The best of the Google Doodles – Part 1

In the 15 years since its founding, Google’s minimalistic homepage has greeted users with more than 1,500 twists on its traditional logo.

While the first Doodle – an out-of-office notice – was a quirky web design decision made to brighten up otherwise unremarkable search sessions, the designs have since paid homage to the anniversaries of historic world events, famous birthdays, achievements, advancements and cultural events that are meaningful in different ways.

It has been hard pinning down just which of the sketches, paintings and interactive images have made a lasting impression on us, but here we begin our countdown of the top 15 Google Doodles.

15) Valentine’s Day and George Ferris’ 154th birthday – February 14, 2013

To simultaneously mark the birthday of George Ferris – famous, of course, for his invention of what is arguably the staple feature of fairs and carnivals the world over – and Valentine’s Day 2012, Google let users randomly match pairs of love-struck animals at a fairground. Scenarios ranged from a horse and tiger stargazing upon a hill to an excitable squirrel smashing out banjo tunes for an unimpressed chameleon.

14) 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall – November 9, 2009

Not all of the most poignant Doodles are interactive. In 2009, Google marked 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall with a simple yet bold watercolour-style image of silhouetted heads peering through a gap in the concrete.

13) Total lunar eclipse – June 15, 2011

Mirroring the amazing cosmic spectacle two years ago, Google used live imaging to update the moon on its homepage in real time, as it went through the various stages of the eclipse cycle.

12) The 40th anniversary of Comic-Con – July 23 2009

With some impressive artwork from DC’s own Jim Lee, this still but nonetheless engaging Doodle saw an airborne Google logo decked out with some of DC Comic’s best loved figures, including Batman, Wonder Woman and the Green Lantern.

11) Anniversary of the publication of Pinocchio – July 7 2009

It seems July 2009 was a great month for the search giant’s more impressive still art Doodles, as Google published a heart-warming, nostalgic piece showing Pinocchio – the wooden fibber made famous by Disney’s seminal 1940s film – sitting atop Geppetto’s sawdust-strewn workbench.

Next, we’ll continue our countdown with entries 10 – 6.

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Richard Bell

Richard is a Web Content Editor at Engage Web. He has had work published in a number of independent magazines and spends much of his spare time writing short stories.

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