In celebration of World Emoji Day today, the Unicode Consortium has announced the launch of a redesigned website aimed at making it easier for anyone to submit a proposal for a new emoji.

For those unfamiliar with the Unicode Consortium, it is the nonprofit organization that maintains text standards to support the world's written languages across all devices, which includes emoji characters.

newunicodeconsortiumwebsite
The updated website makes information about the emoji proposal process more accessible to people along with encouraging public participation in Unicode initiatives.

Since 2010, the Unicode Standard has covered emoji characters, which has helped standardize the available emojis across all platforms. Emoji encoding and standardization are just one part of the Consortium's text standards work, but the popularity of emoji has garnered a lot of attention for the organization.

"We've been working with the Unicode Consortium for several years to open up the emoji proposals process by making it more accessible and understandable," said Jennifer 8. Lee, co-founder of Emojination. "While I personally found the late-90s aesthetic of the developer-centric Unicode.org site very retro and nerd charming, the new site redesign is a reflection of Unicode's deep desire to engage the public in its work."

The new site has a more modern design and it offers information on the emoji submission and standardization process.

"Emoji are just one element of our broader mission," said Mark Davis, president and co-founder of the Unicode Consortium. "The Consortium is a team of largely volunteers who are dedicated to ensuring that people all over the world can use their language of choice in digital communication across any computer, phone or other device. From English and Chinese to Cherokee, Hindi and Rohingya, the Consortium is committed to preserving every language for the digital era."

The Unicode Consortium's new website is available starting today, and to earn money for future endeavors, the site is allowing people to "adopt" an emoji character, including new Unicode 12 characters like the the sloth, sea otter, waffle, and Saturn.

Top Rated Comments

Kabeyun Avatar
61 months ago


Sure enough... go figure.
It’s “8.” and not “8” which means the 8 is an abbreviation of something longer. Perhaps her full name is Jennifer 8364 Lee?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kabeyun Avatar
61 months ago
I am absolutely not one of those fools who beat the emoji joke to death. But seriously? Are consumers really suffering from too much friction in the emoji development process?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thisisnotmyname Avatar
61 months ago


Sure enough... go figure.
Now I also want to know what an Airtable Master is. And I want dumplings for lunch.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ChrisMoBro Avatar
61 months ago
Hopefully they should allow the Tibetan flag to be added

https://www.freetibet.org/news-media/na/blog-interview-pema-doma-why-do-we-need-tibetan-flag-emoji
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DrNevs Avatar
61 months ago
"We've been working with the Unicode Consortium for several years to open up the emoji proposals process by making it more accessible and understandable," said Jennifer 8. Lee, co-founder of Emojination.

Am I missing something, or does the co-founder seem to have a number as a middle name???
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

Apple Releases Revised Versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Updated Build Number

Wednesday March 27, 2024 5:59 am PDT by
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS...
applephilschiller

Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

Wednesday March 27, 2024 2:03 pm PDT by
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working...