The Origin of Google Logo Design
Without a doubt, Google is the most valuable brand in the world today. So powerful that it becomes the universal term for online search.
In case you’re wondering about the origin of its colorful text based logo, designer Ruth Kedar candidly recalls her experience working on this initial design without knowing it will be one of the most recognizable icons worldwide.
In 1999, Kedar was teaching design at Standford University when Google founders Larry Page and Sergei Brin approached for some design ideas. The big idea is to create a very unique logo to convey its search engine superiority and simplicity against other search engines such as Yahoo!, Lycos and Excite. Moreover, it must not appear too corporate or traditional.
After exploring many designs and directions, the final output is the famous logo we are now very familiar with. Kedar calls “deceptively simple” because it is “so subtle as to look almost non-designed”, making the logo very easy to on our eyes. The different colors represent memories of child play to signify simplicity.
The font used is based on an old style serif known as Catull. Kadar explains why she chose this font instead of then popular Web font Times New Roman.
Catull borrows elements from traditional writing instruments such as the quill and the chisel with a modern twist. Search, by nature, is an activity that requires we look into the past. Therefore Catull’s historical ties seemed appropriate, as did the bridging between the old analog world and the new emerging digital era.
It is really surprising to know the painstaking approach and symbolisms embedded in this plain looking logo design.
Via Google Blogoscoped
