Google Doodles: Fun with Type!

Many internet users are creatures of habit, logging into the same website, search engines and email accounts day after day. My own home page is set to google.ca, and I am welcomed by the google logo each time I open my web browser or return to my home page to enter a search term. The monotony of this process is occasionally broken by a google “doodle,” a playful re-imagining of the Google logo to commemorate holidays and other special events. Last week, a Google logo to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man included a playable version of the game right from the Google homepage!

Google is very explicit in its Permissions that these special logos are not to be recreated elsewhere without permission. Fortunately, all Google logos from 1998 onwards are archived on the Google Logo webpage, and provide a fun and fascinating look at the occasions we have celebrated over the last 12 years. Some logos are restricted to certain countries, while others, such as logos commemorating the Winter Olympics or New Years are shown on google webpages worldwide.

In comparing and contrasting the 700+ images on the Google Logo archive, it becomes clear that the images are successful because they conform to a series of rules that allows viewers to easily recognise the letters G-o-o-g-l-e and the meaning behind each specific image. Most of the logos use the familiar blue-red-yellow-blue-green-red colour pattern of the original Google logo. With some exceptions, the logos all use the same serif font, with illustrations and embellishments around the letters. Some logos, such as the one commemorating Jackson Pollock’s birthday on January 28, 2009, purposefully obscure the letters, as a nod to the abstract imagery created by the artist. The google logos make use of a range of techniques discussed in our Anatomy of Typography class. For example, some logos vary the construction of the letters (see 50th Anniversary of the Lego Brick, January 28, 2008), decrease the width of the letters (see Invention of the First Laser, May 16, 2008) or change the angular treatment of curves (see Australian Election, Nov 24, 2007). The archives show that the Google logo can be changed in an infinite number of ways, but it takes a skilled designer to balance innovative design with recognizable branding. A strong understanding of how type is constructed is one way that designers and viewers alike can gain a stronger appreciate and understanding of these types of images.