From the aubergine to the flame, there is pretty much an emoji for everything you could want to express.
But if you still feel that the 3,782 emojis currently out there don’t quite capture the full range of your expression there is, thankfully, a solution.
Unicode, the organisation that sets the standard set of emojis, is currently taking public suggestions for the next set of new emojis.
But with Unicode accepting fewer emojis each year, your submission will need to be top-notch.
So, if you’ve got a killer idea for the next great emoji, here’s how you can submit your own character – and the tips that could get it accepted.
If you’ve got a brilliant idea for the next great emoji then you are in luck because applications for new emoji suggestions are now open (file photo)
Unicode, the organisation which standardises emojis, is accepting new proposals to add to the 3,782 emojis currently out there
Unicode is responsible for ensuring that when you type a smiley face on an iPhone your friend on Windows or Android sees the same thing. While the designs are slightly different this is to ensure the same symbols always convey the same thing
To make a submission all you need to do is fill out a Unicode Emoji Submission Form which you can find here.
However, if you actually want to get your submission accepted the first thing you need to do is make sure your idea is genuinely new.
Unicode maintains a list of all currently approved emojis but there is also a list of all the emojis that people have submitted in the past.
Unicode says they won’t review anything that has already been declined in the last four years so you’ll need to check your idea hasn’t already been rejected.
Looking through the list of rejected ideas also gives a pretty good idea of what Unicode will and won’t accept.
The rather too vague ‘neurodiversity’, the overly specific specific ‘rye bread’, as well all six distinct requests for ‘cannabis leaf’ were all rejected for various reasons.
Unicode also says it will automatically reject any ‘logos, brands, other third-party IP rights, UI icons, signage, specific people, specific buildings and landmarks, deities’.
Keen emoji fans might have already spotted that the Tokyo tower emoji seems like a clear violation of these rules.
Unicode is aware of this inconsistency but says: ‘Many historical emoji violate current factors for inclusion. Once an emoji is encoded it cannot be removed from the Unicode Standard.’
That means there’s no point looking through the archives to find a loophole to justify your proposal.
But once you’re sure that your proposal won’t be rejected out of hand, it’s now time to make your case.
With so many emojis already in use, your proposal needs to be carefully crafted to express something that none of the existing options can
To submit a suggestion you’ll need to make a colour and black-and-white version of your proposal. You don’t need to design it yourself but you do need to own all the rights to the image
If you’re confused by the requirements just try and think about what gap your emoji will fill. Any new suggestions need to be able to expand the amount of things that people can say with emojis
The first thing Unicode needs is a name as well as a few colour and black-and-white images of your emoji.
If you’re not that artistic it is okay to have someone else draw it for you but you do need to own all the rights to the image – so nothing lifted from Google images will do.
For the name, try to give something that is descriptive of the image rather than telling the user what the emoji would be for.
For example, Unicode says: ‘Use a descriptive term, like “Smiling Face with Smiling Eyes and Hand Covering Mouth,” rather than something prescriptive, like “Laughing Face”.’
Next, the most important thing you can provide is some solid evidence that people are actually using the word your emoji captures.
Unicode requires that you submit screenshots from Google Trends to show that people might really want to use what you’ve created.
One of the most important things for a successful application is to show that people are using the phrase. Unicode requires screenshots from Google Trends like this to back up your claim
These don’t need to be for the exact word which describes your emoji but can also be for related concepts that it might express.
In fact, if your proposed emoji has lots of potential uses or interpretations that can be a bit point in your favour.
For example, in the successful application for the broken chain emoji, searches for the term ‘freedom’ were used alongside searches for ‘broken link’.
However, petitions and examples for social media will not be accepted since these can be ‘too easily skewed’.
You’ll also need to make a case for how your proposal can work alongside the thousands of existing emojis.
To boost your chances of success think about what else your emoji could be used to say. In this successful application evidence was used for the term ‘broken chain’ as well as for ‘freedom’
That includes coming up with examples of how it could be used in a sequence to convey new meanings.
As an example, Unicode points out that the bin and flame emojis can be used to convey the phrase ‘garbage fire’.
Unicode won’t consider your proposal if could be conveyed using a combination of existing emojis, so think carefully if this is possible.
Try to think of it as creating a new word for the emoji language, if it doesn’t give the ability to say anything new then it probably won’t get accepted.
But if you’ve been through all the steps and checked your emoji meets all the criteria, the only thing left to do is submit before July 31 and hope to see your idea on a keyboard soon.
