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==Favicon==
==Favicon==
Google's [[favicon]] is a version of the [[lowercase]] "g" from its official logo, introduced in 2008, and originally intended to be a part of a larger set of icons developed for better [[scalability]] on [[mobile device]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mayer |first=Marissa |url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/one-fish-two-fish-red-fish-blue-fish.html |title=Official Google Blog: "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish |publisher=Googleblog.blogspot.com |date=2008-06-06 |accessdate=2010-08-30}}</ref> The current version includes background colors red, green, blue and yellow.<ref name="googleblog.blogspot.com">{{Cite web|last=Mayer |first=Marissa |url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/googles-new-favicon.html |title=Official Google Blog: Google's new favicon |publisher=Googleblog.blogspot.com |date= |accessdate=2010-08-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-google-favicon.html |title=New Google Favicon |publisher=Googlesystem.blogspot.com |date=2009-01-09 |accessdate=2010-08-30}}</ref> In June 2008, Google launched a contest intended to receive favicon submissions, and a design made by André Resende, a computer science undergraduate student at the University of Campinas in Brazil, formed the basis of the new design. From Official Google Blog: "His placement of a white 'g' on a color-blocked background was highly recognizable and attractive, while seeming to capture the essence of Google".<ref name="googleblog.blogspot.com"/> Google logo font is [http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/berthold/catull-bq/ Catull BQ], and it was created for [[Berthold (company)|Berthold]] in 1982 by German designer Gustav Jaeger. Catull has a calligraphic feel with contrasting stroke weights and distinctive serifs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/berthold/catull-bq/ |title=Catull |publisher=New.myfonts.com |date=2006-02-28 |accessdate=2010-08-30}}</ref>
Google's [[favicon]] is a version of the [[lowercase]] "g" from its official logo, introduced in 2008, and originally intended to be a part of a larger set of icons developed for better [[scalability]] on [[mobile device]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mayer |first=Marissa |url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/one-fish-two-fish-red-fish-blue-fish.html |title=Official Google Blog: "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish |publisher=Googleblog.blogspot.com |date=2008-06-06 |accessdate=2010-08-30}}</ref> The current version includes background colors red, green, blue and yellow.<ref name="googleblog.blogspot.com">{{Cite web|last=Mayer |first=Marissa |url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/googles-new-favicon.html |title=Official Google Blog: Google's new favicon |publisher=Googleblog.blogspot.com |date= |accessdate=2010-08-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-google-favicon.html |title=New Google Favicon |publisher=Googlesystem.blogspot.com |date=2009-01-09 |accessdate=2010-08-30}}</ref> In June 2008, Google launched a contest intended to receive favicon submissions, and a design made by André Resende, a computer science undergraduate student at the University of Campinas in Brazil, formed the basis of the new design. From Official Google Blog: "His placement of a white 'g' on a color-blocked background was highly recognizable and attractive, while seeming to capture the essence of Google".<ref name="googleblog.blogspot.com"/> Google logo font is [http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/berthold/catull-bq/ Catull BQ], and it was created for [[Berthold (company)|Berthold]] in 1982 by German designer Gustav Jaeger. Catull has a calligraphic feel with contrasting stroke weights and distinctive serifs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/berthold/catull-bq/ |title=Catull |publisher=New.myfonts.com |date=2006-02-28 |accessdate=2010-08-30}}</ref>

==Google dots logo==

On September 7th, 2010, Google added another interactive logo. This logo was a bunch of balls that flew away from the cursor. Many users criticized this for being distracting and useless.


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 21:37, 9 September 2010

The Google logo introduced on May 6, 2010
The Google logo used from August 1999 until May 2010. This is still used as a secondary logo.

Google has had several logos since its renaming from BackRub. The current official Google logo was designed by Ruth Kedar, and is a wordmark based on the Catull typeface.[1] The company also includes various modifications and/or humorous features, such as cartoon modifications of their logo for use on holidays, birthdays of famous people, and major events, such as the Olympics.[2] These special logos, some designed by Dennis Hwang, have become known as Google Doodles. As of 16 August 2010, Google's own gallery features 952 logos.[3]

The Google logo in 1997

In 1998 Sergey Brin created a computerised version of the Google letters using the free graphics program GIMP. The exclamation mark was added, mimicking the Yahoo! logo.[4] "There were a lot of different color iterations", says Ruth Kedar, the graphic designer who developed the now-famous logo. "We ended up with the primary colors, but instead of having the pattern go in order, we put a secondary color on the L, which brought back the idea that Google doesn't follow the rules." [5]

In 2010, the Google logo received its first major and permanent overhaul since 1999. The new logo was first tested in November 2009,[6] and was officially launched on May 6, 2010.[7] It utilises an identical typeface and colors to the previous logo, but features a much more subtle shadow and uses a different shading style.

