Microsoft’s new 3D emoji include Clippy coming back to life in Office

Microsoft is bringing its infamous character Clippy back to life as an emoji in Office. After a successful campaign to get likes on Twitter and Instagram, Clippy will now replace the paperclip emoji that exist in Windows, Office, Microsoft Teams and other Microsoft 365 products. This is part of a larger update that will see 1 800 emoji in Microsoft 365 updated with 3D designs and the company’s Fluent Design language.

Clippy is the star of the show, with 3D emoji that have been redesigned to add a lot more personality. “I grew up using Clippy, and it looked like a fun little Easter egg,” says Claire Anderson, Microsoft’s official “Emoji-ologist,” in an interview with The edge. “We’ve all imagined the pleasure when you put the paperclip in a Microsoft product and all of a sudden you get that dose of nostalgia. Clippy, with her Groucho eyebrows, will now replace the flat, boring paperclip.

The big change with Microsoft’s emoji is a move to 3D that will appear in Windows and elsewhere. “We went for 3D designs over 2D and chose to animate the majority of our emoji,” says Anderson. Emoji have been redesigned to include bright, saturated colors, with an emphasis on fun in the workplace. The 3D element really makes them stand out, and they look a lot more modern than what’s currently available in Windows.

About 900 of these revised emoji will also be animated in products like Microsoft Teams. “We loved this part of the Skype legacy, so we wanted to integrate it into this new system and bring it to life for more of our users,” said Anderson.

In recent years, emoji have taken an increasingly prominent place in online communications, adding emotion to what would otherwise be lifeless computer interactions. Microsoft says it has been working to “rethink graphical expressions of professionalism” with this big emoji update, something that is particularly relevant during a pandemic that has blurred the lines between work and life.

“Because being playful or very expressive doesn’t come easily to everyone, emoji are great little helpers,” says Anderson. “Far from being frivolous or ornamental, they are extensions of our own humanity and an important communication tool.

Microsoft’s renewed focus on having fun with its emoji is a far cry from the company’s previous efforts to resurrect Clippy. Some employees working on Microsoft Teams released a funny sticker pack in 2019 that featured animated Clippy GIFs, but Microsoft quickly removed them after a few days. A Microsoft insider said The edge back in the days when the “brand police” within the company were not happy that Clippy appeared on Microsoft Teams. It’s likely that there were legal or copyright issues behind the ruling, and it’s worth noting that Microsoft filed a Clippy trademark application last month.

Microsoft’s new emoji may be a minor addition to the company’s online services, but it’s also a testament to a broader design ambition at the software maker. Microsoft has challenged itself to adopt an “open design” philosophy in recent years, a more cohesive and human approach to how it designs software and hardware across its various teams. We have seen a greater focus on iconography and a fluid design system that spans all of Microsoft’s departments. Windows 11 is the latest example of Microsoft’s design changes.

The updated emoji will start appearing across Microsoft 365 in the coming months. Flipgrid will have access to the new emoji next month, with Microsoft Teams and Windows updated during the holiday season. Yammer, Outlook, and other Office apps will also see emoji updates shortly thereafter.