Gasp- Infamous Microsoft Office mascot Clippy was actually designed on a Mac-

I’m not easily scandalized, but I may have let out a little gasp today when I learned that Clippy, the hated-slash-beloved Microsoft Office mascot and unhelpful assistant, was not created on a Windows 95-running PC deep in the bowels of Microsoft. He was created on a Mac. Mon dieu! 

This revelation is one of a few anecdotes in a short, charming video recently published on YouTube by Great Big Story, featuring an interview with Clippy creator Kevan Atteberry. Atteberry is now a children’s book illustrator, but back in the ’90s he ran a graphic design company and ended up designing characters for Microsoft’s 1995 flop Microsoft Bob.

Clippy was one of some 20 characters Atteberry designed for Office after Bob flopped, many of them similarly based on everyday office objects. He first drew “hundreds of sketches” of the characters on paper, before creating digital versions of his drawings on a Mac. Clippy very well could’ve been passed up for an anthropomorphic pencil or a stapler, but apparently the paperclip resonated best with focus tests that Microsoft performed at Stanford University. 

“There were people there that were not happy that Clippy kept making it through every level,” Atteberry said.

He described doing design work for Microsoft as “a really great time” in his life, but it wasn’t until a couple years later that Clippy would actually ship with the 1997 version of Microsoft Office. And that was when Atteberry found out that everybody hated Clippy. “Everywhere you turned, people just hated that paperclip,” he said. “His functionality was just too basic and annoying for most people. I would never include Clippy in my portfolio because I was so embarrassed of him.” 

Atteberry’s relationship with Clippy has a happy ending, though. After the anger peaked and Clippy stopped being part of the everyday Windows experience, he stopped being ashamed. “Honestly, Clippy has opened so many doors for me over the years. People are very receptive to it. And nobody hates Clippy now.”

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again now: Clippy did nothing wrong. Even if he was born on a Mac.

Related Posts

Get a job- Vicarious Visions is hiring a character artist

The Gamasutra Job Board is the most diverse, active and established board of its kind for the video game industry! Here is just one of the many,…

How To Watch House Of The Dragon Season 2 Premiere For Free

Season 2 of Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon premieres this Sunday, June 16. While you’d normally have to pay for HBO or its…

Naoe Can Naruto Run In Assassin's Creed Shadows

There’s a big contrast between the two leading characters of Assassin’s Creed Shadows Come from online casino bangladesh . Yasuke–the samurai–is built like a brick house, armed to…

10 More Xbox Game Pass Titles Announced For First Half Of February

The next wave of Xbox Game Pass titles have been confirmed following a leak. There are 10 titles coming to Game Pass in the first half of…

Avengers Directors' New Marvel Movie "Hit An Impasse" Due To Scarlett Johansson Lawsuit – Report

Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit against Disney over Black Widow is apparently having a ripple effect at the movie giant. The Wall Street Journal reports that directors Joe Russo…

Best Buy Has Huge Discounts On Soundbars Right Now

Best Buy is hosting a sale on Samsung and LG soundbars that runs until March 28. If you’ve been looking to upgrade or get a new soundbar,…