An interview with an Apple emoji designer (shadycharacters.co.uk)
64 points by nate 3 days ago
9dev an hour ago
> We mapped almost 1:1 to SoftBank’s set, though Apple chose to omit a few of the more risqué ones.
Which are these risqué emojis mentioned here? I don't think I have ever seen any that are even slightly graphic, which is probably why all the emoji slang conventions have spread like fire (Aubergine, Peach, etc.)
pimlottc 7 minutes ago
That's a good question. Comparing the Softbank emoji from June 2008 [0] and the initial batch of Apple emoji that shipping in iPhone OS 2.2 (Nov 2008) [1], it doesn't look like there are any missing at all, it's a perfect 1:1 mapping.
stringfood an hour ago
long eggplant and a smaller Pinching Hand emoji were probably the first to go
ollien 2 hours ago
If the author is reading this, the hyperlink to the book in the first paragraph is broken. Looks like it's attempting to direct you to an absolute url that was meant to be relative.
<a href="https://books/face-with-tears-of-joy">holistio 3 hours ago
There is still no walnut emoji. Blonde-haired, black-skinned pregnant man? Yes. Walnut? No.
wpm 3 hours ago
Be the petty, small change you wish to see in the world: https://joypixels.com/blog/how-to-submit-an-emoji-to-unicode
holistio 2 hours ago
I will be. Thanks.
By the way, Walnut Creek is less than 100 miles from Cupertino.
I love walnuts.
Jtarii 2 hours ago
Gotta love websites that hijack basic browser functions, in this case forcing smooth scroll on.
embedding-shape an hour ago
hbn 41 minutes ago
I love the pregnant man emoji, I use it all the time after a big meal
j1000 3 hours ago
Also no thief emoji or pirate emoji. Can someone enlighten me why we don't have it?
hbn 42 minutes ago
I was looking for a pirate emoji like 5 minutes ago. I'm sure it's not the first time but I'm super surprised that still isn't in there. Seems so obvious.
dagmx 2 hours ago
Simply because nobody has successfully pitched the Unicode group to add one.
Anyone can pitch new emoji, they just have to go through the fairly easy but strict formal process.
blanched 2 hours ago
wvbdmp 2 hours ago
What’s next, a cowboy emoji? A ninja emoji? But seriously, as much as I like emojis, I kind of feel like they should stick to emotions. Maybe other intangible things. They’re hard to convey verbally (and succinctly), simple concrete nouns are good for a bit of fun and for UI icons, but really not very useful if we’re being honest. Unless you’re texting with a lizard, or my lazy elementary-school niece who shouldn’t really have a phone anyway…
holistio 2 hours ago
carrozo an hour ago
still no Guillotine Emoji either, although not for a lack of trying.
aforty 2 hours ago
So cool to get the background story on this. I remember adding the Japanese keyboard here in the US just so I could get access to emojis.
amelius 4 hours ago
In case anyone is actually interested in the emoji:
Aissen 3 hours ago
More specifically, it was this set: https://emojipedia.org/apple/iphone-os-2.2
Interesting tidbit:
> Emoji support required iPhone OS 2.2 and a SoftBank SIM card.
TazeTSchnitzel 27 minutes ago
These are very nostalgic. The way Apple's emoji look has subtly changed since then.
amelius 2 hours ago
To be honest, the images look like things I've seen a hundred times over in comic books and not much more original than GenAI.
reaperducer 2 hours ago
throawayonthe 2 hours ago
Tepix 3 hours ago
Are the emojis on Apple (macOS, iOS etc) vector graphics these days?
LoganDark 3 hours ago
They are not. They are perhaps higher resolution than they once were, but still raster:
https://logandark.net/files/328S6690-9Q368809-16843Q53-RR2SN...
NoSalt 3 hours ago
Why does that site feel like I am reading typed text on paper?
CharlesW 2 hours ago
It's a combination of the layout, the typeface (https://monokrom.no/fonts/satyr), and the thoughtful typography.
alnwlsn 32 minutes ago
Serif font?
reaperducer 2 hours ago
Did you print it out?
NoSalt 2 hours ago
LOL