Google Doodle: How did it come into being?
Don’t you see the Google logo changing quite often? Yes, that happens when Google decides to pay tribute to someone, celebrate an event. Known as Google Doodle, this feature is a slight, short-term alteration of the original Google logo done on Google's homepages to mark special events, achievements, historical figures and holidays.
Which was the first ever Google Doodle?
When Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the brains behind Google, left for the Burning Man festival in Nevada in August 1998, they wanted their staff to know they wouldn't be at the helm of Google for a while. So, the second 'O' on Google's homepage logo was replaced by a stick figure resembling the festival's logo. What began as a fun alternative to an out-of-office notice became a regular feature later on to celebrate and honour holidays, people and issues worldwide, now an important venture for the tech company.
Evolution of Google Doodle
Two years down the line, on July 14, 2000, Page and Brin asked Dennis Hwang, an intern back then, to create a doodle for Bastille Day. It became so popular that Dennis was appointed as the chief doodler of Google. Since then, Google Doodle started featuring on Google’s home page more frequently. Over time, the popularity of doodles went up so much that the search engine giant hired a team of dedicated illustrators for this feature.
Initially, doodles were simple images with just hover text. Later on, from the beginning of 2010, they started becoming more complex with animations and hyperlinks. In January 2010, Google used animated doodle for the first time to honour Sir Isaac Newton. It was followed by an interactive one celebrating Pac-Man. Thereafter, hyperlinks also began to be added to Google Doodles, usually linking to a search results page for the subject of the Doodle.
Popular Google Doodles
Around 4000 doodles have been created over these years. Some of the most popular among them have been the Pac-Man doodle, an interactive logo depicting moog synthesiser (in celebration of Robert Moog’s 78th birthday), code cracking doodle (as a tribute to Alan Turing, the father of computer science on his 100th birthday), Start Treck, created on the 46th anniversary of this science fiction media franchise.
Indian versions of Google Doodle
The doodle was initially the same across all nations and was limited to well-known national occasions. Over time, it was used to commemorate a variety of events, persons, and artefacts, ranging from little-known female scientists to major sporting events such as the World Cup. In 2009, Google announced a ‘’Doodle 4 Google’’ competition for India, and on November 14, the winning doodle was featured on the Google India site. The latest Google Doodle for India was on the occasion of the recent 73rd Republic Day celebrations on January 26, 2022.