This is an article “How Emojis Took on Society By Storm” by Marc Primo Warren
If there is any other language that’s particularly motivated by colors, it would have to be those fun and cute emojis we see all over the internet. They send messages without any use of words and are practically effective in relaying the sender’s emotion which undoubtedly is very useful in today’s digital age.
Fun fact: do you know that there are nearly 3,000 emojis out there while more are still coming out? Digital giant Apple for example has recently come out with its Emoji 3.0 preview featuring new releases by the non-profit organization Unicode Consortium which promotes international standards in data, software, and text including emojis. Have you seen the dodo bird, ninja, and the female in tuxedo among many others?
Here are a few interesting insights to get you more acquainted with emojis and how they took society by storm.
History of Emojis
We love every artistic aspect that Japan has shared with the world over the years. From the fine art of Origami to the current Anime craze taking the world by storm, Japan is definitely a land full of artists. That’s why it is no surprise that the first emoji was created back in 1999 by Japanese artist Shigetaka Kurita in the form of 12 x 12 pixel images within a grid for the first-ever 176 pictogram set.
Before they were called emojis, these small images that can be sent via computer were known as emoticons with the now primitive :) or :-( chat room symbols of the ‘90s. After Kurita introduced his set of pictogram images, it blew up in Japan and eventually the rest of the world with Apple and Google integrating emojis on their various platforms. Soon, the Unicode Consortium recognized emojis as another type of digital communication tool for the whole world to use.
The Use of Emojis
Perhaps the best way to put how emojis contribute to today’s manner of communication is how they improve interpersonal connections even when we send text messages remotely. They improve how we can convey things making a simple “I understand” more empathetic with a red heart.
In the workplace, emojis have been found to reduce misunderstandings between colleagues when they exchange text messages while improving relationships. While the Unicode Consortium has recognized emojis as a valid type of communication, there’s nothing informal in including them in your messages to colleagues. However, use your discretion on which emojis you send and to whom so you can remain in the proper context.
Most Favorite Emojis
According to the Unicode Consortium, the most used emoji of all this year is the “face with tears of joy” which overtook the “smiling face with heart eyes” and red heart emojis. With how it signals a sense of hyperbole that enables senders to convey a rather complex emotion, the little cute graphic is able to communicate that particular emotion effectively with a hint of humor. When it comes to colors, blue emojis are said to be the most used ones if based on the Global Color Survey.
Emojis add emotion to an otherwise expressionless email or text message. It’s a way to send out those positive vibes to your friends, family, and colleagues, or the other way around as well. Bottom line, it’s a good thing the most widely used emojis are still those that promote good emotions rather than negative ones. That goes to show that the human race’s 💙 is still in the right place. If you want to find out more about Marc Primo Warren our services or just say hi, please reach out here.