Google has made simple art into a daily campaign that speaks for itself, unlike anything before.Then-CEO, and former Chairman of Google Eric Schmidt with cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page (left to right) in 2008 My goal is for Google to lead, not follow. Something that started as an in-house comical announcement has now grown into one of the most beloved creations all over the world, managing to provide knowledge to their users. Google decided to take it a step further by not focusing only on popular figures and worldly events, but also conveying their wishes to their users with their Happy Birthday doodles. For instance, they featured a Doodle where Google was written with water-like graphics to announce the discovery of water on the Moon. They also share information on discoveries and inventions across the globe. They focus on regional events through the doodles, to connect with people from all over the world and make Google feel closer to home. Doodles were also used to encourage people to have fun indoors and to thank frontline workers and coronavirus warriors.Р”Р„part from issues that require serious attention, the Doodles also feature sports matches, like the World Cup and the Olympics. To spread awareness about the ongoing pandemic, Google had its Doodlers design animated Doodles that emphasized wearing masks and practising social distancing. These criticisms werenРІР‚в„ўt just limited to the choice of people being featured but also their lack of gender and racial representation that was highlighted in a report by the SPARK Movement in 2014, following which, Google decided to increase the representation of women and racial minorities in proportion.Р”Вespite the occasional adversities, Google Doodles play an important role in interacting with their diverse audience to commemorate and spread information about distinguished individuals, important events and create social awareness. This change in dynamics added the weight of responsible decision making on their part: deciding which of the many events falling on the same day should be prioritized.Р”Р‡rom choosing Roald Dahl over Rosh Hashanah and not featuring Memorial Day and Veterans Day in 2007 to choosing Japanese Go player, Honinbo Shusaku over the D-Day invasion in 2014, to featuring Yuri Kochiyama, an Asian American activist and member of the Revolutionary Action Movement on its US homepage in 2016, Google faced criticism and created controversy, that often resulted in quick alterations to the Doodles and even erased records of the controversial ones. As of 2019, the Doodles amount to around 4,000.Р”Р„lthough these Doodles were initially designed to celebrate holidays and commemorate achievements and historical figures, they eventually turned into a form of audience engagement and interaction for Google. This competition let school students across nations design their own Doodles, where the winning Doodles would be featured on the homepage and its creator would win a visit to the Googleplex and/or a cash prize. The Doodlers were no longer just a team of employees when the РІР‚СљDoodle 4 GoogleРІР‚Сњ was launched. Gradually, hyperlinks that lead to the search results for the theme/topic of the doodle came about.Р”Р„rtists like Jennifer Hom, Ranganath Krishnamani, Dennis Hwang, among others, have been a part of the РІР‚СљDoodlersРІР‚Сњ team, creating Doodles that celebrate not just important events and public holidays, but also artists, famous personalities and historic events. Later that year, the first interactive Doodle was published to celebrate the 30 th anniversary of Pac Man, with an РІР‚СљInsert CoinРІР‚Сњ button replacing the РІР‚СљIРІР‚в„ўm Feeling Lucky ButtonРІР‚Сњ, which enabled the user to play the game and also add a player. Eventually, the first animated Doodle was featured in January 2010 to commemorate Sir Isaac NewtonРІР‚в„ўs 367 th birthday, where an apple could be seen falling from a branch.

In its early stages, the Doodles were neither hyperlinked nor animated, they were simple drawings with hover texts that described the occasion they represented. On the homepage of the browser, they decided to place a stick man drawing behind one of the РІР‚ВoРІР‚в„ўs in Google,Р’В beginning what has now become an official, organized task by a team. In 1998, even before incorporation, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google, chose to go creative to let everyone know that they were, РІР‚Сљout-of-officeРІР‚Сњ for the Burning Man Festival in the deserts of Nevada. Photo Courtesy РІР‚вЂњ Google/Public Domain via Wikimedia CommonsР”Вoodles are absent-minded drawings, but Google decided to make them anything but that.

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