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DESIGN ETHICS | 2018

We are proudly introducing a new emoji system that will solve the discrimination issues that existed ever since the emoji was first introduced to the desktop operating system with the release of OS X 10.7 Lion, in 2011. There will be 5 changes in the new emoji system which will be available in upcoming software updates soon for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac. Tim Cook quotes, “diversifying the options available helps fill a significant gap and provides a more inclusive experience for all.” Robyn Kanner also added “new emoji system is a smart solution to make emoji culture pleasant to everyone all over the world.”

The main idea for this update is customization. Apple users will be able to customize their own emoji keyboard based on their needs. All users will make an emoji that would represent themselves which would be used as a default for any emoji that represent human beings.  In order to over come physical limitations such as storage problems, we have worked with Unicode Consortium to give options to the users so that they can find the right emoji to represent their own identity. This would naturally solve the issue that using yellow as a default color for human emoji is offensive to Asians. Once users make their own emoji it would be set up as a default and will be applied to all human related emoji. Different skin tones and hair color emoji characters that exist currently still will be available when user made emoji are pressed longer.

In our previous announcement, we have introduced new emoji to represent individuals with disabilities. However, not only what emoji represents but the actual usage of it should be an inclusive experience for everyone. Currently, emoji on keyboards are very small making it difficult for people with, and even without, eye sight issues. When a single emoji is pressed in the message app, it will appear 3 times bigger but users would have to press each emoji in order to check the details before using them. In order to reduce this extra effort, users will be able to choose the size of emoji on their keyboards. People who had hard time using small emoji will not have to spend extra time finding the right emoji anymore.

Finally, in order to make it a pleasure experience for everyone, users will be able to remove certain emoji characters that they do not want to see or use. According to a study, an estimated 9.1 percent of Americans, more than 19 million people, have a specific phobia, and many people have more than one specific phobia, insect phobia being one of the common ones. Users no longer have to look at a spider, cricket, and an ant emoji anymore because they can simply remove them from their keyboard. Removed emoji characters will be put together in the trash tab and can be brought back anytime.

Emoji are universal language used by people from all over the world to communicate. We expect to satisfy every one of our users and aim to make everyone feel welcomed while they are using any of our devices. By changing the fundamental system to give options to our customers, we are again taking a further step to innovation.