Mongkol Song
Emoji
Grade 10
Inquiry questions:
How do I know that the saying,, “A picture is worth a thousand words” is
true?
Why was the emoji created?
Would an app or a program be a better option to create an emoji and why?
Criteria A
The 5 W’s of the Emoji
In 1999, Japanese cellphone users had increasingly started to use picture
messages as means of communicating (EmojiChat). This trend hadn’t gone
unnoticed by cellphone companies, as pictures were larger than text messages
and in order to support the needs of 80 million users the emoji was the perfect
solution (EmojiChat). Emoji is the Japanese word for picture word and it’s code
which cellphones or computers detects and is converted into images
representing emotions. DoKoMo i-mode, which was a mobile phone provider,
was the first to allow emojis to be sent via text messages (EmojiChat). Shigetaka
Kurita was the one responsible for the emoji and he was working in DoKoMo and
was part of a team working on i-mode (Blagdon, Jeff). DoKoMo exploited an
unused region of the Shift JIS character encoding scheme, which then allowed
them to display the emojis (Blagdon, Jeff). Each two-byte code was connected to
an individual image and they would load on DoKoMo cellphones just like any
other characters (Blagdon, Jeff).
The Solution for the Target Audience
The target audience for my challenge’s solution will be members and teachers
associated with ASMA as this will help them publicize their event. Also it can be a
way to represent them with a simple image through texting or social media. This
is why there’s a need for an emoji for ASMA as it will help publicize the event and
represent the event in a way most people use to communicate now in this day
and age.
Needed primary and secondary research
For primary research I’ll need to interview the organizer of ASMA, which is Ms.
Netcy about what types of emoticons would she like to represent ASMA. Also I’d
like to interview Ms. Paulenne about two of my inquiry questions. Secondary
research would be to find out about apps or software that could help in creating
emojis. Other forms of primary research would be to interview previous or
current ASMA participants for their insight of what a good emoji would be to
represent ASMA. Also I’d like to investigate into animated emojis as a few of my
designs might include them.
Existing Emojis for Inspiration
There are many emojis out there and here are a few that could help and inspire
me to create an emoji exclusive to ASMA. They are: the pocket calculator (Pocket
Calculator), Pi (PI Emoji), Sigma (Sigma Emoji) and Greek letters like alpha and
beta symbols. These emojis would help me make an emoji for ASMA because I
can like make an emoji that spelled ASMA using math symbols or custom
symbols that look like math symbols. Another idea that these emojis inspired is a
calculator emoji with ASMA on the display. An idea that these emojis sparked
was a piece of paper with math symbols and some spell out ASMA and there are
Design Unit: 1
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Mongkol Song
Emoji
Grade 10
little doodles on the paper. Also ASMA could be spelled with numbers and math
symbols (Sambath Roth, Pheanak).
Design Brief
To create an emoji that represents ASMA and tells its story, also it’s for
publication and will be universally addressed when talking about ASMA in
texting.
Better for Emoji Creation: App or Program
From my interview, I’ve acquired that the best way to create an emoji is needed a
combination of both app and program (Hosegood, Paulenne). Although apps can
implement the emojis immediately into the smart phone’s Unicode while the
program requires manual coding to get the emoji into the computer’s Unicode.
However doing a mix like drawing the emoji in a program then importing it to
the app which then can input it into the Unicode (Hosegood, Paulenne). So it
would be better to use a mix of an app or program to create an emoji.
Picture = 1000 Words
Pictures normally are worth a thousand words because though pictures don’t
have any words they can tell a story that isn’t even there and stories depend on
the viewer’s perception so a picture can have many stories, which are worth a
thousand words each. However pictures doesn’t always equal a thousand words
when texting and that difference comes in when talking about different age
groups (Hosegood, Paulenne). For older generations words mean more than
pictures because in their society and time they were brought up with using
words, whilst the younger generation pictures will mean more as both words
and images are important for communication in their time (Hosegood,
Paulenne).
