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Emojis are ‘part of our culture, kind of like slang’: Alberta communications expert

Click to play video: 'A look at emojis and their impact on communication'
A look at emojis and their impact on communication
Experts say emojis have changed the way people communicate with the way they allow users to convey emotions. Alejandra Pulido has the details. – Jul 29, 2021

It’s been over a decade since the launch of the original set of emojis — the iconic symbols that allow us to convey emotions using something other than words.

Some emojis were inspired by everyday items to make them easier to understand, like the teal dress, which was based on one owned by the designer’s niece.

Former emoji designer Angela Guzman, who was one of the original emoji creators for Apple, says her team worked at a very high pace, but had the freedom to decide which emojis to design and how to design them.

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“Between my mentor and I, we completed nearly 500 emojis in three months, so that was something we had to do very quickly but still pay attention to all the details.”

Click to play video: 'Emojis, WhatsApp and ‘XOXO’: How texting differs around the world'
Emojis, WhatsApp and ‘XOXO’: How texting differs around the world

Guzman adds that she never imagined how the emojis would transform language and how people would use them.

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“I find it very comical when I see people getting more creative with emojis, whether digitally or even in the physical world to try to convey meaning.”

Lethbridge communications expert Natalie Barfuss says the increased use of emojis has seen them become integrated into our language structure.

“I think that this is something — especially with the trends we are seeing since COVID-19, with so much computer-mediated communication that we are having now — I think it’s just something that is going to be a part of culture, kind of like slang.”

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Barfuss adds that even though they are part of our language, emojis could never fully capture the nuance of verbal communication.

Click to play video: 'These are the new emojis released for 2019'
These are the new emojis released for 2019

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