Forms of emojis have existed since the beginning of civilization. We see these examples in french cave paintings, hieroglyphics in Egypt, and the picture books we pick up before we can read. These reveal communication through the image, which helps across different language barriers. We are then able to better understand each other through the portrayal of the image. Visual communication helps us to understand each other without using narrative.
Through the use of emojis, we are able to show a form of facial expressions without a narrative description. By including these we tell readers what we are saying in body language through a text. What we interpret through facial expressions and hand movements we now interpret through text messages. This tells us the tone of the conversation we are having with the person on the other side of the screen. With the use of an emoji, we are able to picture what the person might be doing while sending the text message. It is an artificial way of knowing what the conversation would be like if we were having it face to face.
Emojis are a form of visual rhetoric. They are used in order to communicate the individual’s tone and body language but also elicit a response from the other person. Visual rhetoric is used in order to communicate something to us from other senses. This allows us to feel the emotion through other aspects of expression outside of words. They evoke our own reaction to what the person is saying, giving means of what conversation is or could be. Even though depending on the conversation this may not be as intense of a piece of artwork, it is still communicating and evoking a reactive feeling. Why is it ideal to use pictures to express ourselves or tell a story? Language provides us a way to describe and put on a page how we feel, but visuals allow us for people to see how we feel. When we look at art we are able to see what kind of emotions a person is feeling. Specific lines, colors, and shapes when combined can denote specific emotions. We are told how twisted or content an artist is feeling or once felt by seeing a visual piece of work. Emojis work in a similar way, as they are visual expression. Though they are mostly associated with a specific age group.
Emojis were originally associated with teenagers’ usage in text messages but have now spread out to adults using them in recent years. Marketing and businesses will use emojis in order to appeal to a younger audience and sell the product to different demographics. In business, emojis can be used in both a professional and personal way. They can give a sense of being in connection with a younger demographic or be used as means in communication to make a client feel closer to the business which they patron. This comes at the benefit of bringing younger generations and some adults in but at the cost of isolating older generations.
Personally I am not as big a fan of emojis. I use them on rare occasion but usually, when considering who I’m texting they give off a signal of which I did not intend to give. While I do associate emojis with teenagers, I see a lot of my older family members use them excessively. I try to be more direct in my speech and like to avoid mixed signals. Texting can leave room for a lot of misinterpretation and even with visuals to get across your point you never know if the person actually feels the way they say in a text, the lack of genuine facial communication leaves room for confusion a lot of the time. I have to be very close to a person to use them at all.
Visual rhetoric tells us a story, and emojis are a form of this communication. Communicating expressions with language employs more than one sense which is necessary in our changing world in order to keep the attention of others. Emojis have also developed to being animated for specific companies. We are left to wonder what our world is moving into visually speaking.
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