On July 17th we will be celebrating World Emoji Day šš. It was surprising š² to learn that thereās a special day dedicated to these yellow smiley expressions, that have become common place online, in phone messaging and social media. Emojis have been around for a while as a way of communicating succinctly, in picture form, how we feel; a general mood or a short cut to typing out a whole sentence. Animated emojis being the latest addition to these sets of icons – you can select an emoji that finds you nodding in agreement, shaking your head in disapproval through to dropping your jaw in disbelief, amongst others.
Background
Japanese artist Shigetaka Kurita had widely been credited with coming up with the first emoji in 1999 – Kurita was part of the team that created one of the first emojis used solely for communication, a heart-shaped pictogram that appeared on a Docomo pagerĀ aimed at teenagers.
Although more recently it has been proposed that it was in fact SoftBank, a Japanese mobile phone company known as J-phone, in 1997 that was the precursor to the more familiar purveyors of emotion that we see on our phones today.
Origins can be traced back much further to the 18th-19th century and by dipping into the archive we can clearly see that pictograms were used as early as 1791. This is an extract from, āThe Art of Making Money Plenty, in every manās pocketā by Dr Franklin. The combination of letters and pictures in this rebus is a clear echo of what we see today. Pictures are used in place of words to convey a visual meaning and shorthand.
Transcribed the piece reads:
At this time when the general complaint is that money is so scarce it must be an act of kindness to inform the moneyless how they can reinforce their pockets. I will acquaint all with the true secret of money catching, the certain way to fill empty purses and how to keep them always full. Two simple rules well observed will do the business: 1st. Let honesty and labor be thy constant companions. 2nd. Spend one penny every day less than thy clear gains. Then shall thy pockets soon begin to thrive, thy creditors will never insult thee, nor want oppress, nor hunger bite, nor nakedness freeze thee. The whole hemisphere will shine brighter, and pleasure spring up in every corner of thy heart. Now thereby embrace these rules and be Happy.
Such sage advice brought to life by the pictures that elicit an emotional response!
Indeed, the use of visual images to represent words or convey meaning is much, much older than even this 18th Century date. Looking through the collections at Dorset History Centre, and the bank of images held within the Bankes archives demonstrates the use of images in Egypt, of course known by a different name – hieroglyphs.
World Emoji Day is the creation of Jeremy Burge the London-based founder of Emojipedia who came up with the concept in 2014. So, whether you like them or loath them, whether they aid or avert your communication; emojis have become an integral part of our social history and interaction with the modern world, and it looks like they are here to stay.Ā Happy Emoji Day! š„³š