THE ANALYSIS OF LINE STICKER CHARACTER “ CONY SPECIAL EDITION ”

The method used for this research was qualitative approach and digital survey to respondents. The purpose was to find out the function of visual in LINE sticker of Cony Special Edition to help the communication between users. The analysis method used was semiotic methods. The result of this analysis is the understanding of LINE sticker of Cony Special Edition usage that managed to represent user’s expression while chatting in their chat room. Top use characters by the user are a character to express the emotion of touch with gratitude, being cornered or alone, mocking, sad and hopeless, and angry until eager to break something. This Cony Special Edition LINE sticker has become one of the objects of communications by its users. It is considered to becoming an attractive communication tool to its user.


INTRODUCTION
The technology development today brings the human communication directly towards to digital and mobile.Technology helps interpersonal communication process faster and easier to the communicator.Interpersonal communication is the exchange information process between one to another (Najib, 2014).Based on the research of youth internet user, the access internet time is above five hours per day through a smartphone.They access social media to communicate via instant messenger application and search for information via online media and micro blogging media (Adiarsi, Stellarosa, & Silaban, 2015).Communication technology provides the communication process in verbal and visual basis.Communication that based on the chat apps has been popular in Indonesia in the last four years.Various chat applications offer a variety of gimmicks contain in it.LINE, KakaoTalk, and WeChat applications are presenting various side-features, such as game, profile, and sticker as the most popular.The sticker is an effective medium for conveying ideas and information.The sticker is always identical to their various language packs; then people are interested in buying or collecting it (Susanti, 2012).According to the changing of the era, technological progress the stickers also begins to develop.Initially, the sticker does not only use as adhesive stamps, but it can be a digital form, and it is used as one of communication media through social media.
The stickers take part in human communication nowadays.The human can express feelings in difficulty various ways.When human has difficult to express in words, then sticker or emoticon can be one of the solutions.In various chat applications, there are also many emoticons offered.LINE is one of many chat applications that are often used today.LINE is a messaging application that created by NHN Corporation company from South Korea.NHN Corporation also operates Naver, the biggest seeking online machine in South Korea.LINE was published on June 23 rd , 2011 by Japan NHN after the earthquake.Japan NHN has been aware of major damage to the communication system and found that data service would work more efficiently.Therefore, NHN inspired to build the application that can serve the consumers various needs in one platform.LINE provides the various features support in communication (Kristo, 2013).Uniquely, LINE offers something different from others, which are variations of stickers.In the beginning, LINE sticker is a development of emoticon that introduced in the late 90s by NTT Do-Co-Mo.At first, it was introduced in pager product with heart symbol that sent by pressing the keypad.The development of digital technology then provides transformation of communication for imaging, moving image, sound, and video into on apps.This condition is becoming the evolution emoticon into stickers (Siswanto & Agung, 2017).Now LINE apps have more than 10.000 stickers.It makes LINE apps becoming iconic through stickers that show various role model and idol from all over the world.There is a variation of LINE sticker, from Paul McCartney (the Beatles) to Agnes Monica (Indonesian singer), stickers from football club in Barcelona, to cartoon and film character Disney and Manga (Najib, 2014).
The emoticon is one of the visual languages to express a message easily.Emoticons stand for emotion icon that made from various writing united symbols to resemble facial expression.An emoticon can be regarded as a creative and visual form that stands out to represent emotion into textbased communication.An emoticon function is a form of emphasis or meaning in making or interpreting some messages, also the emotions and conditions of the user.Therefore, it can be said that emoticons have a function to clarify textual messages, similar to non-verbal in face-to-face conversations.It is often added at the end of a sentence to clarify the emotional state of the person or even to represent it (Azuma & Maurer, 2007).Emoticon in sticker format has the advantage to express the emotion of the user.The sticker has bigger size than average emoticon and visualized the whole body with background and attributes.A sticker can tell a specific story or condition.Therefore, LINE sticker feature is a representation of user condition in reality (Sakti, Abdullah, & Sumule, 2017).Using stickers or emoticons is one of the activities in communication that connects human with visual in delivering messages or chatting.LINE apps develop its character for stickers.The cute characters from LINE are preferred by young users.LINE has launched various main characters, but only seven characters that consistently become the mascot of the apps.The characters are Moon, Brown, Cony, James, Boss, Sally, and Jessica that can be seen in Figure 1.The seven characters have their uniqueness and each story that illustrated through the stickers visual and expression.These characters are LINE mascot, which is packaged and designed attractively to express or represent the user in communication activity.The Boss is the bold man with glasses, Cony is a girlish rabbit, Moon has rounded head character, Brown is the bear, James is the human character with overdoing facial expression, Sally is a little duck, and Jessica is a girlish cat.Usually, Cony paired with Brown, the bear.The LINE characters are market up as LINE gimmick and become popular to the youngsters.Special Edition is one of the most popular ones because of the cute rabbit's visual and expressions.This sticker can be downloaded and used for free.The problem is the visual communication delivery is not always as the messages.These research problems are what kind of messages delivered through the LINE sticker Cony Special Edition expression and what kind of expression can be delivered through this LINE sticker.Certain figure from the LINE sticker Cony Special Edition can lead to different understanding for the user.Theoretically, a contribution of linguistic elements in communication is only about 7%, while non-verbal communication is about 55%, and prosodic features such as stress, pitch, and tempo in verbal communication contribute about 38% (Azuma & Maurer, 2007).In a virtual world, the communication is processed by what appears in screen online.The LINE sticker Cony Special Edition is a non-verbal communication that added in cyber communication, and the usage of the stickers is a stressing use in communication as prosodic features.This research aim is to find out whether the LINE sticker Cony Special Edition is working properly as a communication tool for LINE users.Understanding the process of visual communication by using the LINE sticker Cony Special Edition is a contribution to visual communication design studies and the development of creative industries in the digital era.

