Today is World Emoji Day – but did you know Texas-themed emoji are finally invading our smartphones?
It’s called TexMoji –and it’s very Texas-y. Armadillos … Whataburger … bluebonnets. Does it get any more Texas than that?
TexMoji launched this summer.
Rocksauce Studios, an Austin-based company, built the app.
Q Manning, CEO of Rocksauce, talked with Texas Standard, the statewide radio newsmagazine, about TexMoji.
“We put the ‘Tex' in text messaging, Manning said. “It’s all about the fact that we really want to capture the Texas Pride concept. That’s a big deal for us. We want to be showing off everything there is about Texas. … We have a lot of pride in our state.”
You can download it on your iPhone for $1.99.
Texas Monthly reports on how this came about:
Rich O’Toole, a country artist from Houston, teamed up with Sean Compton, the creator of Sorry, I’m Texan, to fill a void they both felt in the current emoji stackup. O’Toole was tipped off that some crucial communication tools were missing from his digital alphabet when he noticed the common emoji keyboard has no taco icon. … The unlikely pair took their idea to Rocksauce Studios, an Austin-based company that builds apps, for help with designing a few hundred, Texas-themed emoji, or Texmoji.
Here's more Texas emoji!
Y'all, it's all happening. You'll be able to send a taco emoji before you know it! pic.twitter.com/x203yI6jfq
— TexMoji (@TexMoji) June 15, 2015
Listen to Manning’s interview with Texas Standard
Here's how the emoji look on a smartphone
Learn more about World Emoji Day.
Why July 17?
The World Emoji Day website says:
July 17 is famously displayed on the iOS Calendar Emoji, which makes it perfect date for World Emoji Day. Even if you are using a system with a different calendar emoji, that shouldn’t stop you joining in the global celebration of emoji.