Emoji vs. Emoticon
The difference between an emoji and an emoticon is that emojis are code, which
are read by the computer and turned into images (EmojiChat). Emojis are limited
in numbers, while emoticons are user created images made through text and the
possible combinations are infinite (EmojiChat).
Research Plan
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Emoji
Mongkol Song
What will
I
research?
How will I
gather the
information?
PRIMARY
SOURCE
Is a
picture
worth
1000
words?
Why was
the emoji
created?
An
interview
with a
teacher
Would an
app or
program
be better
to create
an emoji?
An
interview
with a
teacher
How will I
Why will I
gather the
research this
information? information?
SECONDARY
SOURCE
A website
Existing
emojis or
emoticons
related to
my event
Difference
between
an emoji
and
emoticon
Design Unit: 1
Grade 10
How
useful
was this
research?
How
important
is this
research to
solving the
problem
It’s one of
my inquiry
questions
A bit
Also
another of
my inquiry
questions
A bit
Another of
my inquiry
questions
Very
useful
Can help
with the
justification
of creating
an emoji
Can justify
the reason
to create
my own
emoji for
an event
It will help
me
determine
my choices
of
programs
or apps to
use for the
create
process
Can help
generate
ideas to
create final
design
This will
help
generate
different
designs for
both emojis
and
emoticons
A website
Needed for
inspiration
A website
Needed to
Useful
differentiate
in order to
create
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Mongkol Song
Emoji
Grade 10
Criterion B
Design Specifications
Emoji
The word ASMA needs to clearly visible
A mathematical tool must be present
Mathematical symbols need to be shown
Incorporates ideas from primary sources
Uses programs or applications for creation such as Adobe Photoshop or Google
Sketchup
Must be A4 size (210mm x 297mm) or near A4 size
Animated with 2 frames
At least 2-5 colors which must include black, white and a bright color
Must symbolize math using mathematical tools, symbols and numbers
Orientation is portrait
Emoticon
Must be 5-50 characters long
Created using keys recognized by Unicode
Needs to include mathematical symbols, numbers or greek letters (as most are
represented in math)
Uses a wide variety of characters
Either represents a mathematical tool and spells ASMA
Chosen Design
The reason I have chosen this design is because I feel that a calculator would be the best
mathematical tool to represent math, as it’s a recognizable tool that has connotations
related to math. Also since the calculator displays the words ASMA it will relate to
ASMA. This design fits almost all the design specifications as ASMA is shown clearly and
math symbols are used to create ASMA. Also it incorporates ideas from primary sources
and I will be indeed creating it in Adobe Photoshop. The size will be A4 and it is going to
be animated. The design consists of three colors, shows a mathematical tool and its
orientation is portrait. This is why I chose this design as it not only fit the created design
specifications but represents math and ASMA the most.
Designs and final design
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Mongkol Song
Emoji
Grade 10
Criterion C
Plan
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Use the available class times to create the first frame of my emoji
During class time vaguely draw the outlines of first frame of the emoji
Add basic colors for the time given in class
At home refine emoji and work on details
Add final colors, create the second frame and edit the changes to make the
two frames look animated
Emoticon
________________
| ________ |
| |ASMA| |
| [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| _______________|
Criterion D
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Mongkol Song
Emoji
Grade 10
Testing my product
The best way to test my product is to present it to my target audience and create
a set of questions which evaluate the product against its specs and evaluate its
effectiveness and success.
These will be the questions:
1. Is the acronym ASMA clearly visible? If not, why?
2. Are there any math related objects and symbols in this emoji?
3. Do you think it represents ASMA effectively? Why or why not?
4. Did the animation catch your attention?
5. Would you use this emoji to publicize ASMA? Why or why not?
6. If the ASMA acronym weren’t there, what NISC event or class would you
associate this emoticon with? Why?
7. If the calculator were a real image of a TI would it be better for
publication or a clip art styled?
8. What mathematical tool do these emoji/emoticon resemble? Do you think
this is the universal tool that resembles math?