METHODS
The method used is qualitative research with data survey method.The survey method is conducted to collect data by Google form from 125 respondents in November 2016.The survey questions about the using of apps messenger, the activity of chatting, and the familiarity of the LINE stickers to the user.The survey purposed is to gather information about the LINE sticker user's profile and the users' understanding about the LINE sticker Cony Special Edition.The LINE sticker Cony Special Edition becomes the stimulant that can be perceived by the visual sensation (eyes).The visual sensation is causing the visual perception of the user.Visual perception can occur because of the eyes and brain nerve cells that arrange to respond certain patterns in the form of images in the eye's retina.Sensation and perception are two aspects intertwined in human interaction process with the environmental stimulant (Kertamukti, 2012).Creating visual stimulant in communication (audience) is the first stage in visual communication.When the person has realized the meaning of visual message delivered and attracted to take a positive action like intended, therefore it shows the presence of good and effective visual communication.In this case, the visual stimulus is an expression visualization of LINE sticker Cony Special Edition character.
The analysis method is the semiotic method.Visual communication is a shade of various communication activities that use visual elements in many media.Communications involve signs and codes that create meaning.According to Saussure (1983), signs consist of signifier and signified.The signifier is the form that can be seen or visual elements, and the signified is the meaning in concept, function, or value in the visual form.Signs are artifacts or actions that refer to something outside than the message itself.The sign was previously built by social convention and can be considered to represent something else.Each character in LINE sticker Cony Special Edition explains in sign and meaning matter.Roland Barthes explain the grade of meaning into denotative meaning as first meaning, connotative meaning as second meaning, and myths as third meaning (Suprapto, 2016).The visual sign is the element of the figure such as gesture, facial expression, attributes, and symbol as the denotative stage.And the meaning of this is the understanding of figure's condition based on knowledge and experience of the researcher as connotative meaning.By using the semiotic method, each character in LINE sticker Cony Special Edition is explained in two stages of meaning.First is denotative stage by exploring the visual elements that signifying certain meaning, and second is connotative stage by explaining a certain meaning that is indicated by those visual elements.A specific visual characteristic such as Cony's facial expression and gesture indicates a condition while attributes indicate the context that is represented by a character.The signified meaning of a character is a message that conveys in communication and a tool of communication for the user.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Based on the result of data collecting conducted in November 2016 from 125 respondents through Google form, the total respondents use LINE apps for instant messenger application on their smartphone.Most of the respondents are women (88,9% women and 11,1% men).The average of LINE apps user's education background is high school and college students who are mostly 16 to 20 years old (56% of 125 respondents).It can be seen in Figure 2. LINE apps are very often used by the respondents.85% respondents often use sticker as one of communication tool in chatting through LINE apps.Based on some questions, not everyone likes something free, but the quality is being a priority.For example, through the survey as many as 62,4%, approximately the answer of 70 people prefer use stickers based on its character and visual.It does not matter if it is free or paid.There are 13,6% (17 respondents) who do not download Cony Special Edition sticker because the lack of interest in using it.It can be seen in Figure 3.The LINE sticker Cony Special Edition has 40-character variations of stickers that can be seen in Figure 4.Each character has meaning based on signs of visual element, as described in Table 1.Sitting in front of a cake on the table.Lips look like blowing.The symbol of wind is like a puff.Cakes named Cony with candles.Cony wears birthday hats and confetti.

