The first Doodle ever. | Image Courtesy: https://blog.google/
Google Doodles are temporary changes to the Google logo intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, or notable historical figures. First Google Doodle commemorated the 1998 edition of the long-standing annual Burning Man festival in Black Rock City, Nevada. It was a bit of a joke from Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin to remind Googlers they would be out of the office for Burning Man. Since then, the journey has continued. The Google Doodle has numerous relevant and interesting aspects that we would like to know more about. Here are five important and interesting aspects:
The Doodle team receives about 7,000 submissions a year.
Each day, hundreds of people email doodleproposa[email protected] with their ideas, and Googlers pitch their concepts constantly. There is a dedicated Doodle team, who represents different global countries. They provide information to the core team regarding what moments and milestones will resonate most on a local level. That helps them to choose which would be most appropriate. There are times when the selected doodles are not displayed everywhere. There are some that are specific to certain regions and countries.
The dedicated team published the 5000th Doodle in 2020
It celebrated Slovakia’s Freedom and Democracy Day, the country’s annual holiday commemorating heroic efforts by local youth activists. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running annual Burning Man event in Black Rock City, Nevada. It was a bit of a joke from Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin to remind Googlers they would be out of the office for Burning Man. The journey from then continued so far.
There is a public archive for every doodle published so far
The website was launched in December 2011 (and it is undergoing a makeover in the near future). The archive provides information on each Doodle, its topic, and often the artist as well – there is also a section for interactive Doodles you can revisit. It is also possible to view the history of Doodles for a specific day.
The doodle team is always guided by a dedicated set of principles
A major one is that Doodles should aim to delight and surprise people, as Jessica mentioned. Another key principle: Doodles are never dedicated to someone who’s still alive because person-focused Doodles are meant to honor someone’s lifetime achievements. Google typically abstains from referencing or celebrating religious holidays specifically in Doodles.
Doodles aren’t all always digital
Although many artists use digital mediums to create Doodles, others start with sketches or paintings – or even other items – to create their Doodles. An example is a Veteran’s Day Doodle created by an artist who is also a Veteran. “She took old military uniforms from all different branches and made a paper scroll of them altogether,” Jessica says. “It’s an amazing piece of art.”