Success from Feedback
According to the feedback received I can evaluate that my emoji and emoticon
were somewhat successful. The reasons for this is because the acronym ASMA is
clearly visible distinguishing the emoticon and emoji from just some random
picture of a TI calculator. All the interviewees could see math related symbols
and tool(s) and all thought that the animation would catch their attention if it
was left in the chat log. All thought it represented ASMA effectively because it
had a TI calculator and the acronym ASMA on it. However some wouldn’t use the
emoji and emoticon to publicize ASMA as they preferred a real TI instead of a
drawn one, but a majority responded yes as it represented ASMA effectively. All
of the people interviewed thought that the calculator was the most recognizable
math tool and it represents math effectively. Additional feedback included that
the acronym ASMA was confusing and hard to read and that my digital art skills
would need to be more refined in order for the emoji to look good.
Feedback vs. Design Specs
In comparison with my specifications and feedback, my emoji and emoticon
should be classified successful as the feedback gathered justified most of the
specifications besides the obvious ones that can be self evaluated such as size,
orientation, colors and software used for creation. Besides that the feedback
proved that my emoji is quite successful through the design specifications as it
used math related tools and symbols, ASMA is shown clearly and it was animated
with 2 frames. However the emoticon didn’t fully obtain all the design
specifications and the only one it missed out on was to use mathematical
symbols.
Improvements
There are many ways to improve my emoji and emoticon. For emoji I should
refine my digital art skills so that the emoji looks presentable and that ASMA is
more eligible. Another big improvement would be to consider my specifications
more and this isn’t only for my emoji but my emoticon too. My design specs for
my emoji should’ve included more details such as it should’ve shown feelings as
this is the key factor for an emoji and technically this is why my emoji has failed
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Mongkol Song
Emoji
Grade 10
as it doesn’t really present emotions and feelings. Also I could’ve specified more
things in the specifications like the animation had to be flashy because that was
what I envisioned it to be and that the calculator had to be “hand drawn”. There
are many more points I could’ve added to the design specs but the part of
emotions and feelings was the key factor that would’ve driven my emoji into the
path of success.
For my emoticon, in order to improve it is not only following the design
specifications but to thought it out a bit more especially with the design
specifications. Improvements to the designs specs should be to add the detail of
how many lines does it require to type out. So in order for my emoticon to be
more successful next time would be to follow its design specifications and to
make the specifications more specific and detailed.
Impact on Target Audience
My emoji and emoticon impacts my target audience which are people associated
with ASMA as this can be an informal way to refer to ASMA such as when
someone posts a tweet ASMA related instead of ending with a #ASMA, they could
end with the emoji. Also the emoji and emoticon impacts this target audience as
they can use it to refer not only to ASMA but math related things like when
members of ASMA are explaining answers to equations and problems they could
end with the emoji or emoticon to symbolize that they are talking about
something related to math. Overall it impacts this target audience’s choice of
communication as now they have something to symbolize what they are
interested in or are good at, which in this case is math.
Bibliography
1. Blagdon, Jeff. "How emoji conquered the world." The Verge 1 (2013): 1. How
emoji conquered the world | The Verge. Web. 8 Aug. 2014.
2. EmojiChat. "Where Did Emoji." iEmoji: Come From?. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Aug.
2014. <http://www.iemoji.com/articles/where-did-emoji-come-from?page=1>.
3. Hosegood, Paulenne. Personal interview. 12 Aug. 2014.
4. "PI emoji." PI sign π (Make pi symbol on your keyboard). N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Aug.
2014. <http://fsymbols.com/signs/pi/>.
5. "Pocket Calculator."
. N.p., n.d. Web. 11
Aug. 2014. <http://www.iemoji.com/view/emoji/1029/new-emoji/pocketcalculator>.
6. Sambath Roth, Pheanak. Personal interview. 12 Aug. 2014.
7. "Sigma Emoji." Sigma sign Σ (type sum symbol on your keyboard). N.p., n.d. Web.
11 Aug. 2014. <http://fsymbols.com/signs/sigma/>
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