Not everyone can draw. And not everyone has the time or motivation to learn. But that doesn’t need to stop anyone from making whatever image they want.
With emojis, people can simply copy and paste a wide variety of pre-made cartoon depictions into their tweets, texts, and so on. Not only that, but users have tried a wide variety of methods of presentation to push the limits of this format.
But as effective as these methods are, many of them involve a lot more work to piece together. So it’s very likely that Unicode, the creators and controllers of the emoji system, will eventually embrace this escalating trend by creating connectable emojis that could combine to create complex scenes. For instance…
1. Thought-bubbles
Possibly the most useful of all of these would be the thought-bubble symbol from comic books, that users will likely one day have at their disposal to describe the thoughts of themselves and of others.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
2. Word-balloons
Close to it would be word-balloons for dialogue depictions.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
3. Broadcast-word-balloons
A slightly more obscure symbol from comic books, broadcast-word-balloons could be used to depict any kind message from any type of machine.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
4. Picture frames
But not all connectable combinations need to be from comics. A picture frame could be used to redefine a scene as being a mere depiction.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
5. Film strips to show sequences of actions
But if a user wants to display a series of events in a chronological order, the most effective means would most likely be to use a film strip.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
6. Picket signs to show convictions
If you want to display social or political persuasions, a protest sign could do the trick.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
7. Crystal ball prediction-clouds
But there are more interesting options too. Consider a cloud from a crystal ball. If someone were to use such a frame to surround a series of symbols, it should be crystal clear, so to speak, that they are depicting a prediction of some kind or another.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
8. Zoom-in effect
Of course, if a user wanted to show a more expansive scene, one economical way to do so would be the classic zoom-in effect commonly found in educational textbooks.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
9. Spikey word-balloons to depict shouting
While we’re at it, we may as well include more specific variations of word balloons, like spiked-edged word-balloons, for whenever a character is shouting.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
10. Name-tags
Another likely useful frame may be a name-tag.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
11. Stop signs to boss people around with
Or how about a stop sign?
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
12. Voting boxes to show your support for an agenda
Picket signs not explicit enough to show your support for a specific public policy rather than just a general agenda? Voting boxes should make it much more clear.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
13. Cutaways of cartoon houses to show the contents of your home
Want to show the contents of your place of residence? A cutaway of a cartoon house may be what you’d need to sell the message.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
14. Faces with custom features
Or maybe you need a more modular version of the emoji faces, to have a wider selection. Then why not put the face together piece by piece, like a Mr Potato Head toy or a character customization menu in a video game?
Who knows how many more methods there could be of effectively expanding the potential of emojis? Only time will tell what exciting new possibilities will be opened up by future innovations in the format.
