Earlier this month, I stumbled upon a Google event happening at SM Megamall in Manila. And no, the event was not a showcase of the new Nexus 8 or the official launch of the Chromebook. It was about doodles.
So What’s The Doodle?
At any day of the week, you will most likely see a weird version of Google’s logo in its homepage. Affectionately called “Doodles”, it is a modified and often cartoonish version of the official logo. Most of the time, it is designed for a special holiday happening on that day. The first of these doodles appeared in 1998. Later on, Google employee Dennis Hwang started designing these doodles in-house.
Since then, there have been Google Doodles for almost any occasion, like Andy Warhol’s birthday, the 2014 FIFA World Cup, or the American Independence Day. Now that the company has gone international, there are special doodles that appears only on a specific country’s Google site.
The Google Doodles are extraordinary; it violates the long-standing belief that a company should not change its logo often. While the word “Google” is retained, there are some cases where the letters are hard to recognize at all. However, with these constant changing of the logo, it seems that the company only manages to get more press and user attention.
Doodle 4 Google Philippines
The mall event I had stumbled upon earlier this August was in fact “Doodle 4 Google”, a drawing competition for youth held around the world, often asking local youths to reinvent the Google logo around a theme. Filled with Filipino youth under the age of 17, this contest encouraged them to submit their own Doodle artwork with the theme “What Can I Do For the Philippines”, asking the youth to show their love for the country through their art. The contest encourages the younger generations of Filipinos to discover ways to show their affection to their country in the form of art, and aided by technology.
If you live in the Philippines, and know someone who is below 17 years of age and can draw, get them to sign up for this contest. After all, the prize is a chance of a lifetime – for your artwork be featured on the front page of Google. The contest runs up to September 19, 2014.
If you are the lucky winner, you will get the following prizes:
- Your artwork featured on Google.com.ph
- An educational grant from BPI foundation
- Art Kit from National Bookstore
- An Acer C720 Chromebook
If you win the contest, your school (or your community learning center, depending on your choice) can also receive a “connectivity grant” courtesy of PLDT and Smart Foundation.
Doodle 4 Google Philippines is a big marketing push for Google, which officially opened their Philippine office just last year. Nevertheless it holds its merits: the contest encourages one to think and be creative, and challenges Filipino youth to critically think about their relationship with their home. I encourage everyone who can to at least give the contest a shot and submit your artwork. You can thank Vulcan Post later.