A chance to doodle with Google

Logos will be on homepage

The logos, called ‘Doodles’ are posted on Google’s homepage to mark birthdays of famous persons, or scientific and artistic achievements.

A Google spokesperson told Deccan Herald that the aim of the competition is to learn the kind of visual picture children from standard I to standard X have of India. “We would like the picture they have of India to be expressed through the doodles they create,” said Aravind Desikan, head of consumer marketing, Google India.

“It could be anything from historical and cultural symbols, to the most modern representations of the country such as cricket and ‘Chandrayaan’,” he further added.
The search company has created a special site: www.google.co.in/doodle4google, from where children can download details of the competition and the template the company has created using the designs of Dennis Hwang, the man behind the doodles that have adorned Google’s homepage for over 10 years.

Conducted in three categories -for children in classes I to III, IV to VI and VII to X,  the competition is open for entries till the end of September. A panel of judges will pick 45 final entries from 600 best designs selected internally by Google. “The panel consists of experts from National Institute of Design (NID) Ahmedabad. Cartoonist M Ponnappa and emerging artist Ragava K K are also part of the panel that will choose the best entries,” Desikan added.

The selected entries will be posted online, giving a chance for the public to vote on the best three entries in each of the categories. The best doodle will be picked by Dennis Hwang himself.  “Besides seeing their doodle on our homepage on November 14, the birthday of our first Prime Minister which is marked as children's day, the winner will also get a laptop and a technology grant of Rs 1 lakh,” the Google India spokesperson said.
“From the product point of view, we have been trying to address Indian challenges by introducing our search in several local languages. Perhaps this is the emotional approach to the idea of ‘connecting with India’. Besides, being a well-known online brand, we would like people to share and celebrate things they consider the most exciting. This goes well with our philosophy of being 'serious without a suit’.”

The company is personally sending details about the competition to 10,000 schools across the country. They are including training materials for teachers to train their students.