It’s two hits of nostalgia in one practical package
These days, no platform is complete without emoji support. These modern emoticons help us express all sorts of emotions, feelings, situations and more. More than any other company, Google has embraced emoji wholeheartedly, added support for the latest inclusions without even needing a software update, and developed Emoji Kitchen as a way to design your very own creations. Today, the company unveiled yet another emoji font, this time as an old-fashioned return with the inclusion of everyone’s favorite blobs.
Early emoji were simple black and white 2D icons, designed for then current phones to be displayed along with basic SMS. With the Noto Emoji, Google brings that look back with some new twists and ideas. It’s part of the Noto font family, designed to help fill in the blanks you would occasionally see across the web on platforms where newer versions of Unicode are missing. Although the full color standard emoji version of Noto is the one you’re probably used to seeing throughout Google’s product package, this new monochrome version may be your new favorite.
The idea behind this iteration is simple: bring emoji back to a more picturesque time, avoiding realism for the sake of easily recognizable concepts. While some designs are a 1: 1 translation, others are streamlined or modified to help fit this solid color approach. Flags, for example, use ISO country codes, while others drop their gradients for a more laid-back approach. This font is also variable so you can change the color or adjust the weight of a given emoji to match the mode you want to encounter.
The biggest change – and the one that can get many of our readers to download this font – comes to Google’s collection of “people” emoji. That’s right: the blobs are back and mix two types of nostalgia in one convenient package. They may be less yellow than before, but they’re as funny and whimsical as you remember.
If Google’s latest font sounds like your cup of tea, go to its official website for a more in-depth preview or to download the full package for the device of your choice.
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