Emoji Timeline + Emoji SEmoji Timeline + Emoji Swedish Book homepage screenshotwedish Book screenshot

The Emoji Timeline and a Swedish Book Description that Left Us Wanting More

The Emoji Timeline is a visual web tool curated by creator Daniel Hånberg Alonso also an Author, Journalist, DJ and Web Developer based in Stockholm, Sweden.

There are many historical, cultural and relevant emoji moments captured on the Emoji Timeline, and I enjoy reading them on the desktop version. I particularly enjoy timelines and similar frameworks that combine words and images to deliver a more robust storytelling experience. 

This one is simple and direct - an easy walk through with content that I haven't seen before so I enjoyed it. I am relatively new to the world of emoji history from a subject matter expertise perspective, but I have been reading a lot of material the past two months and it was nice to experience a good amount of new content in an easy-to-consume way.

I enjoyed the simple user interface. It is not high visual impact tool, rather it is function over form. But I dig this. Too many tools are over-designed and lose function to over design. It gets the job done simply and let's the user enjoy what they came to enjoy - the material.

Capturing screenshots on this tool; however, was not simple in terms of capturing the essence of the experience and presenting a good visual representation (the screenshots suck due to having to scroll out to capture the slider year!). It is best experienced personally.

In the spirit of sharing some data points, here are some screenshot images from the beginning, middle and recent dates:

Screenshot from 1997 on the Emoji Timeline

Screenshot from 2015 on the Emoji Timeline
1997 - First Emoji Set 2015 - State of the Union in Emoji, Match.com study, New Yorker cover


Screenshot from 2020 on the Emoji Timeline

Screenshot from 2021 on the Emoji Timeline
2021 - Smiley on Parliament, Sentiment of Emoji, Emoji Email Service, Emoji Resear.ch site, Maps Out of Emojis 2022 -  Wordle Uses Emoji, Emojis to Scale, DEA's Emoji Drug Code Fact Sheet

The creator does have a book on his website, but it is only available in Swedish - would love to see a translation!  there is a free digital copy is available to download on the site, but looks like it is only in iOS. 

Emoji : a story of emotions, poo and a yellow smile (English translation from Swedish book cover))

The book description alone (below) leaves me curious and wanting to read the book to get to the bottom of some of these questions and go on an emoji creativity journey with the author. Besides the fact I am well down the rabbit hole already... this is just another reminder to me of how fascinating and powerfully connective this language is. 

Be sure to check out the Emoji Timeline and let me know what you think. What emoji tools do you like?

In Creativity,

Char sig

Chief Moji Muser and EmojiIRL Creator
#emojiexpression #emojiIRL #getyourmojion

Book Description:

EMOJI: A STORY OF EMOTIONS, POOP, AND A YELLOW SMILE

Everyone uses emojis today, in one way or another, but few know where they come from or why these little characters have become part of our everyday lives. How have they managed to become such an obvious part of our lives?

Why did an American president stand on the White House lawn and namedrop the emoji in a speech? Who exactly is the organization that decides which emojis should exist and why does its head have a t-shirt with the text "Shadowy Emoji Overlord" on the back? Can anyone suggest an emoji? How does it work? What is the difference between an emoji, emoticon and a smiley? And what the hell is a kaomoji? There are many questions about the funny figures that have become part of our lives. How exactly did small Japanese icons take over the world?

To be able to answer that, we need to go on a journey. A journey that takes us via ancient Turkey, space race, a female radio legend, acid house, greedy French, anti-capitalist cartoonists, toilet signs, a deaf engineer, Japanese teenage girls, computer geeks and not least poo. It is a story of human creativity. About our constant need to express our feelings.

This is the story of the emoji.
 
Back to blog

Leave a comment

Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.

Light Bulb Moji filled with variety of Open Moji emojis -All emojis designed by OpenMoji – the open-source emoji and icon project. License: CC BY-SA 4.0

Thanks for Checking Out This Moji Musing!

Welcome to Moji Musings, where art, tech, communications, and creativity collide in a modern dance of emoji expression. 🤩

Explore our world of Moji Pop Art and the power of wearing your feelings IRL + online. 📱

Our content spans subjects from art, mental health, tech, storytelling, to the importance of free speech and the open Internet. Connect with us and share your own emoji expressions. What are you waiting for? #getyourmojion🎨🌟

Learn more about why Emoji Expression was created