Bigfoot, Orca, and more emojis confirmed: How they're chosen
What's the story
The Unicode Consortium, the organization responsible for standardizing digital language, has announced its latest emoji update. The new collection includes a range of fun and practical symbols such as Bigfoot, an orca whale, a treasure chest, a trombone, an apple core, and more. There is also a bulging-eyes face emoji representing surprise or shock in conversations.
Communication boost
Fight cloud, landslide among other new additions
The new emoji update also features a fight cloud, landslide, and a gender-neutral ballet dancer. These additions are aimed at expanding the range of expression for users in their daily conversations as well as unusual scenarios. The update will be especially useful for bridging communication gaps between users on different devices.
Diversity inclusion
Multiple-skin tone options for emojis with multiple people
Along with the new emojis, the Unicode Consortium is also introducing updates to allow multiple-skin tone options for emojis with more than one person. This includes popular ones like "people with bunny ears dancing" and wrestling emojis. The move is aimed at promoting diversity and inclusion in digital communication by giving users more choices to represent themselves and others accurately.
Process
How are new emojis selected?
The Unicode Consortium oversees the process of selecting new emojis. Proposals are submitted from across the globe. Anyone can suggest a symbol, provided they present its meaning, expected usage, and compatibility. Each submission is reviewed for distinctiveness, relevance, and whether it fills a gap in current emoji offerings. Once approved, new emojis are added to the Unicode Standard.
Integration process
When will new emojis be available?
The new emoji set will be integrated into phones, laptops, and other digital platforms once operating system providers incorporate the Unicode update. This usually happens in the months following approval by the Unicode Consortium. The latest update is a mix of practical symbols and quirky ones, making it an exciting addition to our digital conversations.