Face with Heart Eyes emoji

[1] Development of emojis began in Japan in the 1990s, when NTT DoCoMo released a pager with the option to send a red heart in the text.

It received backlash, which caused NTT DoCoMo to change its stance and alert competitors to the demand for such ideograms.

The concept exploded in the country, causing NTT DoCoMo employee Shigetaka Kurita to create a set, which became known as emojis.

[2] Many of Shigetaka Kurita focused on icon-like designs, portraying the weather, occupations, and mood.

The Dictionary was a plugin created by Nicolas Loufrani in the late 90s to allow people to send emoticons online.