i-mode Emoji vs Kawaii
iモード絵文字 / カワイイ
i-mode Emoji comes from Symbol Systems and Kawaii from Pop. One is style and the other aesthetic. They are reached for with some of the same intent, which is where they get confused.
i-mode Emoji
One hundred and seventy six pictographs that tell faces, weather and things apart using only the placement of dots on a twelve by twelve grid. Shigetaka Kurita drew them for NTT DOCOMO's i-mode, and MoMA holds the original set.
Kawaii
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Japan's aesthetic of round contours, big eyes, pastel and looseness that summons the urge to protect. From girls' handwriting and fancy goods it softened the surface of an entire society, from public signage to corporate mascots.
| i-mode Emoji | Kawaii | |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 1998-1999 | 1970s– |
| Family | Symbol Systems | Pop |
| Kind | Style | Aesthetic |
| Cues | Figures fitted to a twelve by twelve grid / Shapes made of mass rather than of line / Set inline at the size of a letter / Faces, weather and symbols at one coarseness | Faces of circles and empty space / Big eyes, elided mouths / Pastel softness / Looseness and defenselessness |
| Best used for | Designing signs that must read at the size of a letter as one set on a coarse grid · Telling state by a figure instead of a word where only a few dots can be lit | Guidance and warnings for children or beginners that must not frighten · Designing a municipal or corporate mascot meant to last for decades |
| Type | Built from masses of dots rather than lines, sized to sit inline at the height of the text | Rounded gothic, wide letterforms, even stroke weight |
| Composition | The coarse grid fixed first, every figure told apart inside that one cell | One large face centered, space kept clear all around it |
| Material | Faces, weather and things held at one coarseness, dots reduced to the limit where they still read apart | Desaturated pastel and white, matte rather than glossy |
| Caution | Chasing fine detail inside the grid clogs the dots, and at the size of the text the figure no longer says what it is. | Assuming that bigger eyes and paler color make something cute loses the tension in the contour and leaves only a slack face. |