At first... yes.
At time goes by and you use the same one over and over, then you'll want to memorize them.
They're actually quite easy to remember.
Some of the simple ones are...
: )
; )
: lol :
: laugh2 :
: nono :
There's a lot more. I've used a lot of them frequently, so I memorized many of them. Now, I just type them in with the flow as I type my posts. It's certainly a lot faster than having to type in what I want, then use the mouse to look for the emoticon I want... then go back to finish my post.