Today JoyPixels (formerly EmojiOne) has released its 5.0 update, featuring support for yawning face, pinching hand and other new Emoji 12.0 additions.
Above: A selection of new emoji designs included in JoyPixels 5.0.
This is the vendor's first release under its new moniker, coming after EmojiOne 4.5 in January 2019 — retroactively rebranded as JoyPixels 4.5.
A total of 1683 emoji designs have been updated between EmojiOne 4.5 and JoyPixels 5.0 (included skin tone variations). Despite the name has change, JoyPixels will continue their well-documented propensity for extensively modifying their emoji design set between updates.
All-in-all, JoyPixels 5.0 features a total of 1,913 new and updated emoji designs.
One of the biggest themes throughout the design modifications made in JoyPixels 5.0 is that the designs of people emoji where gender is not specified (e.g. 🤦 Person Facepalming) now features a gender-neutral design[1].
Above: A selection of new non-gender-specific emoji designs included in JoyPixels 5.0.
This new presentation reflects the long-standing recommendation of the Unicode Consortium in regards to these emojis:
“human-form emoji should normally be depicted in a gender-neutral way unless gender appearance is explicitly specified”
These JoyPixel changes comes after Google recently announced they would be implementing similar design changes when their latest emoji set is released later this year.[2]
Above: Where no gender is specified, JoyPixels now displays a gender inclusive person.
🆕 New
While the 230 new Emoji 12.0 designs featured in JoyPixels 5.0 include a variety of new emoji types, there are three major themes evident within this latest bundle of characters: accessibility, new colored hearts/shapes, and pairs of hands-holding individuals[3].
Above: A selection of new accessibility, shape and hand-holding designs featured in JoyPixels 5.0.
There are, of course, also new additions to popular categories such as animals, objects, and foods.
Above: A further selection of new emoji designs featured in JoyPixels 5.0.
🆙 Changed
Below is a handful of the type of design changes made within JoyPixels 5.0. To see all designs that have been changed in this update, from the major to the minute, can be seen here.
JoyPixel 5.0's facial expression emojis have had their color gradation made more prominent, with several designs also getting further details. For example, 🤓 Nerd Face now features a more notable gradient as well as brand new braces - the latter feature being a new design choice unique to JoyPixels.
🤮 Face Vomiting is now of a much greener complexion.
💃 Woman Dancing now has added sheen and some additional partings in her hair.
🧔 Bearded Man has reshaped facial hair.
🥃 Tumbler Glass no longer includes ice cubes, increasing the range of possible beverages this may represent.
🥙 Stuffed Flatbread now features red onion amongst its fillings.
🦖 T-Rex is now roaring and features a more scientifically accurate skull and posture.
🐜 Ant appears as a more scientifically accurate worker ant, with additional legs, elongated eyes, and extended mandibles.
📕 Closed Book now features the title "Version 5.0" instead of "Version 4.5".
📶 Release
JoyPixels 5.0 is available now. Like EmojiOne 4.5, it is available on a freemium basis, with licensing required for some but not all usage types.
You can read more about the design set's licensing arranges via Joypixel's own 5.0 release announcement.
Previously (i.e. within EmojiOne 4.5), each emoji design without a specific gender would simply adopt the apperance of either the 👩 Woman or 👨 Man variant of that character — often in line with what other platforms chose for each base emoji. Now in JoyPixels 5.0, where clothes are visible and not a core element of the design (e.g. the police officer's uniform), these new display gender inclusive designs wearing orange. Varitions based on 👩 Woman are dressed in purple, while vairations based on 👨 Man are clad in teal. ↩︎
These new gender neutral / gender-inclusive designs have been in beta since May 2019, and can be previewed here. ↩︎
Commonly referred to as a couple - and often used for people in relationships, but the official names only note the holding of hands. ↩︎