoji on your sleeve, ironically with the aim of getting people to talk more.

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The handbag was developed by a young Indian design student named Madhura Kulkarni, in the hope of starting a conversation. The LED panel on the bag displays a series of five emoji variations and three words in colour. For now. the emoji are coded and play as a video, but Kulkarni plans to develop an app to customise the emoji, the words and the current time.

"People are so engrossed in their phones that they hardly talk to each other verbally," Kulkarni, a student at UK's Birmingham City University, told Mashable. "I wanted to change this. So, if you have a particular emoji on the bag and if another person has the same emoji, it may just start an actual conversation."

Image: madhura kulkarni

Kulkarni is also working on more shapes and sizes for the bags, though they are already up for sale under her brand Madhecii. Priced between £500 - £1000, they are made of aeroply wood and lined with leather.

Emoji have been gradually creeping into fashion, inspiring jewellery collections, phone accessories, manicures, tattoos, and even making an appearance at a Chanel runway show.

Man meets machine!! LED bag @thetimesofindia @hindustan_times #wearabletechnology #thetimesofindia #emoticons #technology #future #hindustantimes A video posted by MADHECII - Madhura Kulkarni (@madhecii) on Jun 20, 2016 at 6:07am PDT

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