I’m fascinated with the process by which visual symbols are developed and become generally accepted shorthand for complex concepts.
There are symbols all around us that we take for granted, like the lightning strike icon, which indicates that something is high voltage. Or a little campfire to indicate that something is flammable. ...Show More
Emoji have become such an everyday part of my life that I can't remember my iPhone keyboard without the adorable icons. The tiny cartoon characters have been my go-to solution for Poe's Law, a way for...Show More
Buckle up for a wild ride uncover all the mystery’s of this typeface. It’s full of symbolism, history, and.... conspiracy theories?! Listen now!
The “Like” button was a huge triumph for Facebook, or was it? Now more than ever we’re all wondering if our traditional definition of “good” design is actually in our best interests. In this episode, ...Show More
Everyone knows it when they see it. The classic “castle with turrets” periodic table is a beautiful and concise icon that contains a great deal of amazing information, if you only know how to read it....Show More
US paper currency is so ubiquitous that to really look at its graphic design with fresh eyes requires some deliberate and focused attention. So pull out a greenback from your wallet (or look at a pict...Show More
If you’re not from California, or missed this bit of news, the University of California has a new logo. Or rather had a new logo. To be more precise they had a new “visual identity system,” which is t...Show More
There is a beauty to a universal standard. The idea that people across the world can agree that when they interact with one specific thing, everyone will be on the same page– regardless of language or...Show More
If you want to follow conversation threads relating to this show on social media—whether Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, Tumblr—you know to look for the hashtag: #99pi. In our current digital age, th...Show More
A month is hardly a unit of measurement. It can start on any day of the week and last anywhere from 28 to 31 days. Sometimes a month is four weeks long, sometimes five, sometimes six. You have to buy ...Show More
Tech analysts estimate that over six billion emojis are sent each day. Emojis, which started off as a collection of low-resolution pixelated images from Japan, have become a well-established and graph...Show More
The world is full of icons that warn us to be afraid — to stay away from this or not do that. And many of these are easy to understand because they represent something recognizable, like a fire, or a ...Show More
Stephen is joined by Jeremy Burge, the founder of Emojipedia, to discuss the small images that define so many of our digital conversations.
Do you give food emojis much thought? If not, perhaps you should. Emily Thomas hears how these tiny digital images can have a big social and economic impact. We reveal who decides which emojis are acc...Show More
When LOL just isn't enough to respond to a friend's killer joke, emoji are there for you. But for many people, there isn't an emoji to represent them or the things they want to say. This has pushed ac...Show More
Each year, the powers that be endow our phones with about 70 new emoji. For 2022, you’ll be getting a mirror ball, a crutch, an X-ray, coral, a ring buoy, and a bird’s nest—with or without eggs in it....Show More
Emoji might not be 66 million years old, but they are pretty much everywhere. Join Ben and Amory as they explore the history of dinosaur emoji in LGBTQ+ communities and their more recent use as an onl...Show More
Gretchen McCulloch talks to John McWhorter about the big meaning behind our favorite little pictograms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
with @fredbenenson @jenny8lee and @smc90 A whole new set of emojis are about to hit people's phone within a month, but that's not the only reason we're re-running this popular (and defining!) episode...Show More
The hieroglyphs seem to hold a lot of secrets about Ancient Egyptians. What do emojis say about us? What on earth is their story?Emojis originate in the notebooks of 1970’s Japanese schoolgirls obsess...Show More
Thumbs up? Thumbs down. Skulls of joy. And so many expressions of pain and comfort. This, my babies, is the -ology that sparked this whole podcast. Curiology means “writing with pictures” but will ce...Show More
The thrilling conclusion of all-things-emoji! Eggplants, peaches, jumping ska dudes, gray hearts, family emojis, what NOT to text your Southern Italian friends, yellow hands, red hair, the birth of th...Show More
Gilbert Baker’s pride flag design is now a worldwide symbol for LGBT freedom and liberation. Now, his former stomping grounds remember his efforts with a beautiful mural. But there’s more to this prid...Show More
Money is power. But who's on our money - or isn’t - can be just as powerful. While Lady Liberty has graced American coins and dollars for most of our history, it wasn’t until the 1970s that a real wom...Show More
This month, the U.S. Treasury announced that Harriet Tubman would replace Andrew Jackson on the front of the $20 bill. In this episode, we evaluate America’s relationship with money, exploring the tra...Show More
If you were curating a mixtape that might be heard by aliens billions of years from now - but definitely would be seen by your fellow Earthlings - what would you put on it? In 1977, two Voyager spacec...Show More
epekilis recommended:
The origin story of the peace symbol. The processes by which visual icons become cultural shorthand are fascinating. I’m starting a playlist about emojis and icons.