Put On A Happy Face

First, let me say I am not a smiley face kind of person. In fact, I have never written a note on paper and added a cute smile anywhere. But somehow I appreciate emoticons on IM. The ones that are built into the system so that they actually appear as graphic icons, not the typed squiggles people favor in emails. Why? Because they add unnecessary emphasis and, thus, can be used to spice up the hilarity of a conversation as quickly as you can say :-*.

But I have iChat and I must say that the stock emoticons offered are really limited, hard to read (foot in mouth), out of balance (angel, but no devil) or difficult to interpret (money mouth?). Seeking help in this realm, I did a quick web search only to find challenging programming, expensive software, lame designs and incompatibility with Macs. This final affront proves that there is a serious void that can be filled by designers, especially those with a sense of humor. Wait, that could be the root of the problem -- – emoticons are not being designed, they are being programmed. And not for the creative community. Do any of us really need an animated smiley picking its nose? What is that supposed to imply to the reader?

"“Guess what? I saw an amazing film last night? Oh and I have a disgusting personal habit I wanted to share too...."

I asked my husband if he ever received emails where people used emoticons and he said, "No one smiles when they send me an email."

So if anyone out there wants to design some cool smiley faces, better make some nicely designed bitter or cynical ones while you are at it.