The Infamous Microsoft Office Mascot Clippy: Made on a Mac
Microsoft Office fans, rejoice! It has been revealed that the infamous Microsoft Office mascot Clippy was, rather wonderfully, actually made on a Mac. This unexpected revelation shines a light on the myths and hearsay surrounding one of the most divisive figures in PC history.
Clippy, beloved by none and hated by many, was the most infuriating - and, in a way, the most charming - Office helper of all time. However, contrary to popular belief, Clippy's character design was not limited to the Windows platform.
This revelation comes from a short, charming video recently published on YouTube by Great Big Story. The video features an interview with Clippy creator, Kevan Atteberry. Atteberry, formerly a children's book illustrator, now teaches illustration at the Academy of Art in San Francisco and worked as a freelance designer in the '90s.
In the video, Atteberry shares some interesting anecdotes about the creation of Clippy. He mentions that prior to Clippy, he had worked on character and game design for Microsoft Bob, a product that is often considered one of Microsoft's worst. Despite the failure of Microsoft Bob, Atteberry continued to work on characters for Office. In fact, he designed around 20 characters based on various everyday office objects, with Clippy being one of them.
According to Atteberry, there were mixed opinions about the cute characters among the focus test participants. However, the paperclip character resonated the best and ultimately became the chosen design for Office. It's interesting to think that Clippy could have been replaced by an anthropomorphic pencil or a stapler.
Atteberry's design process involved creating hundreds of sketches on paper before digitally translating them using a Mac. He describes his time working on design for Microsoft as a great period in his life and believes it contributed to his skills as a children's writer and illustrator.
Clippy almost never saw the light of day, according to Atteberry. Microsoft internally evaluated the different characters for a couple of years, and at one point, paperclips were not even being considered. However, late in the game, Clippy suddenly received approval and was included in Microsoft Office 97.
From there, Clippy became ubiquitous, and Atteberry soon realized that the paperclip was already widely disliked. In fact, he recalls receiving a call from Microsoft informing him that Clippy had failed in France and would be removed from Office.
Despite the mixed reception of Clippy, Atteberry's story has a happy ending. He has since become a successful children's author and illustrator. To explore some of Atteberry's recent works, click here.
For a closer look at the creator of Clippy and Microsoft's office assistant, check out the full video:
ARTICLE
