History
Developed to be an anthropomorphic representation of a Software Toolworks instructional typing program, Mavis Beacon debuted as simply a photo of a model on the software's packaging in 1987. The model chosen to be the face of Mavis was Haitian-born Renee Lesperance who was discovered by one of the software developers working behind the perfume counter at Saks 5th Avenue Beverly Hills in 1985. Mavis's name comes from a combination of Mavis Staples (one of the software developer's favorite singers) and the word beacon (an allusion to her role as a guide to typing).
There have been several models chosen to represent the confident efficiency of Mavis Beacon; her image changes to represent a "modern professional typing instructor."
Because of Mavis Beacon's race, some computer software distributors, mostly but not exclusively in the southern United States, were initially reluctant to display the computer software. However, once the popularity of the program became evident, many of these distributors reversed their decision and began to display the line of software bearing Mavis Beacon's image.
Since its introduction, Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing has been the best-selling typing software.
Read more about this topic: Mavis Beacon
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