Searching for the best summer vacation getaway? Google it. Curious about what happened to your favorite celebrity? Google it. At least once a day, you have probably used Google to search or get updates about anything. More than half of the world’s population is using Google. So, it’s not a surprise if you’re very familiar with Google’s logo just like everybody else.
But have you ever thought about the meaning behind its logo? How is that simple yet colorful design caught the attention of most internet users like us?
What is the logic behind the color scheme of Google’s logo?
Even if the Google logo changes to follow the world’s trends and current events, it still keeps its design recognizable with minimal alterations. Typically, Google changes only the font and the colors stay the same.
Google uses primary colors plus a secondary color. According to Ruth Kedar, the graphic designer of the famous logo, they put green on the letter “L” to emphasize the idea that Google defies the conventional. In other words, they don’t follow the rules.
How Colors in the Google Logo were Chosen
For graphic artists, choosing the right colors are crucial in creating a company logo. You may think that with Google’s logo, they didn’t put so much effort into what colors to use. But that’s not the case. As a matter of fact, they didn’t select the colors by accident.
When they planned the Google logo, they wanted to create a pattern that was easily accepted and known by the people. Since the primary colors are recognizable anywhere in the world, they believed that these colors match the purpose they want to convey.
So, what about the green on the letter “L”?
As mentioned earlier, Ruth Kedar wanted to show Google’s innovative traits, pushing the boundary of the ordinary. So, there. They decided to make “L” a secondary color, and not one of the primary colors. That’s why if you’ll notice, it’s the only letter that contains the green color.
What’s the meaning of the Google Logo Colors?
When Google designed its logo, it focused on selecting colors that can easily catch people’s attention and are aesthetically pleasing to the eyes. The logo may look very simple, but each color portrays the vision of the company.
Today, the Google logo is one of the most popular logos in the world. Well, that only proves that sometimes, simple designs are more appealing and memorable to people. Anyway, that’s what really matters when it comes to branding, right?
The Google Logo Evolution
With all the innovation that happened since it launched to the public, the Google logo has switched to different designs, going along with the newest trends. Wondering how the logo looked before? Read on and see all the improvements!
1997
The name Google was actually inspired by the Latin word “googol”, meaning 10 to the 100th power (10100). That idea came from the search engine’s ability as it could serve up to 100s of results.
If you’re a 90’s baby, you’ll probably think that the first-ever logo of Google looks like it came out of Word Art. The unusual positions of the letters, plus the colors used definitely reflect the era when it was created. For those younger generations, it may look a bit weird, but believe me – during that time, those fonts and colors were awesome.
1998
By the following year after the launching of the first logo, Google switched to a simpler font and designs with colors different from the old logo. But with this version, Google got the basic idea of how would they want their logo to appear in the subsequent years.
In the last quarter of the year, Google decided to shuffle the colors and put an exclamation mark at the end. It was during this time that “Yahoo!” was the leading website on the internet. But this version didn’t last and Google changed its appearance again by the next year.
1999
Ruth Kedar entered the picture and helped the Google founders (Larry Page and Sergey Brin) to improve their logo. Kedar removed the exclamation mark, shifting the font to the typeface Adobe Garamond.
2000
Kedar eventually updated the logo, changing the font to Catull typeface – which was familiar to many users at the time. Shadows of the letters were also added to emphasize the word Google. This version became the basis of the following logo variants.
2013
With this version, the distance of the projected shadows of the letters was reduced. The yellow color in the second “O” was changed too, making it more flattened.
On September 19, another version appeared, removing the shadows completely. The new design emphasized the flattened letterings too.
2015
Up to this day, Google uses the 2015 version. The rebranding transformed the Google logo dramatically, although the color pattern stayed the same. The new font gives a refreshing, smart, and modern look compared to the old versions.
Logo Dynamism
One of the best features of the Google logo rebrand is its dynamism. When you commence Google on your mobile phone, you will notice the Google dots bouncing – this is the dynamic and constantly moving state of the Google logo.
These dots embody Google’s intelligence at work. They show when Google is actually working for you. Got curious? Then let me show you these Google dots. Get your mobile phone and commence the voice search. You’ll see the colorful dots bouncing – they signify that they are waiting for you to speak and ask a query. Once you say something, the dots will shift to the equalizer that matches your speech. After that, it will go back to the dots to process your question and show you the results.
Google Logo Design Elements
You have probably noticed that whenever there are important events, holidays, or celebrity birthdays, Google modifies its logo. It changes to various unique designs like cartoons or doodles. It’s a fun way to express that Google is indeed not the typical website that sticks with the usual standard. It also proves that it’s always up-to-date with the world’s current events.
