Google's Mysterious Logo

Google regularly and temporarily changes its logo to emphasize significant events or dates. The latest ones appeared on September 5 and September 15. The September 5th logo, as shown below, consisted of a UFO that hovered over the letter “O.” Thus, many people discussed about the sudden change of the logo through facebook and twitter. Many commented that something related to a UFO must have happened that same day in history. Although the same typeface was used, the drawing of the UFO was quite noticeable. 

Image Source: Google Images

The September 15th logo consisted of typefaces that were formed by the shape of crop circles.  This subtle new logo was based on the talk about the spaceship last week. As one can tell from the image, the letter “L” is drawn by a truck, further implying that crop circles could all be a hoax. Furthermore, on its twitter page, Google posted the latitude and longitude of Surrey England, the place where a person saw a flying saucer on September 15 in 1985. 

Through this Google example, I learned how powerful logos can be. Without a lengthy explanation, the logo itself gets its main point across. Billions of people use Google daily, and everyone started to question the mysterious new logo. It caught so many people's attention. 

 In a sense, I personally think that a graphic designer has a lot of power and control over people. With whatever typeface or design they create, people are interested in them, and they really get involved in it. Moreover, they can shape people's thoughts as well. Such as the example above in the September 15th logo,  the hidden letter "L" signifies that crop circles are created by humans and not by aliens. The designer does not have to provide a long explanation. With the little truck, he or she expresses his or her beliefs. It actually reminded me of the saying "A picture is worth a thousand words." Although Google's latest logo may not necessarily be considered as a picture, it definitely conveys a lot more than its simple design. 

Sources:

http://www.mediabistro.com/baynewser/google_stuff/latest_google_logo_touches_off_new_firestorm_in_amateur_sleuth_community_131244.asp

http://www.examiner.com/x-10080-DC-Technology-Examiner~y2009m9d5- Googles-mysterious-unexplained-phenomenon-flying-saucer-logo-today