Google Logos history

Doodle History

Over the years, doodles on the Google homepage have made searching on Google more fun and enjoyable for its users worldwide. When doodles were first created, nobody had anticipated how popular and integral they would become to the Google search experience. Nowadays, many users excitedly anticipate the release of each new doodle and some even collect them!
Doodles are known as the decorative changes that are made to the Google logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of famous artists and scientists. Whether it is the beginning of Spring, Albert Einstein's birthday, or the 50th anniversary of understanding DNA, the doodle team never fails to find artistic ways to celebrate these unique events.
Having a little bit of fun with the corporate logo by redesigning it from time to time is unheard of at many companies but at Google, it is a part of the brand. While the doodle is primarily a fun way for the company to recognize events and notable people, it also illustrates the creative and innovative personality of the company itself.

How did the idea for doodles originate?

In 1999, the concept of the doodle was born when Google founders Larry and Sergey played with the corporate logo to indicate their attendance at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert. A stick figure drawing was placed behind the 2nd o in the word, Google and the revised logo was intended as a comical message to Google users that the founders were “out of office.” While the first doodle was relatively simple, the idea of decorating the company logo to celebrate notable events was well received by our users.
A year later in 2000, Larry and Sergey asked current webmaster Dennis Hwang, an intern at the time, to produce a doodle for Bastille Day. Pleased with the result, Dennis was then appointed Google’s chief doodler and doodles became a regular occurrence on the Google homepage. In the beginning, the doodles tended to celebrate largely visible holidays; nowadays, doodles represent a wide array of events and anniversaries from the Olympics to the Mars Rover landing.
Over time, the demand for doodles quickly rose both in the U.S. and internationally. Creating doodles is now the responsibility of a team of talented designers. For them, creating doodles has become a team effort to enliven the Google homepage and bring smiles to a myriad of Google users worldwide.

How many doodles has Google done over the years?

The doodle team has created over 300 doodles for Google.com in the United States and over 700 have been designed internationally.

Who chooses what doodles will be created and how do you decide which events will receive doodles?

A group of Googlers regularly get together to decide the events and holidays that will receive doodles. The ideas for the doodles themselves are gathered from numerous sources including Googlers and the general public. The doodle selection process aims to celebrate interesting events and anniversaries that reflect Google's personality and love for innovation. We are aware that the list of doodles is not exhaustive, but we try to select doodles that show creativity and innovation.

Why doesn't Google do doodles for certain holidays?

We enjoy celebrating holidays at Google and are sorry if we missed one that's special to you. As you may imagine, it's difficult for us to choose which events to celebrate on our site. We have a long list of holidays that we'd like to celebrate in the future. We have to balance this rotating calendar with the need to maintain the consistency of the Google homepage. Some holidays that we haven't celebrated in the past will be rotated into our holiday doodles for future years. We try to be sensitive that a doodle is not the most appropriate way to recognize certain events, especially those that are more somber in nature.

Who designs the doodles?

There is a team of designers that are behind the doodles you see on Google.com.

How can Google users/the public submit ideas for doodles?

The doodle team is open to user ideas; requests for doodles can be sent to proposals@google.com. The team receives numerous requests so even if we do not get back to you about your request, please know that we do look at and consider all the requests that are submitted.

I love Google and have designed my own doodle. Where can I submit my fan logo?

You can submit your fan logos to proposals@google.com.

Where can I see all the Google doodles that have been done over the years?

All doodles can be found at www.google.com/logos.