We all use Google at least once in a day and thus people know what a doodle is. Google does it on special occasions or to notify us about an epic moment that we ought to know. Here are the best Google Doodles I could find.
1. Lantern Festival
Google’s homepages were alight with this special logo in Taiwan and Hong Kong in 2012. The gorgeous illustration was created in order to mark the Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first month of China’s lunar year to mark the end of celebrations for the Chinese New Year.
2.Les Paul
Probably the most well known Google doodle is this playable guitar, which was created to remember the late musician and inventor, Les Paul. Launched on 9 June 2011, it marked what would have been his 96th birthday.
3. First Human in Space
On April 11, 1961, Russian air force pilot Yuri Gagarin blasted off on the first manned space flight in history. To mark the 50th anniversary of this amazing achievement, graphic artist and Google’s official chief doodler Dennis Hwang created this beautiful illustrated and interactive Google doodle.
4. First Day of Spring
Featuring a cute little character watering what seems to be a blank page, the letters of Google rapidly appear with beautiful flowers. This gorgeous little offering got everyone in the mood for the better weather on the first day of Spring 2014.
5. International Women’s Day
This really is one beautiful and inspiring Google doodle. Showcasing an illustrated logo, once the title is clicked, it introduces dozens of women from across the globe celebrating International Women’s Day. A rare glimpse into the world of some of the most inspiring women around.
6. Valentine’s Day
Who doesn’t love to receive chocolate on the day of love? This interactive Google doodle allowed anyone to create their own batch of chocolate flavoured treats and snacks to give to their nearest and dearest. It was seriously fun!
7. Jules Verne
Google paid homage to science-fiction writer Jules Verne on what would have been his 183rd birthday. The logo showcased a view of the ocean from a submarine which was clearly inspired by his iconic book ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
8. Charlie Chaplin
The Google Doodle paid tribute to silent film star Charlie Chaplin, with this short video, which celebrated what would’ve been his 122nd birthday.
9. JFK’s 50th Anniversary
On January 20th 2011, Google’s homepage donned this gorgeous typographic illustration to mark the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address, which included the immortal line: “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” The Google doodle team cleverly took the words from Kennedy’s speech and rearranged them to spell out the logo, with the second ‘G’ featuring a drawing of the former president.
10. Amelia Earhart
On July 24th, 2012, Google wanted to remind the world of the accomplishments and celebrate the life of pioneering female pilot Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. On what would have been her 115th birthday, the Google team came up with this simple yet stunning image of the aviator standing on an aeroplane, with ‘Google’ painted on the underside of the wings.
11. Google Zipper
I had to include this awesome animated zip doodle that I came across recently. Surely many of us sat and unzipped the Google homepage a few times the day it was launched. Clicking the zipper made the page split in two, revealing the doodle’s inspiration: Gideon Sundbäck, the Swedish-American credited with developing the zipper.
12. John Lennon
October 8, 2010, marked the first ever animated Google doodle, which was a short music video of ‘Imagine’, to commemorate John Lennon’s 70th birthday. The interactive illustration was created by a member of the Google Doodle team Mike Dutton who commented on the Google Doodle site: “The old saying, ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ still rings true, so I hope a moving picture will help me adequately – and simply – thank John for the memories.
All these Google Doodles are the best I could compile in this list. Lookout for more.