Clarus the Dogcow
Clarus the Dogcow is the most famous character created by designer Susan Kare for the classic Mac OS. It initially stood for the letter z in the Cairo font, while it was later used to indicate the paper orientation of a printer print. Clarus is a Dogcow because he looks like both a dog and a cow and the sound ‘Moof!’ makes. He became the target of surreal humor in the original Macintosh group and was named after Claris, Apple's office software division at the time – probably not the most loved department at the time.
Apple's Developer Technical Support also used the Dogcow as a mascot for a long time. There was even a life-size Clarus at Apple's then headquarters on Infinite Loop. An extensive history of Clarus can be found here, with the man who even got a tattoo. But most people will simply know Clarus from the print function on the Mac, so you could immediately see whether you would roll out the print in landscape or portrait orientation.
Clarus disappeared in the late 1990s, shortly after Steve Jobs returned. But is now suddenly back in macOS Ventura! For example, if you set the page orientation in Pages, you get Clarus in the picture. As before, Clarus will show you whether you have set your page in portrait or landscape. If you make the print bigger, the Dogcow will also get bigger.
For enthusiasts it is nice to know that there was an exhibition about Susan Kare for the first time this spring in Lyon. There was also a print of Clarus de Dogcow on display.
In recent years, Clarus has occasionally appeared in marketing materials or in an Easter egg. But in macOS Ventura, it's really making a comeback. There are many more macOS Ventura features and discoveries worth checking out.