Today, the Google logo design displays a straightforward yet iconic style. Although its simplicity bears a resemblance to the logo of its parent company, Alphabet Inc., the elements used for the Google logo are undeniably remarkable. This includes the:
- Symbol
- Font
- Colors
Google Symbol
In 2015, Google presented a new favicon aside from the new logo. It is the capital letter “G” with the colors that represent Google. This symbol appears on various Google products such as Gmail and other Android apps.
What Font Is the Google Logo?
Google used a modern and stylish font for the new version of the logo. It’s a sans-serif font called Product Sans. As a matter of fact, it’s a customized logo of the in-house design team. Plus, it’s a pixel-friendly design. It has bold and streamlined contours that make it suitable for any screen resolution.
What Colors Are in The Google Logo?
The Google logo mainly uses three primary colors and a secondary color: blue, red, yellow, and green. The actual order of the colors for each letter is blue, red, yellow, blue, green, and red consecutively. In the 1997-1998 versions, the color orders were far different. For example, the capital “G” was green in the 1998 version.
Who designed the original Google logo?
The first-ever version of the Google logo was designed by one of the founders, Sergey Brin. Accordingly, Brin used the free graphic program “GIMP” when creating the logo.
After the 1998 version, Ruth Kedar designed the following variants of the logo. Kedar met the Google founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, through a common friend. Not impressed by their logo, the two young lads asked Kedar to improve it. Ruth Kedar was an assistant professor at Stanford University at that time.
A Brief History of Google
Did you know that Google started with a different name? Yes, you read it right. In 1996, before the inception of Google, the founders named their website “Backrub”. The inspiration behind this name came from the primary function of the search engine, which is to crawl through the backlinks of the internet.
Originally, it was Larry Page’s research project during his study at Stanford. He was taking a computer science program, where he met Sergey Brin. The young founders saw the potential in their project and realized the revolutionary approach that they can build a search engine.
Page and Brin partnered up, and with the help of Brin’s expertise in math, they were able to create the PageRank algorithm. In August 1996, they launched this technology within the private local network of Stanford. Then, later in 1997, they adopted the name “Google”.
The Incorporation of Google
Google was officially incorporated in 1998. Funded by Andy Bechtolsheim, the co-founder of Sun Microsystems, with an angel investment of $100,000, shifted their operations to Susan Wojcicki’s garage. Susan was Google’s first marketing manager and is now the CEO of YouTube. Eventually, their search engine became more accurate as the number of links continuously grew every day.
The Failed Acquisition of Yahoo
Before Google, Yahoo! was the first go-to search engine website of many internet users. But this didn’t last until the year 2000. Google had proven that its technology was better to the point it became Yahoo!’s technology provider. So in 2002, Yahoo! offered Google to acquire the company for $3 billion. But Google immediately turned it down. The company believed that Google was worth at least $5 billion during that time.
The Start of Gmail
Since the internal communication of the company was constantly rising, they started an in-house project to resolve this issue. Paul Buchheit, Google’s expert in building web-based email solutions, handled the task. In 2001, he created an email product which then, later on, became Gmail. On April 1, 2004, Google finally introduced Gmail to the public with 1GB of data storage. After a few years, it became popular and surpassed Yahoo! Mail.
Google Got YouTube
Even if YouTube was barely a year old at that time, many tech giants such as Yahoo! and Microsoft wanted to acquire the video platform. But in October 2006, Google succeeded in the bid of YouTube for $1.65 billion.
DoubleClick and Google
As Google became one of the biggest advertisers on the internet through AdWords, the company finally acquired DoubleClick in 2007. With this advanced advertising technology platform, Google claimed its dominance in the advertising industry using the search engine.
The Rise of Android
With the growing number of smartphone users around the globe today, it’s not a surprise that the Android platform became equally popular. In 2005, Google purchased Android for $50 million. By September 2008, it was debuted officially with the HTC dream phone launched in the following month. Fast forward up to this day, Android is now way ahead of Apple’s iOS – its primary competitor.
The Modern-day Google
Google continues to develop and innovate in different areas of technology, especially in the Artificial Intelligence sector. The company is pioneering the creation of self-driving cars, improvement of Google maps, and several other advancements beneficial to all people in the world.
Executive Summary
Admit it or not, Google has become part of our daily lives. You may not notice it, but as long as you use the internet or you use technology, Google is always there to provide modern services. The way how the company progressed over the years also influenced its simple, brightly-colored logo to be one of the most recognizable symbols in the world.
Today, we all witness how successful Google is in the technology sector. Their image has improved, becoming more user-friendly and at the same time, more refreshing and polished. For sure, in the coming years, it will provide even better innovation and cutting-edge technology that will revolutionize our lives to advanced living. In this case, further modifications will probably happen to their logo and branding – modifications that will surely adapt to the developing world.