Google Doodle – Everything You Need To Know About

Google Doodles are a tool on the company’s homepage that are frequently used to draw attention to world issues, historic events, and global celebrations.

Google Search’s homepage is one of the most-visited websites on the planet, as it powers billions of searches per day. However, Google’s logo appears directly above the search box, and on occasion, it will add something extra by using a “Doodle.” These Doodles can be as simple as additions to the traditional logo, or they can be as extensive as a complete redesign of Google’s logo with artistic creations.

Google has displayed these amusing illustrations on its homepage for longer than it has existed as a company.

How and When Did Google Doodles Start?

The first Google doodle, depicted in the image on top, was released on August 31, 1998, to commemorate the annual Burning Man event in the United States. It was created by Google’s co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin to inform Google’s then-nascent user base that the founders would be away at Burning Man when the servers crashed. Subsequent doodles were contracted out until 2001, when Google began creating doodles again in-house. A special team was assembled to create doodles, and they became affectionately known as “doodlers.”

Initially, the doodles were relatively simple, consisting of images in which the word Google was written creatively. When the mouse was hovered over the doodles, a small pop-up text indicated the occasion being commemorated. Since 2010, however, the Google doodles have become significantly more creative. Google debuted its first animated doodle to commemorate Sir Isaac Newton’s birthday in January 2010. Pac-Man was the subject of Google’s first interactive doodle game, which debuted in May 2010. Google has focused more on regional doodles to honor the histories of various countries over the past decade. The team of Google doodlers has created over 4000 doodles to date.

Since 2008, Google has also established the “Doodle 4 Google” initiative. This is an annual contest for schoolchildren to create and submit doodles. If their submission wins, they will receive a college sponsorship of up to $30,000 as well as other unique gifts. Additionally, their doodle is featured on the Google homepage. This is an annual event for which Google provides a theme and international students can participate. This competition has also been held in India since 2009. Therefore, if you know any imaginative schoolchildren, you can encourage them to submit their doodles to Google the next time the competition opens.

How frequently does Google’s Doodle change?

In the early days, Google’s homepage Doodle was rarely updated, whereas the Doodle is now frequently updated daily.

The topic of a Doodle is frequently determined by global events. In April 2020, for instance, when the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the entire planet, Google will dedicate a two-week block of Doodles to the “essential” workers who are assisting the world in continuing to function during the pandemic. This includes healthcare workers, janitorial staff, and food service employees, among others.

During holidays, Google Doodles are typically present. Whether it is a global holiday or a regional event, Google will display Doodles in various regions to commemorate. Occasionally, clicking on a Doodle will result in a small game or interactive object, but more often than not, it simply directs users to a search about that particular topic. The following are notable doodles from 2020 thus far:

• On January 19, Doodle honors Martin Luther King, Jr.
• The February 29 Doodle honors Leap Day.
• March 7 Doodle celebrates International Women’s Day with a 3D mandala and additional imagery.
• The March 19 Doodle celebrates the beginning of spring.
• March 31 Doodle honors polio researcher Dame Jean Macnamara
• “Stay Home. Save Lives” is the prevention message on the April 2 Doodle regarding coronavirus.

Occasionally, Doodles can be created based on user suggestions or even contests. Annually, the “Doodle for Google” contest provides a theme and solicits entries from K-12 students. Later in the year, Google will select a winner whose artwork will be displayed on the homepage for all to see! The theme for 2022 is “I care for myself by…”.