Clip Art is a misunderstood element of graphic design that has a history that evolved side by side with the dawning of modern commercial art and graphic design in America. This paper traces the trajectory of clip art as it evolved from book volumes in the 1950’s through the 1980’s as it transitioned to a digital space as well as books, living at first on CD roms then online almost exclusively where it still thrives to this day. From Volk to Dover and early programs like Click Art and MacPaint, Clip Art was generated wherever designers congregated. This paper seeks to explore the value of clip art on it’s own and designers own perceptions of so-called lower design. Pre-made commercial assets such as graphic design are a valuable asset to designers and non-designers alike.  Included are examples of successful designers that created original clip art from its inception and also explores more modern designers that use clip art in their own commercial design work. 

            Keywords: Clip Art, Dover, Volk, early digital design, Macintosh software