From Emojilover to "Bigmoji" Creator My Whimsical Journey to Emoji Enthusiasm

I have a deep affection for emojis – they're like the spice in my neurospicy life, adding flavor and nuance to my messages. In the world of asynchronous communication, where emotions are often lost in translation, I am a firm believer in using emojis even in real-life interactions. But there was a particular kind of emoji that piqued my interest – the "bigmoji." These jumbo-sized emojis are not only super fun but also a fantastic way to express yourself with style.

The "Bigmoji" Conundrum

The challenge with bigmojis is that creating them can be a bit of a chore. It involves hunting down the right emoji, slicing it into squares, giving each square a name, uploading them to Slack, crafting a Slackbot command, and meticulously typing out the command with the correct line breaks. It's a process that often deters emoji enthusiasts from venturing into the world of bigmojis. So, with unwavering determination and a touch of hyperfocus, I decided to take matters into my own hands and create a web app to make the bigmoji-making process a breeze for my colleagues.

The Quest for the Right Tool

My journey began with the search for a suitable library or open-source code that could help slice an image into squares, but I quickly realized that most solutions worked with pixels, not the "squares" I had in mind. Undaunted, I dedicated my evenings to crafting a rudimentary 2x2 grid. It was far from perfect, but it was a start.

The Frankenmoji Monster

After tinkering and toiling, I knew it was time to turn my patchwork project into a functional tool. I refactored the code to suit my needs and created a "minimum viable product" that gets the job done. Now, you can simply upload an image, select your desired squares, and receive a ZIP file containing the emojis, the Slackbot integration code, and message-ready code. Victory was mine!

My First Dance with JavaScript

This project was my debut in the world of JavaScript, outside of mere practice. While I acknowledge there's room for improvement, and the potential for a library that others could use, I consider this first attempt a triumph.

Part 2 - The Giffening

As I ventured deeper into this emoji realm, my Team Manager threw me a curveball – they wanted moving images, or as I correctly guessed, "gifs." This added a whole new layer of complexity, and I found myself diving into the world of gif functionality.

The Conclusion: A Bigmoji Farewell

While there may be more to explore and refactor in this project, I've decided to set it aside for now. It's been a whimsical journey from emojis to bigmojis, and even a detour into gifs, but sometimes, in the world of tech and creativity, it's perfectly fine to say goodbye when the time feels right. So, for now, let's bid adieu to bigmojis and look forward to the next quirky adventure!