In September, Unicode will consider the approval of new emoji candidates, including a Lime, a Head Shaking Vertically, and a Phoenix Bird, alongside direction-based people emojis for Emoji 15.1. Emojipedia presented sample designs for these emojis ahead of World Emoji Day 2023, which was held on July 17, 2023.
The Emoji 15.1 draft list encompasses diverse additions, such as the Lime, Head Shaking Vertically, Phoenix Bird, and gender-neutral family emojis constructed using zero-width joiner (ZWJ) sequences. These proposed emojis are expected to be represented by combinations of existing designs.
While Unicode suggests the adoption of these family emojis in silhouette form, it remains at the discretion of each emoji vendor (Apple, Google, Samsung, etc) to follow this design directive.
The Emoji 15.1 candidate list also introduces directional versions of various person emojis, totaling 108 new emojis, all facing right. Emojipedia provides sample designs, acknowledging that actual vendor designs may differ.
Emojipedia emphasizes that these sample images are not final and may be updated upon Emoji 15.1’s official release in September. The draft list itself is subject to change.
Emoji 15.1’s directional emojis include sequences for Person Walking, Person Running, Person Kneeling, Person with White Cane, Person in Manual Wheelchair, and Person in Motorized Wheelchair.
Emojipedia notes the historical consideration of directionality in emoji designs and speculates on how vendors might implement the new direction-specific emojis on keyboards. ZWJ components, potential challenges in depicting shaking faces, and the introduction of color variations for non-animal emojis like the Lime and Brown Mushroom.
Microsoft already supports the new family emojis, deviating from the proposed silhouette designs. Estimates for Emoji 15.1’s approval and release across major emoji vendors, anticipating support from various platforms in late 2023 and the first half of 2024.
