Commemorating the World, One Doodle at a Time

Commemorating+the+World%2C+One+Doodle+at+a+Time

Kelly Zhang (12th), Reporter

These days, we increasingly come to rely on technology for everyday needs. For many people, this dependency is alarming. But no one can deny the benefits that progress has given us—instant communication, paperless organization, and easy-to-access information banks that can provide millions of possible answers to a person’s question.

One such source of information is not only a household name, it’s a classroom name and a workplace name: Google.

With Google, one can get the answers to their questions almost instantaneously. People use this endless resource eagerly—over 3.5 billion searches are made on Google every day, from “how to make solar eclipse glasses” to “hurricane irma” to “bitcoin” (all on the lists of Google’s globally trending searches in 2017). Many say that sites like Google are bringing about a new information age, where education can be as easy as a click of the mouse.

As if in homage to this aspect of their reputation, Google replaces their icon on an almost daily basis with a Google Doodle: a tiny work of art made to commemorate the day based on its significance in history—or, like the adorable animations made for the Winter Olympics a couple weeks ago, to celebrate current happenings.

The first Doodle ever was in 1998 for the Burning Man festival, which Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were attending. However, the idea of professional doodlers didn’t truly catch on until two years later, when they asked an intern, David Hwang (now Google webmaster), to create a Doodle for Bastille Day.

Ever since, Google has hired a professional team of artists called Doodlers that, along with other Google employees, help conceptualize and create new Doodles for the website. Throughout the years, they’ve expanded from celebrating the usual holidays to more varied events like the birthdays of authors, national election days, and the invention of the ice cream sundae.

“I look at them every day,” revealed Katie Zhang, Pitman senior and artist. “I have Digital Art, so every time I go to Google something, it’s right there. I like looking at them.”

Google also hosts a contest every year called Doodle 4 Google, where students in grades K-12 can submit art based on the year’s prompt for the chance to win scholarships, technology packages for their school, and have their work featured on Google as an interactive Doodle. This year, Google 4 Doodle’s prompt was: What inspires me?

“I think it’s great that artists are able to express their creativity!” commented Katie Zhang. “Good for Google for giving artists opportunities to share their art and be recognized.”

So far, Google has created over 2,000 Doodles to be shared on their homepages around the world, and all of them are available to be seen and admired at their archives. The company itself has also declared that they’re always open to more suggestions! So if you have a great idea for the next Google Doodle, send them an email at [email protected].