Updated Unicode Emoji document

The “Unicode Emoji” draft document has been updated. Changes include the addition of a draft description of emoji selection factors and draft chart images for the Unicode 8.0 candidate emoji.

Feedback on the document—including the candidate characters—can be submitted with the contact form.

Closing the Unicode Web Forum

Over the last several years, the Unicode Forum hosted on the Unicode website has not seen sufficient activity to justify its continuing maintenance. Accordingly, the Unicode Consortium is planning to close the forum, effective December 31, 2014. Most of the existing content in the forum will be kept available as a read-only archive, but any existing forum accounts will be locked, and new sign-up will be turned off.

We encourage forum users to join the ongoing, active discussions about Unicode topics on the email lists: http://www.unicode.org/consortium/distlist.html

Those who wish to follow only official announcements can also find those regularly posted on the Unicode Blog: http://unicode-inc.blogspot.com/

Announcement postings from the blog are also tweeted https://twitter.com/unicode as well as echoed on our Google+ and Facebook pages.

New Emoji Candidates for Unicode 8.0

The Unicode Consortium has accepted 37 new emoji characters as candidates for Unicode 8.0, scheduled for mid-2015. These are candidates—not yet finalized—so some may not appear in the release.

There are many possible emoji that could be added, but releases need to be restricted to a manageable number. Many other emoji characters, such as other food items and symbols of religious significance, are still being assessed, and could appear in a future release of the Unicode Standard. Feedback can be sent via the reporting form.

Faces, Hands, and Zodiac Symbols

The following proposed additions are for compatibility with other messaging and mail systems.

ZIPPER-MOUTH FACE

MONEY-MOUTH FACE

FACE WITH THERMOMETER

NERD FACE

THINKING FACE

FACE WITH ROLLING EYES

UPSIDE-DOWN FACE

FACE WITH HEAD-BANDAGE

ROBOT FACE

HUGGING FACE

SIGN OF THE HORNS

CRAB

SCORPION

LION FACE

BOW AND ARROW

AMPHORA

Symbols of Religious Significance

PRAYER BEADS

KAABA

MOSQUE

SYNAGOGUE

MENORAH WITH NINE BRANCHES

PLACE OF WORSHIP

DHYANI BUDDHA

Most Popularly Requested Emoji

HOT DOG

TACO

BURRITO

BOTTLE WITH POPPING CORK

POPCORN

TURKEY

UNICORN FACE

CHEESE WEDGE

Missing Top Sports Symbols

CRICKET BAT AND BALL

VOLLEYBALL

FIELD HOCKEY STICK AND BALL

ICE HOCKEY STICK AND PUCK

TABLE TENNIS PADDLE AND BALL

BADMINTON RACQUET AND BIRDIE

New Unicode Emoji draft, available for review

The Unicode Consortium has released the draft “Unicode Emoji” document, whose main goal is to help improve the interoperability of emoji characters across implementations by providing guidelines and data.

This draft document also includes a section on Diversity, with a mechanism using 5 new proposed characters to provide a variety of skin tones for existing emoji characters.



The document is in “Proposed Draft” state, and made available for public review and comment.