Oh No! I've invented SVG badly!
The author reflects on their attempt to create a new system for flag emojis inspired by Unicode's family emoji. Initially, the idea seemed simple, focusing on horizontal and vertical stripes with color modifiers. However, as the concept evolved, it became overly complex, resembling a graphics language that Unicode would likely reject.
- ▪The author was inspired by the way Unicode creates diverse family emojis.
- ▪They proposed a minimal system for flag emojis using horizontal and vertical stripes.
- ▪As the idea developed, it became complicated, resembling a graphics language rather than a simple emoji system.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Posted on May 29, 2026 by billpgOn no! I’ve invented SVG badly! It started, as these things often do, with a tiny spark of inspiration. I was looking at the way Unicode builds those racially diverse family emoji. These use ZWJ sequences to glue together adults, children, and skin‑tone modifiers into a single little glyph. It’s clever, constrained, and surprisingly elegant. It gave me an idea. What if you could do the same thing for flags? Unicode already has national flag emojis along with 🏳️🌈, 🏳️⚧️, 🏴☠️, 🏁,🏳️,🏴,🚩 and the countries-in-our-hearts, 🏴, 🏴, 🏴. But no more. The people in charge of assigning codes have decided this is too much of a geopolitical and culture-war nightmare so these are all the flags we’re going to get.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Billpg.
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