The Conundrum of Apple’s Latest Innovation, Genmoji
Back in July, Apple made an announcement that a new feature would be introduced to their existing customer base: AI-powered emojis, known as Genmoji. Simple in its use, the feature requires that you type in what you’re looking for, and your iPhone will do the ret – generating a new emoji for use.
Soon, users will have the ability to craft personalized emojis in seconds. Designing or speaking to visual metaphor in real-time sounds familiar…and is exciting. How could we not be on board?
As a visual strategy firm, we had a few thoughts we wanted to share with you on how to get the most out of this technology, and how to avoid miscommunication.
Democratizing Design
The development of Genmoji is an interesting prospect, enhancing an already fun element of communication. Let’s dive into why.
It’s in large part due to a broader movement to democratize design. Genmoji will provide anyone the ability to create unique, personalized visuals on demand. Design tools that were once reserved for professionals will now be available at everyone’s fingertips.
This move levels the playing field, opening doors for creativity and self-expression like never before. At ImageThink, we’ve long championed the idea that anyone – regardless of artistic background or technical skill – can think and work visually.
We empower our clients to visualize their ideas, strategies, and challenges in order to make them tangible, clear, readily communicated, and actionable.
As Genmoji brings design capabilities to the masses, it echoes what we’ve been doing at ImageThink: helping people at all levels – across industries and disciplines – tap into the power of visual communication.
Risking Clarity
Later this year, when Apple rolls out the core update that brings the Genmoji keyboard to your iPhone, take a few tips from us to ensure that your creations are received as intended.
At some point, all of us have sent or received the following emoji: to or from someone in our lives. It seems straightforward – laughing so hard you’re crying. Sometimes though, you’re left (head scratch emoji). As with anything, context is king. With a new wave of ultra-personalization, Genmoji will introduce challenges and potentially confusion.
Empowering every individual with an iPhone to craft their own visual metaphors could quickly spiral into miscommunication or tonal confusion. As the opportunity for customization expands, universality inherently erodes. How can you ensure your message is clear, the tone is appropriate, or avoid the wrong interpretation? Our best advice is to lean on the visual symbols we understand but apply them in a new context. Avoid over literalization, and don’t complicate your message by stacking too many metaphors into one image.
With any AI-powered tool, we’re venturing into uncharted territory, unexpected consequences, and potential misuse. The large-scale generation of personalized visuals will almost certainly open the door for some hurtful language, offensive imagery, and inappropriate communications. There is also the question of ownership, representation, and impact on professional designers. Undoubtedly, someone will create the next viral, universally understood pictogram for the world, but who owns it? Who is it for?
In the case of Genmoji, it is unlikely to lead to any earth-shattering legal disputes. But it is a real concern for artists and creatives as we invent and enable technology that empowers humans to lean on our visual nature.
As we explore these new frontiers, we invite you to consider how AI-powered tools will shape the way we communicate. Will Genmoji propel creative expression or deteriorate universal shorthand? Let’s embrace the possibilities but remain mindful of preserving the simplicity that made emoji – and visual communication – so powerful.
