Unicode Standard Deviation Reference for Mutant Standard 0.3.0 (August 2018)
This document lists all the ways in which Mutant Standard deviates from Unicode Standard’s emoji encoding.
This document is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The data contained this document (ie. encodings, emoji descriptions) however, can be used in whatever way you like.
Shortcuts
To avoid repeating certain commonplace codepoints, I will be using the following shorthands:
Codepoint(s) Unicode name Shorthand
U+FE0F Visibility selector 16 (emoji) VS16
U+200D Zero-width joiner ZWJ
Intro
Mutant Standard mostly follows Unicode Standard emoji, but there are cases when it doesn’t:
- Some emoji designs are changed but maintain the same codepoint as the original symbol concept. Sometimes this is done in a way that still matches the Unicode Standard, sometimes it doesn’t. - Some emoji are Unicode symbols, but they are not Recommended for General Interchange (RGI) as emoji. - Some emoji use non-standard ZWJs (Zero-Width Joiners) of Unicode Emoji. - Some emoji in the Unicode Standard are not used in Mutant Standard at all. - Some emoji and modifiers are non-standard and encoded in the PUA (Private Use Area).
This document will go into each of the ways that Mutant Standard doesn’t follow either Unicode Standard, or common expectations of Unicode Standard emoji, one by one.
Implicitly Deviated Designs
These are emoji that have specific changes in design from what is traditionally used, but it’s actual intended meaning is no different from the Unicode Standard.
Codepoint(s) Unicode name Notes
U+1f6bbBB Restroom Instead of the traditional symbol of a male figure and a female figure, it has been changed to a gender-neutral sign of a toilet.
Explicitly Deviated Designs
These are emoji that have explicit shifts in intended communication from the Unicode Standard, but share the same codepoints as the originals.
Currency emoji
Instead of representing banknotes for specific currencies, they represent generic bank notes with generic designs intended to be somewhat evocative of the originals, but more open-ended towards any currency/locale.
Codepoint(s) Unicode name Mutant Standard name
U+1f4b4 Banknote With Yen Sign Yellow banknote Codepoint(s) Unicode name Mutant Standard name
U+1f4b5 Banknote With Dollar Sign Green banknote
U+1f4b6 Banknote With Euro Sign Pink banknote
U+1f4b7 Banknote With Pound Sign Purple banknote
Non-RGI (Recommended for General Interchange) symbols
These are symbols in the Unicode Standard that are not Recommended for General Interchange as emoji, but Mutant Standard uses them as emoji nonetheless.
These are combined with VS16 to ensure they display as emoji (because they normally display as text).
Codepoint(s) Unicode name Notes
U+2640 [VS16] Female Sign (♀)
U+2642 [VS16] Male Sign (♂ )
U+26a2 [VS16] Doubled Female Sign (⚢)
U+26a3 [VS16] Doubled Male Sign (⚣)
U+26a4 [VS16] Interlocked Female and Male Sign (⚣)
U+26a5 [VS16] Male and Female Sign (⚥)
U+26a6 [VS16] Male with Stroke Sign (⚥)
U+26a7 [VS16] Male with Stroke and Male and Female Sign (⚧) U+26a8 [VS16] Vertical Male with Stroke Sign (⚨)
U+26b2 [VS16] Neuter (⚲) Intentionally Unused Emoji
These are symbols in the Unicode Standard that are RGI emoji and in Unicode’s emoji standard, but the Mutant Standard set explicitly does not use.
Generic groups
- Any encoding that results in a person emoji that is specifically gendered (ie. a ZWJ featuring U+2640/U+2642) - Family ZWJs
Specific Codepoints
Codepoint(s) Unicode name Notes
U+a9 [VS16] Copyright sign
U+ae [VS16] Registered sign
U+2122 [VS16] Trade Mark
U+1f46e Police Officer (including all gender and skin tone modified variants) U+1f6b9 Men’s Room
U+1f6ba Women’s Room
U+1f6c2 Passport Control
U+1f6c3 Customs
Non-Standard ZWJ consisting entirely of Unicode Standard codepoints
Mutant Standard uses non-standard ZWJs consisting entirely of Unicode Standard emoji. This is primarily for encoding gender-neutral people emoji where a gender- neutral version does not already exist.
Gender-neutral people emoji
Many people emoji in older versions of Unicode Standard emoji depend on ZWJs involving U+1f469 (Woman) or U+1f468 (Man). To create gender-neutral versions, Mutant Standard follows the same convention as some other emoji vendors for this - using U+1f9D1 (Adult) as a replacement.
Unicode Codepoint(s) Mutant Standard Name (Gender-neutralised) Codepoint(s) U+1f469 [ZWJ] U+1f3a8, U+1f9d1 [ZWJ] U+1f3a8 Artist U+1f468 [ZWJ] U+1f3a8 U+1f469 [ZWJ] U+1f680, U+1f9d1 [ZWJ] U+1f680 Astronaut U+1f468 [ZWJ] U+1f680 U+1f469 [ZWJ] U+1f37, U+1f9d1 [ZWJ] U+1f37 Chef U+1f468 [ZWJ] U+1f37 U+1f469 [ZWJ] U+1f3ed, U+1f9d1 [ZWJ] U+1f3ed Factory Worker U+1f468 [ZWJ] U+1f3ed U+1f469 [ZWJ] U+1f33e, U+1f9d1 [ZWJ] U+1f33e Farmer U+1f468 [ZWJ] U+1f33e U+1f469 [ZWJ] U+1f962, U+1f9d1 [ZWJ] U+1f962 Firefighter U+1f468 [ZWJ] U+1f962 U+1f469 [ZWJ] U+2695, U+1f9d1 [ZWJ] U+2695 Health Worker U+1f468 [ZWJ] U+2695 U+1f469 [ZWJ] U+2696, U+1f9d1 [ZWJ] U+2696 Judge U+1f468 [ZWJ] U+2696 U+1f469 [ZWJ] U+1f527, U+1f9d1 [ZWJ] U+1f527 Mechanic U+1f468 [ZWJ] U+1f527 U+1f469 [ZWJ] U+1f4bc, U+1f9d1 [ZWJ] U+1f4bc Office Worker U+1f468 [ZWJ] U+1f4bc U+1f469 [ZWJ] U+2708, U+1f9d1 [ZWJ] U+2708 Pilot U+1f468 [ZWJ] U+2708 U+1f469 [ZWJ] U+1f52c, U+1f9d1 [ZWJ] U+1f52c Scientist U+1f468 [ZWJ] U+1f52c U+1f469 [ZWJ] U+1f3a4, U+1f9d1 [ZWJ] U+1f3a4 Singer U+1f468 [ZWJ] U+1f3a4 U+1f469 [ZWJ] U+1f393, U+1f9d1 [ZWJ] U+1f393 Student U+1f468 [ZWJ] U+1f393 U+1f469 [ZWJ] U+1f3eb, U+1f9d1 [ZWJ] U+1f3eb Teacher U+1f468 [ZWJ] U+1f3eb U+1f469 [ZWJ] U+1f4bb, U+1f9d1 [ZWJ] U+1f4bb Technologist U+1f468 [ZWJ] U+1f4bb Private Use Area (PUA)
Mutant Standard uses the Unicode Private Use Area to encode symbols that do not exist in any way in the Unicode Standard.
In an attempt to avoid popular conlang script encoding projects, Mutant Standard PUA encodings are in Plane 10 (SPUA-B), block 16 (U+1016xx). Encodings will then continue into subsequent blocks if necessary.
Look at Mutant Standard’s PUA Encoding Reference for every PUA encoding.