Name: Google
The numbers: Roughly 3.5 billion Google searches happen each day – it’s thought to be likely that the average person might see the Google logo anywhere from one to 30 times per day.
What is its history? Google actually had two “first” logos. In 1996, the logo featured an image of a hand and the company’s original name, BackRub (so called because the engine’s main function was to search through the internet’s back links), in red font. After rebranding to Google, the company launched a simpler logo in 1998 that said “Google!” in multicolour. In 2010 it changed to the logo most of us would recognise, dropping the exclamation mark, and in 2015 Google’s top designers met in New York and spent a period of five days (what is known in the industry as a “design sprint”) coming up with the logo we have today.
Any interesting facts: Google is deliberate a misspelling of “googol” – a Latin term that literally means 10 to the 100th power (written out, that’s one, followed by 100 zeros). The idea behind the name was that Google’s search engine could quickly provide users with large quantities, or googols, of results.
Nerd level: As a result of the sprint, the company chose to preserve its distinctive blue-red-orange-blue-green-red pattern but changed the typeface from Catull to the custom schoolbook-inspired Product Sans.
At the same time, Google also rolled out several variations on its logo, including the rainbow “G” that represents the smartphone app and the favicon (also known as a shortcut icon) for Google websites.
Did you know? The then-intern Dennis Hwang was charged with the task of coming up with a doodle for Bastille Day. Users loved it so much that Dennis was swiftly appointed “chief doodler.”
Today, doodles are often used to commemorate holidays, special occasions, and birthdays of scientists, thinkers, artists, and other important people. To decide which events, figures, or topics get doodles, a team gets together to brainstorm. Doodle ideas can also come from Google users. You can actually submit your own idea for a Doodle by emailing [email protected].
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