Microsoft brings back Clippy



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Earlier this year he resurfaced for a day as an animated sticker in Microsoft Teams before the company closes it.
Now, before World Emoji Day on Saturday, Microsoft (MSFT) announces plans for replace her standard paperclip emoji with a picture of Clippy, a happy, big-eyed helper. The move is part of a larger refresh of 1,800 emojis across Microsoft applications and services, which will be rolled out later this year.

“When we thought about redrawing the paperclip, we thought, ‘How can you not? ” Claire Anderson, Microsoft’s art director known internally as its emoji-ologist, told CNN Business. “It’s a way of honoring where we’re from, because we’re also looking at a new technological style… But like most nostalgic things, we know Clippy can be polarizing.”

Microsoft has teased the return of Clippy in one Tweeter Wednesday. The company has promised – or “threatened,” as some tech publications say – that if it gets 20,000 likes, it will replace the paperclip emoji in Microsoft 365 with Clippy.

Microsoft has been working on an emoji refresh for the past year, choosing 3D designs over 2D and choosing to animate the majority of them. The movement conforms to its new design language, Fluent, which the company calls brighter, more dynamic and more human. “We want design to uplift and make people happy,” Anderson mentionned.

It also adds five new emojis to capture the many moods and challenges of working from home: a ‘you’re muted’ emoji, an image of someone multitasking with their arms going all over the place, a ‘business up and pajamas down’ emoji, someone with a cat in front of the screen and a person holding a baby.

“We were reflecting on the past year and reflecting on what it was like in the land of emojis – and these are the ones that left their mark on us the most because it’s part of the way we live now and the interactions that occur. all the time, ”Anderson said. .

Microsoft also conducted a study that found that 57% of people believe workplace emojis are professional and help humanize conversations. Emojis are often used as tools to lighten or intensify tones, express playfulness, or enhance expression.

“Body language, the environment around us, subtle forms of humor – the loss of these has a huge impact on our communication, but with a few pixels we can telegraph our thoughts and feelings in a fun way, clear and emotionally resonant, ”Anderson explained in a blog post.

A new study from Adobe released Thursday found that “laughing out loud” is the most popular emoji in the world, followed by “thumbs up” and “red heart” emojis.

Microsoft’s new emoji will roll out in the coming months, starting with the Flipgrid video tool in August, and other platforms, such as Teams and Windows, during the holiday season.



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