Google, as we all know, is the prime search engine on the cyberspace. The all famous Google logo is recognized for its multicolored scheme and unique font type. The logo design prompts the question of whether it is the color or symbol that makes a logo unforgettable.

We have heard a lot about Google Doodle contests, but have you ever come across hilarious fake parodies of the Google logos? Many Google logo designs are tailor-made for several occasions and festive days like Christmas, Halloween and Easter. But this innovative stockpile of fake parodies of the Google logos is something that you would surely enjoy.

Although there were plenty of humorous logos to choose from, I have picked out 30 of the funniest logoogles to share with you, courtesy www.logoogle.com

1. Google Shrek

2. Goooooogle

3. Spoogle

4. Goofy Google

5. Gargle

6. “Eye Tester” Google

7. Google Code

8. Stroodle

9. Giggle

10. Yahoogle

11. Gbay

12. Ringoogle

13. Gargolye

14. Guess Whoogle

15. Mc Google

16. Google Coke

17. Google Pac-Man

18. Goggles

19. Gaggle

20. Gaygle

21. Google ?

22. Google Burn

23. Google Mirror

24. Google Stutter

25. Google Alert

26. Moogle

27. Screwgle

28. Noodle

29. Google Discovery

30. Google Tax Day

What made famous logos – Color or symbol?

In order to analyze this, let us take examples of some of the famous logos of the corporate world. Let us start with an examination of McDonald’s logo shall we? Although the logo contains nothing more than a mere “M”, it is still memorable than any other brand in the world. From psychological perspective, the color “yellow”, used in McDonalds’ logo, stimulates the human appetite. No wonder a majority of restaurants and cafés use the color yellow in their logo design. Another feature of the yellow color is that it is an attention getter. This strengthens the McDonald’s logo cause even more, as customers are attracted by the color. Hence the McDonald’s logo success depends greatly on its color rather than its symbol.

Why do you suppose the Google logo is easily recalled for? Just like McDonald’s, it has no catchy symbol in its design, but the color scheme is what captivates its users the most. The colorful and vivid way in which Google is written is responsible for the memorable logo we all remember. Come to think of it, how would you feel if Google was in black and white? Pretty strange, I presume?

Let us pick another famous brand, the FedEx logo, and analyze the influence of its attributes. This acclaimed corporate identity was designed by Lindon Leader of Landor Associates. The epicenter of FedEx brand identity was its meticulously created symbol. The words contained an arrow between the “E” and “X”, providing one of the most memorable logos in the world. Hence “symbol” became the dominating factor for memorization.

Coming to the all-famous Nike logo, the simple and effective swoosh symbol is the force behind the success of the brand identity. Although the black color has no apparent effect on people, the simple and minimalist design is what the customers easily remember and recall.

The significance of color in logo design:

• Black: authority and power, stability and strength.
• White: purity, cleanliness, neutrality and peace.
• Red: attention, energy, movement and excitement.
• Blue: calming, steadfastness, dependability, wisdom and loyalty

• Green: growth, nature, money, good luck, generosity and fertility
• Yellow: laughter, happiness, optimism, speed up metabolism
• Orange: fun, happiness, energetic and ambition
• Purple: royalty, wealth, prosperity and sophistication

The significance of symbol in logo design:

The old adage “A picture is worth a thousand words” is aptly applicable in logo designing. The symbolic effect of a logo is also as effective as the color. The use of apposite symbols to denote the company meaning through a logo design is vital in creating memorable logos. However, inappropriate use of symbols in the design can tarnish the corporate identity of any business. Following are some symbols used in logo design and their effects:

• Text logos: the logo created out of textual pattern shows strength and elegance. Additionally, the ambigram trick gives way for memorable logos to be created.
• Imagery logos: Images are easily comprehended and effortlessly memorized by the human mind. Moreover, the use of negative space is something that is an added advantage in imagery logos.
• Combination logos: A combination of both text and imagery gives more detail and influence to the logo design.

Often you come across logo designs that make you think “where have I seen this before?” What do you assume at that point in time? Is it a copy? Is it inspired or just a co-incidence? While it is easy being judgmental on a look-alike logo design, but the truth is not that simple. The menace of plagiarism and content stealing was initially found prevalent in the academic field. Students who are unable to solve or submit their assignments within due date, resort to copy-paste stuff from the internet, claiming it to be original.

But nowadays, the blogosphere is one the most vulnerable place, prone to plagiarism and copyright infringement cases. With the advent of online logo design, this nuisance has been rampant in the logo design industry as well. But hold on… its not just logo plagiarism or copying we’re talking about. When we look at identical logos or logo designs that look alike, there are three conclusions that may been drawn from it. The first could be that it is an imitation of another logo design. Second, it may have been inspired by an already present design. Last, it is just by chance that the logo designs look alike. When it comes to logo design, there is a thin line between plagiarism, inspiration and coincidence. Let us analyze each facet individually.  

1) Plagiarism – Copy Cat:

The word “plagiarism” comes from the Latin origin meaning “kidnapping”. Plagiarism in the logo design world refers to kidnapping others logo design ideas and thoughts. You wouldn’t like it if someone steals your efforts and reaps its fruits, would you? It is a mostly a downright copy-paste job that implies using others logo and labeling it as your own. Logo plagiarism occurs mostly when the offending party is incompetent of designing a logo within due time and resorts to stealing existing logo designs from the internet.  

2) Inspiration – Stimulating Ideas:

Let’s move on to the next aspect, inspiration. Picture this example. Newton was sitting beneath an apple tree. Suddenly, an apple falls on his head. This gave him motivation to think why this happened. Consequently, Newton discovered gravity. In the scenario, the fallen apple was the source of inspiration since it caused the interest and motivation in Newton. The notion of gravity is the inspiration. Similar is the case with logo designs. When logo designers plan for a corporate logo, they mostly refer to the competitor logos for inspiration and to get a rough idea of what the field demands. This stimulates new and distinct ideas and a somewhat analogous logo design is evolved. The example below….do you really think it’s an inspiration?  

3) Coincidence – Twist of Fate:

Finally, over to the most interesting feature…coincidence. This is the part where logos look alike just by sheer chance. Sometimes, two identical logo designs emerge out of no connection whatsoever. This happens mostly due to lack of research and investigation on the part of a logo designer. When beginning with their logo design, designers should always make sure that what they create must not coincide with the already present designs. Therefore, what do you say about this coincidence between “Google Buzz and UNO”?

“Ida,” is the little fossil that was recently found in Germany and is considered to be the “missing link.” The fossil is a huge find for those who study human origins. Paleontologist, Jorn Hurum, is responsible for leading the team and analyzed the 47-million-year-old fossil. He suggests Ida is a critical missing-link species in primate evolution. His studies show that the Ida fossil bridges the evolutionary split between higher primates such as monkeys, apes, and humans and their more distant relatives such as lemurs.

Ida, properly known as Darwinius masillae, has a very unique anatomy. The skeleton is mostly like a lemur, but features primate-like characteristics such as grasping hands, opposable thumbs, clawless digits with nails, and short limbs. After the announcement was made about the fossil’s discovery, it seems Google took advantage, using the fossil’s image for today’s Google logo.

Google has always been great with keeping up with current events and displaying what is going on through their logo art. It’s nice to see that they continue to do so by proudly including Ida in their design.
-Nora Reed