Meet Snap’s Secret Weapon: Digital Avatar Maker Bitmoji

August 10, 2017 Good morning! If you’ve found yourself playing around with Snapchat’s new Snap Map feature—with its beguiling cartoon avatars of your friends—you might want to keep in mind this axiom from designer Charles Eames: “Toys are not as innocent as they look.” That’s something Snap, the architect of Taco Bell’s Cinco de Mayo taco-head Snapchat lens, knows well. And with last year’s purchase of Bitstrips—the company behind the illustrated chat-app greetings known as bitmoji and Snap Map’s new actionmoji—Snap has found both a kindred spirit and a way to enliven its core product. It couldn’t come at a more crucial time. [In an exclusive look inside Bitstrips’s Toronto headquarters](, Aaron Gell meets the team creating these addictive, cartoonized versions of ourselves, and considers how Bitstrips could become as important to Snap in the long run as Instagram has been to Facebook. —[Amy Farley]( [Meet Snap’s Secret Weapon: Digital Avatar Maker Bitmoji]( [Meet Snap’s Secret Weapon: Digital Avatar Maker Bitmoji](The social media giant’s acquisition of Bitmoji may be one of its smartest moves yet in its battle against Facebook.     [This New Tire Has No Air And Is 3D Printed From Biodegradable Materials]( [This New Tire Has No Air And Is 3D Printed From Biodegradable Materials](The VISION, a new tire-wheel combination from Michelin, means the clean car of the future can have clean tires, as well.     [Fired By Google, James Damore Takes His Case To YouTube]( [Fired By Google, James Damore Takes His Case To YouTube](The engineer’s first media appearances–on conservative YouTube channels–follow his filing of a labor complaint against Google over his termination this week.     [These Tree-Planting Drones Are About To Start An Entire Forest From The Sky]( [These Tree-Planting Drones Are About To Start An Entire Forest From The Sky](Villages have spent years replanting mangroves along the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar. Now their work will go much faster, with some help from above.     [These Five Bad Email Habits Are Why No One Gets Back To You On Time]( [These Five Bad Email Habits Are Why No One Gets Back To You On Time](Some of the most common email-writing tendencies might be slowing down response times.     [Relaaaaaax And Watch This 25-Minute ASMR Video From Ikea]( [Relaaaaaax And Watch This 25-Minute ASMR Video From Ikea](The retailer taps into the sensory trend with a long, quiet stroll through its student-friendly furnishings.     [How The Dumpling Democratized Emojis]( [How The Dumpling Democratized Emojis](When two friends discovered there was no dumpling emoji, they resolved to correct that oversight. They ended up changing how an emoji becomes an emoji.     [Can AI Figure Out That You Secretly Suck At Your Job?]( [Can AI Figure Out That You Secretly Suck At Your Job?](Nintex Hawkeye offers a wide lens into employee productivity–perhaps too wide.     [Why The Atlanta Falcons’ Futuristic New Stadium Has Throwback Pricing]( [Why The Atlanta Falcons’ Futuristic New Stadium Has Throwback Pricing](With $2 hotdogs, $2 sodas (with unlimited refills) and $5 beer, Mercedes-Benz Stadium will open this fall with the NFL’s lowest prices.     [Bebe, The Iconic Mall Brand, Is Back From The Dead]( [Bebe, The Iconic Mall Brand, Is Back From The Dead](Could other mall brands come back from the grave with the help of clever digital branding and savvy e-commerce?     Share This Newsletter [Share]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe [here!]( Too many emails? Change your subscription preferences [here](. You're receiving this email because you opted in on our website. [Update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe]( from all Fast Company emails. Mansueto Ventures, 7 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007-2195