'With the power of illustration, we can capture the true, playful vibe of a kangaroo': Google explains the thinking behind its new 3D emojis

I like to imagine that, in thousands of years time, an alien species will land on the desert wasteland that was once Earth and begin combing through our digital records. What they'll likely discover fairly quickly is the rise of emojis in our daily communications during the late 2000s, a process Google is looking to push further into the modern age with proper 3D models.

The Noto 3D collection of emojis was released earlier this year, but Google has gone into the design process (and a brief history of the form) in-depth in a blog post for World Emoji Day. No, I didn't know that was a thing either.

"We don't just 'laugh' anymore," says Google. "We collapse, or internally scream. Modern internet culture has steadily moved from mild expressions to drama, hyperbole and overwhelm."

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"For years, 'face with tears of joy' (😂) was the undisputed emoji king, according to Gboard Federated Analytics. But following a multi-year decline, it slipped down the charts by 2025," the post continues.

"Why? Because 😭 is a masterclass in modern vocabulary: It’s hilarious, it’s devastating and it captures absolute overwhelm."

(Image credit: Darnexx on Nexus Mods)

Uhh, sure thing. To be fair, 😂 often indicates to me that I'm speaking to someone older, so there's probably something to the idea that it's becoming outdated.

Anyway, Google's 3D emoji suite seems to have had a serious amount of thought put into it. "The brain processes emoji faster than text, so you can’t just slap on a design and call it a day. Touching something that billions of people use trillions of times a day requires more nuance," says the company.

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"They need a pulse and a soul—not the cold precision of industrial CAD models. Have you looked closely at a real kangaroo? They’re terrifying 🙀," the post continues. "We don’t need anatomical perfection. With the power of illustration, we can capture the true, playful vibe of a kangaroo."

Google says it ran large-scale user studies on its new iconography, revealing that people prefer full-body animals over floating heads, and that small tweaks can "turn mild confusion into accidental outrage."

(Image credit: Semiwork)

Not only that, but the designers had to take into account what an emoji might look like from different angles. Is a smiley face a disc, or a sphere? Is it concave, or more of a bouncy ball? These are the questions that seem to have kept the team up at night, bless 'em.

However, Google notes that now the design work is done, it's handing over the raw .OBJ files to the community, so it can use them to build VR worlds, indie apps, or "weird memes." Knowing the internet, it'll be the latter that gets the most traction.

"Remix them, break them and stretch them into shapes we never could have anticipated. Language only truly lives when we find new ways to use it ⛲," Google concludes. Well, you heard the company. Get to it, internet. I live in fear of the eventual results.

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