Microsoft Emojis
Avatars R&D
"As the world moves toward hybrid work scenarios that blend in-person with remote, expressive forms of digital communication are more important than ever.”
— Microsoft Design
Emojis have become a universal medium for self-expression and a powerful tool that allows us to communicate our thoughts and feelings in fun, clear, and emotionally resonant ways.
Inclusivity, honesty and vulnerability are all elements we sought to encompass in our new Emojis. We wanted our designs to celebrate the beautiful differences and imperfections in human expressions. Which is why our Emoji silhouettes aren’t 100% geometrically circular, but instead what we came to call the ‘imperfect circle.’
Every creative decision had to be scalable and flexible enough to convey the message behind each Emoji. To achieve this, we started with 2D illustrations using simple base shapes as a construction logic for all our Emojis before diving into 3D. Creating a design system that maintained consistency across the entire Emoji family.
The launch film came to be a combination of several short stories and moments put together. We began with very complex and intricate backgrounds but eventually made some refinements and ended up with the perfect colours and bold forms to make the Emojis POP.
Emojis System
Client
MicrosoftMicrosoft Team
Nando Costa, Claire Anderson, Cassie Klingler, Jason Custer, Judy Safran-Aasen, Sam CundallProduction Company
TendrilCreative Director
Alexandre TorresDirector
Matthias Winckelmann, Leo MateusArt Director
Rodrigo RezendeExecutive Producer
Ivelle JargalynProducer
Emily McCallen, Brittany SheahanCoordinator
Jelena SibalijaCG Supervisor
Ben PilgrimDesign
Andras Csuka, Felipe Medina, Henrique Athayde, Leo Natsume, Margarida Lemos, Runbo Chen, Plenty StudiosLead Modeller
Flavio DinizModel, Light, Render
Aleksandra Liubas, Benjamin Lüthold, Dominik Grejc, Edgar Ferrer, Eric Macedo, Flavio Diniz, Gustavo Henrique, Leonardo Bortolussi, Plenty Studio, Rita Louro, Zach LanduaLead Animators
Will Sharkey, Samuel Bohn, Jonathan LindgrenAnimation
Dominik Grejc, Emiliano Flores, Flavio Diniz, Guilherme Vasconcellos, Hernan Lindenbaum, Jessica Herrera, Leonardo Bortolussi, Plenty Studio, Zach LanduaCompositor
Corey LarsonEmoji Film
Creative Director
Nidia Dias, Chris BahryExecutive Producer
Ivelle JargalynDirector
Leo Mateus, Facu LaboProducer
Emily McCallenDesign
Jordi Pages, Lenar SingatullovModelling
Flavio Diniz, Lenar Singatullov, Jordi PagesAnimators
Lenar Singatullov, Samuel BohnLighting and Render
Brad HusbandCompositors
Brad Husband, Astrid CardenasSound
Zelig
