This could very well be the year we get over our emoji obsession. Don’t get me wrong, there are few worthy replacements for a unicode slice of pizza (except maybe a taco text), but with the introduction of extensions for iOS 8, we texters have more options than ever to express ourselves outside of the 722 pre-set emoji.
With DrawType ($.99), Theo Watson has made one of the best---or at least most amusing---alternatives. Like its name suggests, the extension lets you reply to messages with drawings instead of text; you simply sketch your reply like you might in an app like Snapchat, paste it in the text field and press send. Just like that you’ve sent your first selfie portrait.
Watson is what you might call a “creative coder.” He was part of the F.A.T. Lab team that created the EyeWriter, an open-source eye-tracking system that allows people with ALS to draw with their eyes. He’s built all sorts of strange apps that do everything from translate your computer’s keyboard into the sound of a typewriter (NoisyTyper) to using computer vision to automatically upload smiley emoticons when you grin (AutoSmiley).
Watson has plans to expand DrawType's features so you can upload animated GIFs and draw on top of imported images (just imagine being able to play Pictionary in your text messages). And though you might argue that nobody needs to send a hand-drawn picture of a pizza as a response to, "What's for dinner?," plenty of people have already put the app to good use. “Someone replied to me on Twitter and said: ‘You have no idea how many penises are in my text message conversations now,’” laughs Watson. “But really, it’s meant for a whole variety of drawings.” Right.