Celebrating birthday.
Bringing food with cute facial expression, narrowed eyes, and poked mouth like whistles.Musical notes above the head.
Humming for fun to get delicious food.Standing with slightly embarrassed expression, closed eyes, smiled lips, and hands holding flower arrangement.Red heart symbols above the head.
Feeling love or be in love.
Standing with two fingers up near cheek and the gesture bend to front.Facial expression is smiling in wide smile faces toward camera.Musical notes above the head.
In style, want to be photograph or being narcissistic.
Running body movement over the fitness equipment using headbands, water around the head, 2 lines around each hand.
Exercising, fitness or treadmill, tired, and sweaty.Head with anger expression, shiny yellow big eyes, opened mouth with drop, red smoke above the head, boom-boom writing, vertical lines beside the chicks.
Want to rampage, angry, feeling very angry.
Sitting with angry expression, opened eyes and mouth, hands gripping, torn red clothes, throwing stones, leaves falling and vertical lines behind her body.
Very angry until the shirt was torn, the emotion of very angry.
Grimacing mouth, glossy eyes, breaking pencil, vertical lines around head and body Upset emotion, keep the temper, grunting.
Angry or irritated expression, opened mouth, fused eyes, destroyed stones by stepping on, feet and hands lifted up.
Angry and upset emotion, desire to destroy, step on and kick the target.
Standing leaning against the wall, legs bent one-sided with grim expression, exhaling or snorting, sunglasses, hands are in the pants, wearing black jacket and pants.
Waiting and getting bored.
Sad expression drops the tears, sitting down, kneeling next leg, leaves are falling, and there are dots around the shape.
Shocking, scared till cry.Feeling freeze due the cold air, unable to move.
The LINE sticker using is not average in all of the characters.Some of the characters express various sets of emotions such as angry, sad, and happy.Emotion and feelings are gradually graded by intensity.Some of the characters express specific condition of activity.But the most use stickers are not the most obvious activities.Respondents choose the top 5 frequently use visual stickers out of 40 LINE stickers Cony Special Edition which is character number 14, 33, 39, 31 and 28.Users prefer to use those top 5 characters because of uniqueness expression and easy to use in conversation or chatting with LINE apps.Those characters use to express the emotion of touch with gratitude, being cornered or alone, mocking, sad and hopeless, and angry until eager to break something.These emoticons can be seen in Figure 5.
Another result is 100 respondents answer that they unfamiliar with some LINE stickers Cony Special than that, there are some of the visual of LINE sticker Cony Special Edition that is not understood by respondents and become useless for chatting.The Edition based on the ranking of the used, such as number 32, 12, 37, 40 and 21.It can be seen in Figure 6.The reason for the rarely use characters are respondents do not understand the meaning of the visual, because it is incomprehensible, strange, obscure, and ambiguous.The respondents feel the uncertainty of using those characters in regular conversation.Based on character visual of Cony Special Edition sticker, 14 people could not specify the uniqueness of the sticker.The 21,6% answers Cony character is the male rabbit, and 14,4% could not identify Cony character is male or female.The ambiguous character also could be seen in number 33 in Figure 7. Based on the survey of Cony visual character on Figure 7, mostly the respondent said that Cony is getting upset, sad, lonely, and cornered.Some respondent also said that Cony is being embarrassed, urinating, defecating, and some even assumed that Cony is masturbating.But in fact, this visual character is used a lot by 125 respondents.The LINE sticker Cony Special Edition could express the condition and the feelings of LINE users in daily conversation.Those 40 characters of Cony Special Edition stickers could be used by all genders that as many as 52,5% answers the sticker can express the user's feelings.It can be seen in Figure 8.

