From iconic illustrations to Google Doodle games, we look back at the most fun designs across the decades.
(Image credit: Google)
The best Google Doodles are a beacon of the rich culture that has shaped our lives today. What started as a novel out-of-office message has grown into a marker of Google's playful identity, with a diverse archive of unique creations. From wholesome illustrations to interactive games, no two Doodles are the same, and nearly 27 years on, we're still amazed by the latest designs.
Google Doodles have had quite an evolution since they were first introduced back in 1998. What started as the odd playful logo illustration has transformed into a broad collection of over 5,000 unique designs. While Google has grown from its humble search engine roots into the tech giant behind some of the best budget camera phones, its Doodles and Google Easter Eggs remain a wholesome reminder of its playful beginnings. These are just some of our favourites.
This heartfelt Google Doodle celebrates the unity of generations passing on the wisdom of womanhood. Created by artist Sophie Diao, the touching illustration captures a spirit of comfort, featuring a cosy quilt embroidered with symbols of gender equality progress from across the decades, from sports to science.
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"There's so much to learn from the experiences of those who came before us, as well as the wonder of those who are experiencing life for the first time," Sophie says.
02. Wubbo Ockels' 74th birthday
(Image credit: Google)
Dr. Wubbo Ockels was the Netherlands’ first citizen in space, and this Google Doodle celebrates his birthday. Renowned for his positive outlook on life, he was a champion of sustainable energy. We love the zero-gravity effect shown here as he gently undulates in space. And the moustache is pretty fun, too.
The doodle's cheerful parade was created to celebrate Columbia's Carnaval de Barranquilla, an annual celebration of cultural heritage that stems from indigenous, African, and European traditions. Look out for the traditional masks and costumes amidst this character-filled, stylised illustration that's sure to raise a smile.
In 2017, Google celebrated hip-hop's 44th anniversary with an ambitious Google Doodle that included a custom logo by graffiti artist Cey Adams, interactive turntables on which you could mix samples from classic tracks, and a serving of hip-hop history, with an emphasis on its founding pioneers.
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Google Doodles don’t just celebrate glamorous topics, but also the humble creations that have changed our lives in subtle ways. A perfect example is this fun animated doodle from 2017 paying tribute to the hole punch, an incredible feat of German engineering that deserves to be marvelled at.
This moody, yet captivating Google Doodle honours the 93rd birthday of Turkish sculptor Kuzgun Acar. Known for his distinct experimental style, Acar used welding materials like wire, nails, and scrap metal to create his abstract creations.
8 May 2013 would have been graphic designer and filmmaker Saul Bass's 93rd birthday. Some of his best-known designs are cleverly recreated in an animated Google Doodle, which includes his work on Anatomy of a Murder, The Man with the Golden Arm, Vertigo, North by Northwest and Psycho.
There's nothing like a Google Doodle that you can interact with, and this fun game is one of our faves. Dedicated to Frank Zamboni, the American inventor of the ice resurfacer, it features some pesky ice-skaters that create marks on the ice. It's your job to smooth things over, using the arrow keys.
London's Tube map, created by electric draughtsman Harry Beck in 1931, turned out to be one of the best design ideas in the world, and widely imitated everywhere. The design takes on a new form in this doodle, with 'Google' being spelt out within the rail lines. You need to look closely, but it is there!
Little Nemo in Slumberland, a comic strip about a small boy's adventures, ran in the New York Herald from 1905-1911. This 2012 Google doodle celebrated artist Winsor McCay's 107th anniversary through an interactive comic strip. You click the tab at the end of each animated section to move on to the next part.
In 2011, to honour the late musician and inventor Les Paul, Google created this playable guitar as the day's Google Doodle. In just 48 hours, Americans used it to record 5.1 years worth of music (40 million songs), and those songs were played back 870,000 times. See it in action in the video above.
Most Google Doodles have been illustrated or animated, but here's a notable exception. To mark what would have been the 100th birthday of French photographer Robert Doisneau, this Google doodle features four of his famous images: The Tugboat, The Three Children, Dog on Wheels and The Kiss.
This 2017 Google Doodle was created during Computer Science Education Week to honour 50 years since kids' programming languages were introduced. Coding for Carrots involved a big collaboration between the Google Doodle team, Google Blockly team, and researchers from MIT Scratch. It's a fan favourite for many reasons, mainly thanks to its adorable design and addictive gameplay.
Google unveiled its first interactive doodle in 2010 to mark the 30th anniversary of classic arcade game Pac-Man, remains one of its best. Based on the original game logic, graphics and sounds, and even original bugs from the 1980s masterpiece, it's still an addictive treat to this day.
15. Lego
Lego's 50th anniversary was celebrated by the Google team with this awesome doodle
This cool Lego doodle was created to mark the little toy brick's 50th anniversary in 2008. Fun fact: Lego art has a special place in Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin's hearts: they used the bricks as the casing for 4GB hard disks, for a server they were making when they were developing the search engine.
16. The Gerald “Jerry” Lawson Google Doodle game
Behind the Doodle: Gerald "Jerry" Lawson's 82nd Birthday - YouTube
In December 2022, the Google Doodle honoured Jerry Lawson, one of the fathers of modern gaming, on what would have been his 82nd birthday. And rather than a simple doodle, it was practically an entire retro gaming system. As well as various 8-bit platformers and Pong-esque puzzlers, the Doodle dashboard features a level editor, which lets users design a game of their own. The games were designed by three American guest artists and game designers: Davionne Gooden, Lauren Brown, and Momo Pixel. You can still play the game at the Google Doodle archive.
The history of the Google Doodle
The first Google doodle (Image credit: Google)
The first Google Doodle was posted on 27 August 1998 as a message to say that the team were going to be out of the office at Burning Man (just in case the system crashed). But the idea was a hit, benefiting from the minimalism of the Google homepage.
An outside contractor took on the Google Doodle design brief until 2000, when Brin and Page asked PR guy Dennis Hwang to design a logo for Bastille Day. Since then, a team called 'Doodlers' have organised and published Google Doodles regularly.
Tom May is an award-winning journalist and editor specialising in design, photography and technology. Author of the Amazon #1 bestseller Great TED Talks: Creativity, published by Pavilion Books, Tom was previously editor of Professional Photography magazine, associate editor at Creative Bloq, and deputy editor at net magazine. Today, he is a regular contributor to Creative Bloq and its sister sites Digital Camera World, T3.com and Tech Radar. He also writes for Creative Boom and works on content marketing projects.
