Doodle4Google: A Complete History
Doodle4Google. The annual Google art contest in which users can submit their own doodles. And vote on others’ artwork, was introduced in 2008. Ever since then, the contest has become one of the most popular community events organized by Google. And many Doodle4Google enthusiasts have been following its history ever since it began. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the complete history of Doodle4Google to see what has changed over the years.
The Early Years – 2008
The doodle4google was a competition run by Google in partnership with NAMIC, a non-profit organization. Their goal was to find an artist who could help create one doodle that truly represents Black History Month. As you might imagine, black history month is an inherently diverse subject matter; more than 25 million Americans self-identify as African American. And those who grew up attending predominantly black schools will often have very different views on Black History. Than their African American peers. These differing perspectives make it difficult to choose one defining theme, which means choosing an artist becomes just as complex. NAMIC CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous took a unique approach and decided. That any submitted designs would become part of an interactive exhibit for viewers to browse at their leisure.
The Middle Years – 2010
Once 2010 hit, doodle4google’s creator decided that it was time to begin taking his creation in a new direction. The idea of an online art gallery was one that he had always wanted to pursue. And there was no better time than now. It would prove to be a controversial decision, however. With many people saying that they could not imagine such a creative contest ever being able to hold a candle to its predecessor. After all, doodle art was supposed to capture everything great about Google in their own little way – what more could you ask for? No matter how much anyone protested, though, Doodle For Google Live On With Some Changes. Unfortunately (or fortunately), Doodle4Google became something entirely different as a result.
The Peak Years – 2012
During a Google offsite in 2012, employees were tasked with thinking up a new logo for Google’s homepage doodle. The goal was to be different and innovative. What came of it was by far one of Doodle4Google’s greatest years; we received over 1 million entries from over 100 countries and were able to feature some pretty incredible art on our site. We also launched an internal website where employees could share their process—which is something that has been popular ever since! It even made The New York Times! This year, we introduced contests and chose several of our favorite contestants as finalists, which was when voting began.
The Final Years – 2014
In 2014, Google announces that it is going to retire Doodle4Google as of January 2015. This announcement triggers a mini-explosion of doodles from Google in order to give people time to create their own artworks. These are called Shout Outs and can be found through a link on Googles home page. For many people, it is these last doodles that really make them realize how much they want to save Doodle4Google and make it one of Googles permanent features. Fans of Doodle4Google bombard social media sites with requests for Google not to end it and at last throw their hats into the ring too. The ending months see tens of thousands try their hand at drawing, both individually and in competitions set up specifically for finding new talent.
So Long, Doodle 4 Google
Back in 2000, Google launched what is now considered a classic viral marketing campaign. Since then, it has attracted 3 million users and counting, who have all taken part in drawing their favorite things in order to win prizes for their school. However, as of 2013, Google announced that it would be ending its Doodle 4 Google Contest effective immediately and moving on to other contests. So where did doodle4google come from? Let’s take a look at its complete history!