Did you know that the plural of Emoji is Emoji? Like deer. Did you also know that Emoji have been around since the late '90s? It's true! A Japanese mobile phone company made them available to their customers about 15 years ago.
The Emoji selection we know and love today gives us an awesome way to tell someone your top hat is on fire or that you've been injected with the blood of a disembodied dragon head. But what it allows in obscure name-that-famous-line games, it lacks in personalization. In all the years they've been around, Emoji faces, while sufficiently expressive, don't really capture your unique essence.
Haven't you ever looked at one of the circular yellow faces and thought, "I don't look like that"? Haven't you looked at the more human-ish brunette lady in the pink shirt and thought "I don't even look like that"? If so, you might be a narcissist, and that's OK; and also, you're not alone. Apparently, there's such a strong demand for more customized Emoji options that someone has created an app that lets you turn yourself into an Emoji-esque text "sticker."
With Imoji, you simply select (or take) a photo that doesn't cut off any part of your head (and ideally, your hair, too), resize and angle it as you see fit. Then, you use your finger to trace around the head. Unless you're the kind of person who was really good at intricate nail art the very first time you attempted it, you will suck at this the first few times you try, creating lumpy, jagged cutouts.
But after a few tries (and many taps of the undo button), my outlines got smoother.Once you're satisfied, you save it as either private or public (the latter of which I find pointless and terrifying), and you can start sending it to photo-friendly phones.
Needless to say, as soon as I discovered this app, I started decapitating photos of xoJane editors. Here's how they reacted when I sent them an Imoji of themselves.
Emily
Olivia
Donna
Claire
Lesley
I like how both Donna and Claire reacted with Emoji. Old habits...
At this point, Imoji creations basically perform as photos, not as an alternative language, like how you can switch to Emoji on your keyboard. But there's no limit to what you can make little "stickers" of, so if Imoji catches on, you can expect to receive adorable cutouts of cats, dogs, and, inevitably, penises.
What do you think? Are you downloading it RIGHT NOW?