Most tech companies change their logo once or twice in a lifetime. But for Google, rebranding is a weekly exercise: since August 30, 1998 (exactly 25 years ago today) the search giant has regularly replaced its official homepage emblem with artistic Doodles that recognize historical figures, events and inventions.
Burning Man is where it all began: with Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin taking a few days off to attend the Nevada desert festival, they dreamt up a creative way to share their holiday status with staff. Inspired by the humanoid sculpture that stands tall at the festival venue, they inserted a sketchy stick-figure behind the second letter “o” of the Google logo. Its position was a humorous riff on corporate “out of office” notifications, a reference that was relevant to its audience: the site didn’t go public until a month later, so Google employees were the first Doodle’s only viewers.
