The history and evolution of emoji
Emoji are small digital images or icons used to express an idea, emotion, or concept in electronic communication. The word "emoji" comes from Japanese: "e" (picture) + "moji" (character). Unlike emoticons (like :-) which are made from punctuation marks), emoji are actual pictographs encoded in the Unicode standard.
Today, there are over 3,600 emoji in the Unicode Standard, covering everything from facial expressions and animals to food, activities, flags, and symbols. They have become a universal language of digital communication, used by billions of people across every country and culture.
The first emoji were created in 1999 by Shigetaka Kurita, a Japanese designer working for NTT DoCoMo, a Japanese mobile phone carrier. Kurita was tasked with creating a way for users to communicate emotions and ideas in the limited character space of pagers and early mobile phones.
He designed 176 simple, 12x12 pixel images inspired by Japanese manga (comics), Chinese characters (kanji), and street signs. These early emoji included hearts, weather symbols, and facial expressions. The set was an instant success and soon copied by other Japanese carriers.
As emoji spread across different Japanese carriers, the lack of standardization caused problems. An emoji sent from one carrier would appear as a garbled symbol on another. In 2010, emoji were officially added to the Unicode Standard (version 6.0), ensuring that any device or platform could display them consistently.
The Unicode Consortium, the non-profit organization that maintains text standards across all modern software, now manages emoji. They accept proposals for new emoji, evaluate them based on expected usage, distinctiveness, and compatibility, and release new sets annually.
As of 2026, the Unicode Standard includes over 3,600 emoji across multiple categories. New emoji are added each year, reflecting cultural trends, diversity, and technological advances.
New emoji are proposed through a formal process managed by the Unicode Emoji Subcommittee. Proposals must demonstrate:
The process takes approximately 18 months from proposal to final approval and release.
Linguists have debated whether emoji constitute a true language. While emoji can convey emotion and basic concepts, they lack grammar, syntax, and the ability to express complex ideas. However, they serve a vital role in digital communication by adding tone and emotional context that would otherwise be lost in text-only messages.
Some researchers consider emoji the fastest-growing form of communication in history, with the ability to bridge language barriers and convey universal human experiences.