Google Doodle

Main article: List of Google Doodles

The first Google Doodle was in honor of the Burning Man Festival of 1998. The doodle was designed by Larry Page and Sergey Brin to notify users of their absence in case the servers crashed. Subsequent Google Doodles were designed by an outside contractor, until Larry and Sergey asked then-intern Dennis Hwang to design a logo for Bastille Day in 2000. Hwang has been designing the Google Doodles ever since.[8] Clicking on a Google Doodle links to a string of Google search results about the topic, which can drive a lot of traffic to unsuspecting sites.[9]

Google doodles have been produced for the birthdays of several noted artists and scientists, including Andy Warhol, Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Rabindranath Tagore, Louis Braille, Percival Lowell, Edvard Munch, Nikola Tesla, Béla Bartók, René Magritte, Michael Jackson, Akira Kurosawa, H. G. Wells, Samuel Morse, Hans Christian Ørsted, Mohandas Gandhi, Dennis Gabor and Antonio Vivaldi among others.[2] Additionally, the featuring of Lowell's logo design coincided with the launch of another Google product, Google Maps. Google doodles are also used to depict major events at Google, such as the company's own anniversary.[10] British novelist Roald Dahl has been featured, with the logo containing characters and items from some of his books, such as Matilda. The celebration of historical events is another common topic of Google Doodles including a Lego brick design in celebration of the interlocking Lego block's 50th anniversary. The anniversary of H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds has also been celebrated. On February 14, 2007, Valentine's Day, the Google doodle featured a chocolate-dipped strawberry that combined the second "g" and the "l" as its green stem.[11] This design gave the appearance that the "l" was missing, thereby displaying "Googe". In response to several speculations the Official Google Blog,[12] responded: "When you look at the logo, you may worry that we forgot our name overnight, skipped a letter, or have decided that 'Googe' has a better ring to it. None of the above. I just know that those with true romance and poetry in their soul will see the subtlety immediately. And if you're feeling grouchy today, may I suggest eating a strawberry." For the celebration of Earth Hour, the white background was transformed black to symbolize "the turning off of lights".

Google was criticized in 2007 for not featuring versions of the Google logo for American patriotic holidays such as Memorial Day and Veterans Day.[13] That year, Google featured a logo commemorating Veterans Day.[14]

Google unveiled a steady stream of Doodles in 2009, including one with Mahatma Gandhi's face on October 2, 2009, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, which is observed by the UN as the International Day for Non-Violence.

On Friday, May 21, 2010, Google created a doodle to celebrate the 30th birthday of Pac-Man. It is their first (possibly the world's first) playable logo. The logo contains an accurate recreation of the Pac-Man game that can be played in a browser (it contains 255 levels).[15] On Sunday, July 11, 2010, the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final was commemorated by a Google doodle showing the stadium where the match was played that night.[16]

Doodle4Google competitions

Main article: Doodle4Google

Google holds a Doodle4Google[17] competition for students in grades K–12 to create their own Google doodle. Winning doodles go onto the Doodle4Google website, where the public can vote for the winner, who wins a trip to the Googleplex and the hosting of the winning doodle for 24 hours on the Google website. The competition originated in the United Kingdom, and now also exists in the United States. The competition was also held in Ireland in 2008.[18] Google announced Doodle4Google competition for India in 2009[19] and the winning doodle was displayed on the Google India homepage on November 14th.[20] A similar competition held in Singapore based on the theme "Our Singapore" was launched in January 2010 and the winning entry was chosen from over 30,000 entries received. The winning design will be shown on Singapore's National Day on Google Singapore's homepage.[21]

From time to time Google shows a special colorless logo [22] on a local homepage in recognition of a major tragedy, often for several days. The design was apparently first used on the Google Poland homepage following the air disaster that killed President Lech Kaczyński in April 2010. A few days later, the logo was used in China and Hong Kong to pay respects to the victims of the Qinghai earthquake.[23]

On September 8, 2010, the doodle once again changed to a greyed-out Google logo that lit up with the standard Google colours as the first 6 letters of a search query were entered.[24]

Google's interactive Pac-Man logo

On Friday, 21 May 2010, the 30th anniversary of the arcade game Pac-Man, Google unveiled worldwide their first interactive logo. Anyone who visited Google could play Pac-Man on the logo, which featured the letters of the word 'Google' on the Pac-Man maze. The logo also mimicked the sounds the original arcade game made. The "I'm Feeling Lucky" button was replaced with an "Insert Coin" button. Pressing this once enabled you to play the Pac-Man logo. Pressing it once more added a second player, Ms. Pac-Man, enabling 2 players to play at once, controlled using the W,A,S,D keys, instead of the arrows as used by Player 1. Pressing it for a third time performed an "I'm Feeling Lucky" search. It was then removed on Sunday, May 23, 2010, initially replacing Pac-Man with the normal logo. Later on that day, Google released [25] a permanent Google Pac-Man site, due to the popular user demand for the playable logo.[25] The page has the same functionality as it had on its original run.

