Emoji Canvas

Seeking creativity in isolation

This past Spring I started playing around with websocket.io, I was three months into social distancing due to COVID-19 and started thinking of ways I typically connect with others through the internet.

I was really inspired by the way Figma used web sockets to make collaboration seem like everyone was working on the same digital table. I decided I wanted to replicate that with a more light-hearted purpose to it.

I knew I wanted it to seem like a large canvas where anyone could contribute their ideas, however, I didn't want the palette to be merely different colors. I eventually thought of using a group of emojis from Apple's emoji set since they're culturally iconic and naturally playful. Thus, Emoji Canvas was born!

My goal was to make something that people in isolation would actually like to use and have some kind of fun experience. Whether it be for a couple of minutes just trying out the functionality or an hour of having fun painting weird images with old or new friends, Emoji Canvas is supposed to be for everyone and anyone.