Microsoft Office: Microsoft Office’s helpful paperclip character Clippy is returning in a brand new avatar – as an emoji! That’s right, the paperclip character who used to give helpful tips on Microsoft Office products – Word, Excel, Powerpoint, you name it – is now going to replace the flat and boring paper clip emoji offered by Microsoft across Windows, Office, Teams and other apps under the Microsoft 365 umbrella. Redmond ran a successful Twitter and Instagram likes campaign for Clippy, and has now been included in a bigger update that would revamp 1,800 emojis and give them a 3D design in Microsoft 365.
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The thing about Cippy is that it is not just an updated 3D design emoji. Clippy is probably a source of nostalgia for many, because it was the very jovial helping tool that made an appearance during early versions of Microsoft Office apps. With its paperclip body, twinkling eyes and wiggling eyebrows, it became a familiar and comforting “face” to users when they were just starting to work on computers and were trying to familiarise themselves with the technology that would go on to change the way things functioned. It is especially nostalgic for Millennials and older Gen Zs, and that would be the reason why the likes campaign on Twitter and Instagram was a hit for the company.
The new emojis are designed in a 3D manner to add more personality to the communication carried out via them – they have become a very essential part of communication now since they somewhat try to make up for the lack of body language cues in written communication. These emojis would also be animated, and will have bright and saturated colours to incorporate an element of fun in the workspace.
Redmond is of the opinion that emojis are not frivolous or ornamental, but are rather an important communication tool that are an extension of our own humanity.
The new emojis would begin making an appearance on Microsoft 365 products in the coming months.