On 4 September 2010, Google replaced the logo with an interactive Buckminsterfullerene or "Buckeyball" doodle to commemorate the 25th anniversary of its discovery.[26]

That was replaced three days later with a bouncing balls doodle. [27]

Favicon

Google's favicon is a version of the lowercase "g" from its official logo, introduced in 2008, and originally intended to be a part of a larger set of icons developed for better scalability on mobile devices.[28] The current version includes background colors red, green, blue and yellow.[29][30] In June 2008, Google launched a contest intended to receive favicon submissions, and a design made by André Resende, a computer science undergraduate student at the University of Campinas in Brazil, formed the basis of the new design. From Official Google Blog: "His placement of a white 'g' on a color-blocked background was highly recognizable and attractive, while seeming to capture the essence of Google".[29] Google logo font is Catull BQ, and it was created for Berthold in 1982 by German designer Gustav Jaeger. Catull has a calligraphic feel with contrasting stroke weights and distinctive serifs.[31]

On September 7th, 2010, Google added another interactive logo. This logo was a bunch of balls that flew away from the cursor. Many users criticized this for being distracting and useless.

References

  1. ^ "Information about the typeface Catull BQ". Identifont. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
  2. ^ a b "Google holiday logos". Google. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
  3. ^ "Google Holiday Logos". Google.com. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  4. ^ Vise, David (2005). The Google Story. New York: Bantam Dell. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-553-80457-7. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ Zjawinski, Sonia. "How Google Got Its Colorful Logo." Wired (Online magazine). February 12, 2008. Retrieved on January 5, 2010.
  6. ^ "Google Search's New Interface Being Tested Now". Retrieved 2010-05-06.
  7. ^ "The Google design, turned up a notch". Google. 2010-05-06. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  8. ^ Hwang, Dennis. "Oodles of Doodles." Google (corporate blog). June 8, 2004. Retrieved on July 19, 2006.
  9. ^ Williams, David E. "Google's unknown artist has huge following." CNN. July 19, 2006. Retrieved on July 19, 2006.
  10. ^ Matthew Moore (2009-09-27). "Googlle: Google releases missspelt logo to mark 11th anniversary". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-09-27.
  11. ^ Google logos Valentine's Day logo. February 14, 2007. Retrieved on April 6, 2007.
  12. ^ Official Google Blog Strawberries are red, stems are green.
  13. ^ "Tweaks send Google critics into orbit (By Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer)October 9, 2007". Latimes.com. 2007-10-09. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  14. ^ "More Google: Holiday Logos". Google.com. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  15. ^ Nelson, Randy (2010-05-21). "Google celebrates Pac-Man's 30th anniversary with playable logo". Joystiq.com. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  16. ^ 2010 FIFA World Cup Final: Google doodle. Telegraph.
  17. ^ "Doodle4Google Page". Google.com. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  18. ^ "'Doodle 4 Google – My Ireland' competition". Google.ie. 2009-12-18. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  19. ^ "'Doodle 4 Google — My India'". Google.co.in. 2009-11-14. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  20. ^ "'Doodle 4 Google India 2009 Winner Announced'". Google-logos.com. 2009-11-13. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  21. ^ "Doodle 4 Google — Our Singapore". Google.com.sg. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  22. ^ "'White Logo'". Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  23. ^ Google Shows Colorless Logo To Chinese Users Over Qinghai Earthquake, Search Engine Land, 20 Apr 2010
  24. ^ http://mashable.com/2010/09/08/google-color-logo/
  25. ^ a b Mayer, Marissa (2010-05-23). "Official Google Blog: PAC-MAN rules!". Googleblog.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  26. ^ "25th anniversary of the Buckyball celebrated by interactive Google Doodle". Daily Telegraph, UK. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  27. ^ "Google logo September 7 tops Google trends with bouncing balls doodle". 2010-09-07.
  28. ^ Mayer, Marissa (2008-06-06). "Official Google Blog: "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish". Googleblog.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  29. ^ a b Mayer, Marissa. "Official Google Blog: Google's new favicon". Googleblog.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  30. ^ "New Google Favicon". Googlesystem.blogspot.com. 2009-01-09. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  31. ^ "Catull". New.myfonts.com. 2006-02-28. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
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