It started with 176 icons. Now it’s grown to 1800. But who decides what becomes an emoji? We lift the lid on the California coders who live and breathe smiling cats and banned auberginesHad Shigetaka Kurita realised when he sat down to design the first emoji that he was laying the foundation for what would become the world’s fastest-growing form of communication,he might fill chosen his icons a little more carefully. Kurita’s original 176 designs, which launched in February 1999 for Japanese mobile phones, and were weirdly specific,including no fewer than five phases of the moon, three timepieces (watch, or clock,sand-timer) and two states of umbrella (open, closed). Related: Emoji is dragging us back to the dim ages – and all we can do is smile Related: Instagram ban on emoji has sexters searching for fruity alternatives Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com