The mastermind behing the yawning and waffle emoji, Jay Peters, just revealed how anyone can create their own emoji in an article for The Verge.
I wrote a story about how I made the yawning face and waffle emoji! I hope you don’t on reading it or at the end. https://t.co/FKWI1gDay0
— Jay Peters (@jaypeters) November 1, 2019
The basic method of creating an emoji is just having a really good idea for one, following the Unicode proposals instructions and sending one to them. Just over a 1000 people submit proposals to Unicode so there is actually a high chance to get it approved.
The end result, however, is worth it. Jay Peter’s yawning emoji had a very good response and even US country rapper  Lil Nas X tweeted about it.Â
imagine getting this after sending a long ass text https://t.co/daegYZjLU0
— nope (@LilNasX) October 29, 2019
So if you’re ready to unleash your creative side and really want to create your own emoji, these are the steps to do it:
1. Come Up With A New Idea
The first thing and let’s be honest, the hardest thing you will have to do is come up with a new and unique idea for an emoji that everyone will want to use.
Don’t think too hard, the answer could be very obvious and all in all needs to be relatable. Even though there are sleeping emojis and tired emojis, the reason the yawning one would do well is because it can be used for more than one thing.
Received a text you don’t feel like responding to? Yawn emoji. Boring lecture? Yawn emoji. Sick of someone? Yawn emoji. And so on…
2. Gather Some Back Up Data
This part is the boring part where you have to take back your essay writing skills and start researching why people would want to use the emoji you’re suggesting.
The proposal will ask for a lot of information and evidence including suggested keywords, compatibility, expected usage level according to Google and Bing Search, multiple usages, and so much more but that’s only for data. There is also a whole other section on inclusion and how it would satisfy all factors.
Basically, be very prepared to spend a long time researching your emoji so much that you would hate it but just think of the end goal.
3. Pull Up Some Reference Images
Another task that the proposal asks for is to send in some reference images so they would know how the emoji would look like. One has to be in colour and the other in black and white.
Don’t get scared if you’re not an artist, you don’t need to have talented drawing skills to come up with the appearance of the emoji. There are websites you can use to do something similar or even ask a friend to do it for you.
4. Write and Submit A Proposal
Now that you’ve finally gathered all of your data, your evidence, and your pictures, start writing the proposal!
Follow the Unicode website and follow the exact format to start writing and then proofread every single section like a hawk. Sit and review it one, two, ten times if you can until you’re completely satisfied.
One thing to note is to really make sure every single section and sub section is completed so they don’t have to send an email asking for changes if you’re missing something. That’s what happened to Jay Peter the first time around.
5. Review And Edit A Final Draft
Once you eventually hear back from Unicode on your proposal, they might send some feedback asking for certain things to be changed or ask you to add more information.
Don’t feel disappointed, just make sure you do these tweaks as soon as you can and then send a final draft. Just because they’re asking for more information it does not mean they didn’t approve your proposal.
6. Play The Waiting Game
You’ve done all that you can at this point, now it is time to sit and wait. Maybe start coming up with new emoji ideas, send some more proposals. You don’t have to wait to hear back first.
In Jay Peter’s experience, he submitted his first draft in September 2017 and didn’t hear back from Unicode until mid-November the same year. In January 2018, he got assigned a document number.
Finally, a year and a half later in February, his yawning and waffle emoji made it to the official 201 emoji list where 230 new emojis in total were approved.
7. Be Proud Of All You’ve Accomplished
This might seem like a long and mundane process that requires A LOT of patience but doesn’t it all seem like it could be really worth it?
How many times have you looked at your emoji keyboard and got frustrated that the one you want isn’t there? This is your chance to go forward and create your own.
To be honest if you have time on your hands and too bored to be doing anything, this might be something that’s worth giving a shot.
Read the full article by Jay Peter for The Verge here.
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.
Image credit: Shutterstock.
