So what is a Google Doodle? "Doodles" are creative Google logos that appear on some special days, to commemorate scientific and artistic achievements, historic or seasonal events, and other local occasions. Their eye-catching designs also often teach you something new about a day, event or occasion whenever you happen to stumble upon them. For over a decade, Google has been designing innovative logos called 'Doodles' for its homepage and Dennis Hwang - the master doodler - has been driving this innovation. In August 2009, Google India decided to unleash the creativity of thousands of children in India as we announced India's first ever doodling competition called Doodle4Google™.
The contest was open to all students from 1st-10th standard where they were given the freedom to imagine their own version of the Google logo, inspired by the theme "My India". The contest was judged by an esteemed panel of judges that comprised renowned cartoonist, N. Ponnappa, internationally acclaimed artist Raghava KK and the faculty of the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad - India's premier design institute. The doodles were evaluated on the basis of artistic merit, creativity and how well the doodle vision has been explained.
Puru Pratap Singh's doodle was chosen from over 4000 doodles submitted by students across the country, and was selected based on artistic merit, creativity, and expression of the theme.
Puru Pratap Singh, a 4th standard student from Gurgaon (NCR), has been announced as the winner of the Doodle 4 Google competition. This announcement was made by Shailesh Rao, Managing Director, Google India and Dennis Hwang at a celebration today in New Delhi for the 46 semi-finalists and their families. Each Doodle submitted represented the immense creative talent and richness of ideas of students across the country.
The winning doodle is titled "My India - Full of Life". In addition to having his doodle on the Google homepage appear all day on 14th November, Puru will receive a laptop computer, a t-shirt with his doodle and a INR I,00,000 technology grant for his school. The champion doodler has been drawing since he could hold a crayon. In addition, all finalists will be given a Doodle4Google™ certificate along with a Google goody bag.
"At Google we like to play! "Doodle4Google™ symbolizes that playful spirit of Google and is a celebration of creativity and in this case, of India. We are excited to present the results of India's first edition of this contest and laud the young Indian doodlers who have showcased their wonderful creativity in the form of inspiring doodles that represent the various facets of India," remarks Shailesh Rao, Managing Director, Google India
Adds Dennis Hwang, the Master Doodler "India is a land of creative minds. For centuries, Indian art has continued to fascinate people from across the globe. It was amazing to see how young kids could come out with highly creative Doodles that truly define the culture and tradition of this incredible country. Choosing the successful entry was not easy as every Doodle depicts India in a unique manner."
The three national finalists are listed below. To see all the finalists' doodles, go to- http://www.google.co.in/intl/en/doodle4google/index.html
