Just like how the apple fell on Newton’s head and gave him the idea of gravity, so did necessity give rise to the Google Doodle. As a result of the incorporation and all that would come with Google being Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin decided the time had come to take a much needed break. With the Burning Man festival right around the corner, there was no other place the two could unwind at in a better way! However, they had to let their steadily growing user base know they were not at their office. They had the same idea as you: to use a quirky combination of the Burning Man logo and the Google logo! When they placed a stick figure behind the second ‘o’ in Google to signify they were not available, little did the founders know they were walking on the roads of creative history!

The logo culture mark was born

Users really enjoyed the new interactive change made to the Google logo. Calling it Google Doodle, users loved the idea of forming a connection with the great creators. This gave rise to the turkey in the doodle on Thanksgiving Day. With two turkeys on the o’s in Google, the first ever Thanksgiving Day doodle came to be in October, 1999!

The day was Bastille Day (in France) and Page and Brin wanted to make their presence felt through a doodle dedication. Enter Dennis Hwang, a designer who quite literally changed the face of doodles as people knew them then.

The Google Doodle team

On the 14th of March, 2001, Google’s first doodler, Dennis Hwang, gave the logo an impressionist look for Claude Monet’s birthday and this set the path for celebrating birthdays and important days in history! The initial doodles were simplistic in their design and style of drawing. The first change in design happened when they honoured the DNA and users discovered an incorrect double helix!

When this happened, Dennis realised there needed to be a massive change in the kind of doodles they were working on. January 2010 marked the first time Google experimented with animations by celebrating Isaac Newton. This created a brand new path for doodles and created change like never before! Over the years, Google has created over 2,000 unique illustrations.

The most popular Google Doodles

While the Burning Man doodle was the most creative doodle to come into being, there have been a lot more popular ones. Check them out here!

• Freddie Mercury’s 65th birthday

Google celebrated Freddie’s 65th birthday in the most creative way possible. If you hit the play icon, the doodle generated a truly special tribute to this great man!

• 50th anniversary of the first man in space

If you hover with your mouse over the rocket, Google gave you the simulated experience of launching a rocket into space! A true dedication to Google, right? We think so!

• Discovery of X Rays 

If you hovered your cursor over the rocket, Google gave you the simulated experience of launching a rocket into space! A true dedication, right? We think so!

• 30th Anniversary of Pac Man 

Probably one of the most popular Google Doodles to date, Google celebrated the 30th anniversary of Pac Man by letting you play the game for as long as you want. What made this so popular was it let people play with others, thereby creating a two player situation!

Google Doodles are a brilliant way to let people know that the company is not an evil corporation, but a company with a social connection. What are your favourite Doodles? Comment and let us know!