Google Uses 18x18-Pixel Emoji Butt to Explain 3D Design Challenge

Q: Google's 3D emoji redesign went viral for a hidden joke, but will this cheeky smiley actually become a usable character on your phone?

No. The viral “backside” smiley is not a new emoji you will be able to tap from your keyboard as its own character. It was a one-off illustration in Google’s blog post, used to explain the design problem of making flat emoji work as full 3D objects from every angle. What is actually rolling out is a redesign of Google’s existing emoji set, not a new Unicode-approved symbol. Google says Noto 3D updates all 3,977 emojis in its library with more volume, lighting and clearer expressions, while keeping them recognizable at small sizes and in dark mode. The company’s examples, such as fixing the poodle so it visibly has four legs in 3D, show this is mainly a visual overhaul. For a smiley-with-a-butt to become a real, usable emoji across phones, it would need to be proposed to and approved by Unicode. That process is strict and based on broad usage, distinctiveness and compatibility, not on a viral joke or marketing moment. There is no sign Google has submitted such a proposal, and the blog itself framed the image as a gag: “Just kidding! Butt, IMAGINE!” What users may actually see is the broader Noto 3D redesign, which has begun shipping on Pixel 11 devices and is expected to spread across Android and Google apps. But the cheeky rear-view smiley is best understood as a demo image, not a forthcoming keyboard addition.

3 articles · Updated · India Today · Oct 14

Google’s new Noto 3D emoji blog used a rotating smiley with a comic backside to show how three-dimensional icons must work from every angle.
The gag sat inside a broader design post on keeping emojis recognizable, expressive and readable even at tiny 18-by-18-pixel sizes and in dark mode.
Google said the shift from flat artwork to 3D forces it to add details 2D designs could hide, citing an older poodle emoji that effectively lacked a visible fourth leg.
The post, titled “Bringing Emoji into the Next Era of Expression,” turned a technical modeling problem into a viral joke while outlining Google’s wider emoji redesign.