As I went on Google.com to research something for my last art essay, I took notice of the Google homepage. Instead of seeing the standard blue, green, yellow, and red letters that spell out "Google" above the search bar, there was an arrangement of a variety of birds on branches that supposedly spelled out "Google." This sparked my interest. I learned that these creations are called "Google Doodles" and are artistically created for holidays, anniversaries, and tributes to famous artists and scientists. In my research of this I found that there are so many creative designs that the Google logo has due to such events, and if you click on the creative logo, it will bring you to a Google page that provides links that give information on what it represents. Some logos offer an elaborate picture of whatever the logo of that day is. For Earth Day the background had an arrangement of varied greens and where "Google" was illuminated by a lighter green and curvy trees and branches intricately and beautifully spelled out the logo. It was also accompanied by friendly forest creatures such as beautiful birds. Another memorable one was for E. C. Segar's birthday, who was the creator of Popeye the Sailorman. For the "G" it was a picture of Popeye in a particular motion that looked like a "G" and the remaining letters were in comicstrip letters and colors with the black dots inside to make it seem like it was in newsprint. Of course, they couldn't forget the spinach; they had an open can of spinach for the "E" and designed it flying into Popeye's mouth. Having such elaborate and captivating logos for this search engine certainly appeals to site surfer's aesthetic. It adds a sense of excitement for each time one has the need to "google" something; the plain white screen with a search bar under "Google" just isn't enough. Having designers change up the logo from time to time that has a meaning to it allows surfer's to stay interested in this website and see the creativity even a search engine can maintain.
Here you can find many of the logos from the past:
http://www.google-logos.com/
Yes, I love these too. The May 1, 2011 doodle for the anniversary of the World's Fair had a really google "magnifier" animation as well. Alas, that part doesn't work anymore in the copy I found here: http://www.google.com/logos/
ReplyDeleteI like looking at the ones used in different countries as well.
I think it's fun to think of these designs as somehow in the tradition of medeival illuminated manuscripts, though I don't know I can push that comparison very far.
But, damn, typeface does get boring.