Emoji inventor surprised by worldwide success
In the beginning, there was an extremely simple grinning face - today, around 1800 different emojis are used by smartphone users worldwide. The inventor of the little pictures, Shigetaka Kurita, is surprised by the global success of his idea.
"Because of Japanese roots, I didn't expect people abroad to adopt emojis," Kurita told the AFP news agency. He had simply invented something "that I wanted to have myself.
Against misunderstandings
It all began in 1999, when Kurita was working for the telecommunications company NTT Docomo and experimenting with graphical displays just a few pixels in size. Among other things, he wanted to make weather forecasts easier to display on the small screens of the newly emerging cell phones. This resulted in symbolic images for sunshine and an open and closed umbrella. Kurita also noticed that text messages could easily be misunderstood - he wanted to remedy this.
"A smiley at the beginning and end of a message guarantees that it will be read in a positive context, even if it is written ironically or even contains accusations," he told AFP. "With a heart, no message can be understood negatively."
Inspiration from manga
Kurita used Japanese characters and manga comics as inspiration. He originally designed 176 little pictures - these are now on display at New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). His contribution to global smartphone communication may not have brought the inventor any direct financial benefits. "But the honor of being included in the MoMA collection and going down in history is more than enough," he said.
However, Kurita had to accept an interim failure: "I drew a poop. It's childish, but I thought it would be good to give people something to giggle about." His employer, however, rejected the proposal out of concern for the company's reputation. These days, a brown poop with a happy expression is one of the most popular emojis in the world. (SDA)
