Google is always looking to improve its Search page, there are many hidden tools available by searching specific terms in both desktop and mobile platforms. The so-called Google Doodles appear frequently on the Search page, some of them are even interactive, making the page look more fun and they even provide interesting facts about the particular date when they appear. A few artists responsible for creating these customized logos were interviewed last month, explaining some complications about their job as well as some of the gratifying aspects of their creations. Now, in an interview, the Google Doodle team has shared some more about their job.
The Google Doodle team is composed of a dozen artists, some engineers and program managers, who are dedicated to educating and entertaining people who visit Google’s Search engine through innovative ways. The interview took place just when artist Olivia Huynh and two of her teammates, engineers Kristopher Hom and Tom Tabanao, were adding the finishing touches to an immersive Google Doodle which celebrated Wilbur Scoville, who invented the scale to measure the spice level of peppers. The designs for this year’s Doodles were discussed since last summer, and while Huynh started working on the sketches for this particular project in October, she joined the team just this month and today we can see the result. Doodlers usually have many projects at the same time and there’s a specific deadline as most of the drawings make reference to specific dates, yet, there are some based on news, so those usually have to get created within a single day.
Engineers are responsible of animating the Doodles in the various platforms and they also have to make sure the interactive illustrations work as they’re supposed to, even when there are many people interacting with them at the same time. Ryan Germick, the leader of the team for five years said that one of the most important aspects of the Doodles is the way they need to connect with people in an emotional way. They will keep investing in Doodles as they are more fun and useful in the space which is usually filled with rectangles and boxes. “Even if it’s a one-second smile, spread that across a billion users and that’s a billion seconds of smiling. In a small way, we as a team can consider more deeply the humanity of our users and acknowledge it, even if it doesn’t perfectly scale and takes more effort than a stock photo or logo.”, said Germick.