Dynamic logos: What we can learn from Google’s Doodle – A Case Study

Visual communication and brand identity design work to build interactive and engaging visual elements for brands. They aim to enhance a brand’s social appeal with elements like logo, type design, colour palette, symbols, etc. A logo is the heartbeat of visual design for its use across various branding collaterals. Like websites, business cards, packaging, socials, letterheads, contracts, and other communication collaterals. Making it the most critical design element that represents a brand’s values and goals.

As the era of digital transformation and emerging technologies ushered in, visual and graphic designers experimented with various design elements. To engage users with interactive renderings and animations. Paving the way for the use of dynamic logos.

What is a dynamic logo?

Dynamic logos mean logos with multiple iterations. From changing colours, shapes, forms, etc. while factoring in different situations, user interests, and environments. Compared to traditional logos which have a static nature, dynamic logos are flexible and shape-shift their appearance to immerse their audience.

Known for its diverse range and abilities, dynamic logos represent an evolving and adaptable nature of the brand. Also known as responsive or fluid logos, they are the chameleons in brand identity design. Scientifically Chameleons change their skin tones to adapt to the environment. Dark colours help the Chameleon to absorb more heat, and turning pale helps it to reflect the sun’s heat in summer. Similarly, designers use dynamic logos as a form of interaction and to form a connection with their audience. Adapting to and targeting diverse user needs.

With its versatile nature, Dynamic logos are an ideal fit for our rapidly evolving tech-driven world. One of the most successful case studies of dynamic logos is the Google Doodle.

Google’s dynamic logo design: The Google Doodle

Often a visit to the global search engine, Google, offers us an engaging new Google logo design. A dynamic variation of their logo. One that celebrates global leaders, innovators of the past, noble prize winners, festive celebrations, and new seasons with its famous Google Doodle. Doodles make use of static variations, animated motions, and styled visuals.

Google Doodles are dynamic clickable logos that expand into informative pages. Competent in its design sensibilities, building curiosity amongst users and generating more click-rate for Google.

Here are the main features of Google Doodle that make it a great case study for logo, graphics, type, UX/UI, brand identity, visual communication, and other designers.

1. Call Attention:

The Doodles are designed to call attention to events, celebrations, important dates, people, etc.

2. Specific messaging

They carry limited and specific messaging about the design. For instance: a Diwali Doodle will take the users to an information page about Diwali.

3. Enhance targeted reach

Doodles are a great example of enhancing brand identity. Doodles around Indian Republic Day will be visible to the Indian user base only. Allowing a direct connection to form between the brand and its users.

4. Informative and educational

Google Doodles offers learning that is both immersive and entertaining. The Doodle design team at Google launches Doodles on important dates and birth anniversaries. They serve the purpose of being informative and educational for the users.

For instance, Google India paid tribute to Anasuya Sarabhai on her 132nd birthday to highlight her work in the women’s labour movement.

Google Doodles design strategy pillars

We can decipher the Google Doodle design strategy under the following pillars:

1. Relevance

Doodle designs are clickable to offer users information about the design. A strategic design initiative by Google that incorporates its search engine capabilities and reflects design innovation.

2. Differentiation

Dynamic doodles are global differentiators for Google. They help define Google as a leading global search engine that celebrates and notifies important dates in an immersive manner. Making Google Doodles an outstanding case study for design professionals to build market differentiators powered by design strategy.

3. Knowledge

Doodles are designed to be informative and educational. Google uses Doodles as a knowledge-building tool for its community and to keep them actively engaged.

4. Esteem

Doodles are a power tool for Google reflecting its impressive design and IT prowess. Establishing the brand as a market leader.

Learnings for design professionals from Google’s Doodle design strategy

a. Power of visual design storytelling

Every Google Doodle has a story. A narration of a historic event, an important date, or celebrating a festival. Doodles are strategized as a powerful design storytelling tool for Google. The Doodle design team builds immersive narratives in design using motions, animations, and other visual elements to bring out the Doodle theme. The design team often collaborates with Google’s AI and Data Science experts to drive immersive experiences.

b. Design innovation in a contained space

Dynamic logos have a limited and defined space. In the case of Google Doodles, the Google brand logo is the defined space for designers to work with. With this restrictive space, the Doodle design team brings out experiences that reflect immense concept and theme clarity. Showcasing creativity and design innovation within a limited space.

c. Designing for diversity and inclusivity

A key learning from Google Doodle is its connectivity with global cultures and regions. The brand empowers its user base with unique stories. Bringing in cultural diversity and inclusivity. Celebrating local regional festivities to global holidays. In India itself, Doodles celebrate various festivals like Diwali, Holi, Christmas, Lohri, etc.

d. Designing for user engagement

The dynamic doodles of Google often make use of interactive elements. These are playful in nature and gain instant user attention. The design is adaptive and layered to lead the users to the final design visual. Keeping them engaged throughout.

e. Transformative power of type design

Google Doodles are an ideal inspiration for designers to learn creative play in type design. Doodles showcases a mastery of Doodle design teams’ playful use of font, size, scale, and hues. While also integrating animated and adaptive elements into the type design.

f. Intelligent design: Integration of tech in design

Doodles embraced their first tech in design in March 2019. Marking the 334th birthday of celebrated German composer Johann Sebastian Bach. The Doodle team leveraged the power of machine learning and artificial intelligence. Training their AI on 306 of Bach’s chorus harmonies. Allowing users to interact with the Doodle, immersed them in building their melody and converted it into a Bach-style harmony using AI.

Google Doodles are a classic example of innovation and consistency. For decades, the Doodles have been bringing lost, untold, and cultural fables, like Bach’s music, to life. Offering a targeted user base an immediate immersive experience, a nostalgic connection, and relevance to the brand’s search engine capabilities.

Doodles in this reference have been reinforcing Google’s global dominance for being a relevant source of information. Each Doodle reveals the design marvels of the Doodle design team and the hyper-connectivity of dynamic doodles with its audience.