Ah, the humble emoji. The tiny art is the difference between knowing you’re in someone’s good books, and wondering if they’re mad at you. One kind of smiley face means happiness, another means passive war.
As of September 14, the latest emojis have been revealed. Who even makes the emojis you might ponder? Unicode Consortium, the tech wizards respond.
The global standard-setter for computer text are the group responsible for adding thousands of new emojis to their catalogue and they’ve been doing so for the past decade.
Now we’re looking at version 14.0 of the language coding standard, which means 37 new emojis, 800 new characters, and support for lesser used languages and symbols.
Among the 838 new characters in #Unicode14 are 37 new #emoji, along with new emoji sequences, that are expected to show up on ?s, ?s, and other platforms sometime next year → https://t.co/deSr1g6m8k #絵文字 pic.twitter.com/xuTf8Os02K
— The Unicode Consortium (@unicode) September 7, 2021
What’s very cool about the latest emoji adds is that they’ve got some adjusted focuses like 75 skin-tone variations for one as per cnet.com.
They’ve also included new code points like the Pregnant Man, which no doubt Lil Nas X will hop on soon.
Critique and praise:
As fictional character Anton Ego once said: “In many ways, the work of a critic is easy.. but there are times when a critic truly risks something.”
Dare I risk missing out on a new emoji worthy of praise? Potentially. However, here are my thoughts, writes Cape {town} Etc’s Ashleigh Nefdt.
The hand shaped hearts? Very important add. The disco-ball? Groove WhatsApp groups will light up. Personally, I already see myself using the bubbles emoji unsolicitedly.
Not all emojis were created equally though. As for the beans and what appears to be an Uncle Sam pointing emoji, I remain unimpressed and slightly afraid.
The emojis have made their preview debut, however the new code will only launch next year.
By the time the emojis launch in full force, Drake will likely have another album ready. The question that remains, however, is which emoji will he pick for his album artwork.
Picture: Unicode Consortium