Today is ‘World Emoji Day’

July 17th recognizes World Emoji Day ??and many of the world’s symbolic icons for digital calendars. The day encourages us to use emojis to send unique messages.

Emoji, a Japanese expression, roughly means “picture word” and was created by Shigetaka Kurita in 1990. While working for the Japanese telecom company NTT Docomo, Kurita would design these picture words as a feature on their pagers to make them more appealing to teens.

Every year new emojis (both emoji and emojis are acceptable plural forms of the word) are developed.  From transportation, food, an assortment of wild and domesticated animals to social platforms, weather, and bodily functions, emojis virtually speak for themselves.

When it comes to celebration emojis, the designers created a variety to make sure we could express our excitement. Whether we celebrate the arrival of a new baby, an anniversary, or a birthday, there’s something for every celebration.