Tapping into the Global Iconographic Lexicon: Making Ocean Emoji

"Why isn't there an emoji for X?" is a question often asked by science and conservation outreach professionals but rarely answered. There is an answer. The reason that there are so few ocean-themed emoji is because they... [ view full abstract ]

"Why isn't there an emoji for X?" is a question often asked by science and conservation outreach professionals but rarely answered. There is an answer. The reason that there are so few ocean-themed emoji is because they haven't been proposed to the Unicode Consortium. 

Emoji is a iconographic language. It is the only language that is global in both its scope and interpretation. Every device operating in every language display the same standardized emoji. Over 3 billion devices have native support for emoji while platforms like Facebook, Tencent, Sina Weibo, and Twitter extend emoji to over 4 billion active users. Adopting new emoji is a complex process but the impact on social consciousness by building new concepts into a global lexicon cannot be underestimated. 

During this session, we will brainstorm potential candidates for ocean and conservation themed emoji and then triage them in accordance with the Unicode Consortium's standards for new emoji. Once equipped with a targeted list of potential candidates we will draft a formal proposal such that, by the end of the conference, we will be ready to solicit artwork and formally submit a new emoji request for the candidates we've identified.