One dark and stormy night in 1999, a Japanese artist Shigetaka Kurita created the first set of emojis<\/strong> \u2014 176 12-by-12 pixel drawings created to be used on Japan\u2019s main mobile carrier\u2019s internet platform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n OK, so maybe the night wasn\u2019t dark and stormy. And, Kurita probably labored over his first set of emojis for much longer than one measly night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, this is one of the origin stories of the emoji. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But, is Kurita really the only<\/em> one to thank for being able to react with an emoji to your coworker\u2019s 3-paragraph message on your team communication app<\/a>? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Keep reading to discover the full history of emojis <\/strong>(because it didn\u2019t really start with Kurita\u2019s pixelated art). <\/p>\n\n\n To say emojis changed the way we communicate<\/a> is an understatement. What was once a novelty that only young people used is now a standard part of messages \u2014 formal and informal \u2014 across generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The art Kurita created \u2014 which changed digital communication \u2014 is so important that it\u2019s part of an exhibition in the Museum of Modern Art<\/a> in New York. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the true history of emoji started well before the Japanese artist took matters (and pixels) into his own hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Believe it or not, the emoji history started way back in 1862 <\/strong>when The New York Times printed a transcribed copy of Lincoln\u2019s speech with a typo in it. The editors unknowingly included what we today know as a smiley face \u2014 :).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although accidental, this typo (probably) inspired the first intentional use of emojis in 1881<\/strong>, when an American satirical magazine published a piece titled \u201cTypographical Art\u201d. The piece depicted 4 different emotions \u2014 joy, indifference, melancholy, and astonishment \u2014 created with punctuation marks only. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It looked something like this. <\/p>\n\n\n Improve collaboration and cut down on emails by moving your team communication to Pumble.<\/p>\n\n It would take another century before we could witness the rise of the popularity of emojis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That started in 1982, with Scott Fahlman<\/strong>, a computer scientist and professor who was fed up with people misunderstanding the messages on his university\u2019s online bulletin boards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Frustrated with the limitations of written communication<\/a>, he proposed the use of \u201cjoke markers\u201d that would make clear whether someone is being serious or not<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There were 2 original joke markers that Fahlman proposed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus, modern emoticons were born. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Emoticons quickly took the world by storm and were used in informal spaces such as digital forums, message boards, online bulletins, and chat rooms throughout the 90s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just like any other aspect of language, emoticons quickly evolved and became advanced<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanks to that evolution, people were able to use a combination of symbols and punctuation marks to convey not only seriousness and humor but also complex emotions and thoughts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The best examples of that are probably the shrugging and the sleeping emoticons that looked like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although advanced and able to convey a whole array of emotions, these dynamic emoticons lacked one thing \u2014 convenience<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Since people needed to combine quite a few symbols to create them, emoticons weren\u2019t as convenient as some people would have liked them to be \u2014 which is what we have to thank for the modern emoji.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By 1997, emoticons were everywhere. Informal messages were riddled with them, and people were quick to create new ones to convey messages, thoughts, and feelings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This inspired<\/strong> instant messaging apps<\/strong><\/a> to create their own sets of picture-like icons<\/strong> that people could use instantly instead of wasting time creating their own emoticons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The most famous ones were Buddy Icons,<\/em> which dominated early Netspeak and the online space in \u201897 and \u201898. Both useful and hilarious, these icons were the \u201cit\u201d thing to use in the late 90s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, they were quickly dethroned at the very beginning of 1999, when Kurita created the first set of real emojis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Create and use custom emojis in Pumble \u2014 an instant messaging app <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kurita\u2019s set of 176 12-by-12 pixel images depicted objects, symbols, and characters<\/strong>, which was a real shift compared to the previously used emoticons (that mainly used punctuation marks to create faces and convey feelings or situations). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, even though it lacked faces, Kurita\u2019s emoji set took off in popularity in Asia, and soon after, the entire world started playing catch-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, we have the Japanese to thank for emoji. But did you know they also coined the word emoji? It comes from the combination of 2 Japanese words \u2014 <\/strong>e<\/em><\/strong>, which means \u201cpicture\u201d and <\/strong>moji,<\/em><\/strong> which means \u201cletter or character\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Originally, Kurita created his set of emojis to be used on an emoji keyboard to convey information concisely or provide additional context to the original message. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This was a massive hit among people because emojis helped bridge the gap between written and spoken communication<\/strong>. As you\u2019re probably aware, it\u2019s notoriously hard to convey tone and subtext in written messages by using only words. Emojis help with that, since they allow for an influx of additional information and context, all neatly packaged into one image. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Emojis became so popular that other Japanese carriers quickly started creating their own sets, and it wasn\u2019t long before the rest of the world took notice. So, the emojis quickly migrated to other markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 Pumble Pro Tip<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Emojis can really make a difference when it comes to the nuance of your messaging. However, that\u2019s not always the best option, especially in the workplace. To find out how to improve your written communication at work, read the following articles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have you sent an emoji to someone today? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Chances are, you have \u2014 92% of people use emojis in everyday communication<\/strong>, according to Pumble\u2019s Emoji Statistics<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Emoji use is so prevalent that teenagers and young adults prefer communicating via emojis over words. They even include emojis in workplace communication<\/a> \u2014 97% of Gen Z employees like to infuse their personality into their communication with emojis<\/strong>, according to the CAKE.com research on Gen Z<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s more, data suggests<\/a> that emojis transcend not only language but also culture and location \u2014 which isn\u2019t surprising, given that they can help you successfully overcome communication barriers<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is only possible because, today, we have 3,782 emojis at our disposal <\/strong>\u2014 a far cry from the original 176!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, we didn\u2019t instantly go from 176 emojis in 1999 to almost 4 thousand the next year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After the original set was introduced to the public and emojis started gaining in popularity, US tech giants introduced their own emojis \u2014 <\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2009, a petition was filed to the Unicode Consortium \u2014 a global non-profit organization that maintains text standards across different types of computers and computer programs \u2014 to recognize emojis on a global level and standardize them across various operating systems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Unicode accepted the petition in 2010 and standardized 625 emojis<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Back then, users had to copy the emojis they found on the Internet and paste them into their own messages because most didn\u2019t have an emoji keyboard (unlike the Japanese users). <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, that quickly changed and the first emoji keyboard was introduced in 2011 for iOS users and 2013 for Android users<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 Pumble Pro Tip<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Emojis can transcend culture and help people communicate even when they don\u2019t speak the same language. But not every culture perceives emojis in the same way \u2014 which can cause real problems in the workplace. Read the following article to find out how cultural differences affect emoji interpretation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A communication app for teams of all kinds. Discuss, share, and collaborate.<\/p>\n\n After the emoji keyboard was introduced, users quickly started utilizing it to its full potential. In fact, emoji use became so prevalent that, in 2015, the Oxford Dictionaries declared the \u201cface with tears of joy\u201d as its word of the year<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Realizing they were being used worldwide, but that they weren\u2019t really representative of that, Unicode took steps in 2015 to make emojis more inclusive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The diversification of emojis started with the introduction of skin-tone modifiers<\/strong>. The following year, emojis got a few other additions, making them even more inclusive \u2014 like \u201cperson with a headscarf\u201d for example. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Unicode has also taken other steps to ensure emojis are representative of society by including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, we expect to see further diversification of emojis in the years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In late 2024 and early 2025, Unicode is expected to add 8 new emojis<\/a> to its library. One of them \u2014 face with bags under the eyes \u2014 seems to be a particularly welcome addition, at least according to online reactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As emojis became more inclusive and diverse, emoticons became a thing of the past. One research shows that, although once quite popular, emoticons couldn\u2019t hold a candle to emojis. Emojis are not only used more frequently but also with a more positive attitude and a deeper level of identification<\/strong>, as shown in the research paper titled Enhanced Sentiment Classification Using Geolocation Tweets<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, we can say with certainty that we\u2019re living in the era of emoji dominance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The role of emojis in modern human communication is so big that we started to comprehend them better than facial expressions \u2014 well, at least men have. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to one research<\/a>, men recognize emotions on emojis better than on human faces<\/strong>. This probably has to do with the fact that emojis are less ambiguous, at least when it comes to complex emotions \u2014 due to the lack of fine details and morphological features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, not all emojis are unambiguous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although emojis can help us overcome one of the barriers of written communication \u2014 by relaying indirect meaning<\/a> \u2014 emoji use can also cause confusion because not everyone interprets the same emoji in the same way<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a study done by Preply on the most confusing emojis<\/a>, 81% of people said that someone else\u2019s emojis caused confusion or miscommunication<\/a>. What\u2019s more, 48% of people said that emoji use caused an uncomfortable situation for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are the most confusing emojis from 2024.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/pumble.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/The-Surprising-History-of-Emojis-cover.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n19th Century: The early history of emoji<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Typographical](\"https:\/\/pumble.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Typographical-Art-from-1881.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Illustration\"](\"https:\/\/pumble.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/cake-blog\/theme\/images\/banners\/default@2x.png)
\n <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\n\n\nThe 80s: Before emojis, we had emoticons<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The 90s: The helping hand of instant messengers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1999: The birth of modern emoji<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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2000s: The beginning of a global phenomenon<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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![\"Key](\"https:\/\/pumble.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Key-dates-in-emoji-history.png\")
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![\"Illustration\"](\"https:\/\/pumble.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/cake-blog\/theme\/images\/banners\/features@2x.png)
\n <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\n\n\nPresent day: A growing library and diversification<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Emoji: A helpful linguistic addition or source of confusion?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Illustration\"](\"https:\/\/pumble.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/cake-blog\/theme\/images\/banners\/landing-3@2x.png)
\n <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\n\n\n![\"Using](\"https:\/\/pumble.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Pumble-allows-users-to-respond-to-workplace-communication-with-emoji-reactions-min.png\")