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| Microsoft brings Clippy back into the Office suite |
Microsoft brings Clippy to life as an emoji in the office suite.
After successfully gaining likes on Twitter and Instagram, Clippy now replaces the paperclip emoji found in Windows, Office, Microsoft Teams, and other business products.
This is part of a larger update that includes updating 1,800 emojis in Microsoft 365 using the company's 3D design and fluid design style.
The Clippy character is the base and the newly designed 3D emoji replaces the flat paperclip.
The biggest change in Microsoft Emoji is the transition to 3D that appears in Windows and elsewhere.
“We chose a 3D design over 2D and decided to animate most of the emojis,” the company said.
Emojis have been redesigned to include bright, rich colors, with an emphasis on having fun at work.
In addition, 3D elements stand out from the rest and make it look more modern than what is currently available in Windows.
About 900 of these reworked emojis have also been animated in products like Microsoft Teams.
We love this traditional Skype element and hope to bring it to this new platform and bring more users to life.
In the past few years, emojis have become an important part of online communication, adding emotion to inanimate computer interactions.
The software giant said it is rethinking graphic expressions with this large-scale emoji update to keep it away from the professionalism that is especially important during the pandemic that blurs the lines between work and life.
Microsoft will be emoji. Say
The company's renewed focus on its emoji delight is a far cry from its earlier efforts to revive Clippy.
Some Microsoft Teams employees released a sticker pack with Clippy GIF in 2019. However, Microsoft quickly removed it after a few days.
New emojis could be a small addition to the company's online service. But it also illustrates the broader design ambitions of software manufacturers.
In recent years, Microsoft has challenged itself to embrace the concept of open design, a more coherent approach to software and hardware design among its various teams.
Additionally, the focus on icons and design language fluency extends to Microsoft services. Windows 11 is the latest example of a design change.
Updated emojis will appear in Microsoft 365 in the coming months.