CONCLUSIONS
LINE app is a popular chat app to the youngsters, and the LINE sticker has been favor by LINE apps users.LINE sticker is on the market for various selections.These stickers are digitally packaged in various gesture and expression.Expressing feelings through visual character has become a trend among young generation today.This sticker is a stimulus for users who can be perceived visually by the sense of vision.Therefore, the using of LINE sticker in conversation can emphasize a certain expression.The LINE sticker of Cony Special Edition is one of free sticker contains 40 characters with different expressions, such as sad, annoyed, happy, proud, touched very angry, nosy, even flat expressions.One feeling and emotion such as angry or sad are divers to many stickers with different specific face expression and gesture.Emotion and feelings are divers gradually, and the user has choice and freedom to use it.Although many people that using those sticker does not look familiar the meaning and purpose of the visual character LINE sticker, the respondents show that they can choose which stickers to use and which are not.
Therefore, each user has their different meaning and response to LINE sticker of Cony Special Edition.Most of the LINE users download the LINE sticker Cony Special Edition.By Cony Special Edition visual style, the messages, feelings, users' expression can be delivered quite well.The LINE sticker Cony Special Edition character could express the feelings of most LINE users.Top use characters by the user are a character to express the emotion of touch with gratitude, being cornered or alone, mocking, sad and hopeless, and angry until eager to break something.This Cony Special Edition LINE sticker has become one of the objects of communications by its users.It is considered to becoming an attractive communication tool to its user.

Figure 3
Figure 3 Result of Selected Use in LINE Sticker Survey (Source: Gitari Jessica, 2016)

Figure 4
Figure 4 Character Variations of LINE Sticker Cony Special Edition Resource: Gitari Jessica, 2016 Figure Sign Meaning Eyes expression looks happy, hands raise and hold ice cream.Mouth is open with the musical note beside her face.Feet are running while jumping.Shadow below.Feeling happy and cheerful like having ice cream.Enjoying herself and feeling like singing because of happy.
Jumping with enlarged eyes, opened mouth, shaken body movements, lifted feet and carry two glasses of beer.Shadow below.Two lines around legs.Being drunk, offering drinks, having a beer party, having fun.Standing on wood barrel with uneven arm and leg movements.Serious facial expression without smiling lips.Flying balls and flying sword around the body.Blue ball near the head.Playing a circus, practicing balance, working hard to success.Holding hands with Brown.Cony lifts Brown ups as if he is flying.Happy facial expression, squinted eyes, smiled mouth broadly.Yellow stars around the body.Two lines circled both Cony and Brown.Green based bellow.Playing around one another, feeling good with a friend.Squinted tearing eyes, held up two thumbs, shining star symbols, opened mouth.Dots around the head and hands.Being very proud till cry, touched by something good.Rounded eyes, dripping tears, opened mouth, clenched hands near chin, and gift boxes.Yellow stars around the head.Touched and happy when get a gift.Happy facial expression can be seen from eyes and opened mouth, hands playing a phone, and musical notes symbol.Playing something on mobile phone, watching videos or listening to music, being cool and relax while playing mobile phone.Wear frizzy wig, sunglasses, musical notes symbol, right hand is holding microphone and left hand lifted up.Body and feet movement like dancing.Singing or doing karaoke.
Figure Sign Meaning Standing with proud expression, mouth grinning, and want to show something, right hand holds paper with A+.Being proud, content, or showing off the ability.
FigureSign Meaning Crying, sad expression, falling, kneeling, dramatic lines behind her.Very sad and there is a perceived regret.

Figure 5
Figure 5 Five Frequently Use Characters of LINE Sticker Cony Special Edition (Source: Gitari Jessica, 2016)

Figure 7
Figure 7 One of the Ambiguous Character of Cony Special Edition LINE Sticker (Source: Gitari Jessica, 2016)

Figure 8
Figure 8 The Capability of LINE Sticker of Cony Special Edition to Express Feelings in Chatting (Source: Gitari Jessica, 2016)

Table 1
Sign and Meaning of Cony Special Edition LINE Sticker

Table 1
Sign and Meaning of Cony Special Edition LINE Sticker (Continued)

Table 1
Sign and Meaning of Cony Special Edition LINE Sticker (Continued)

Table 1
Sign and Meaning of Cony Special Edition LINE Sticker (Continued)