Discover how Doodles are made

Behind the Doodle: Celebrating Willi Ninja

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Behind the Doodle: Celebrating Willi Ninja

The process

How are Doodles made?

The idea

The Doodle team receives thousands of global ideas every year from both internal Googlers and the public. Guided by a set of Doodle principles, a committee of Googlers gather annually over the course of several months to determine which topics we will doodle for in the next calendar year. Through careful research, discussion with cultural consultants, local experts and more, the committee crafts an annual list of hundreds of Doodles that celebrate a range of interesting topics from around the world.

Step 1

Assembling the team

Behind every Doodle is a team of Googlers—artists, designers, engineers, marketers, and program managers. The team also often partners closely with the family members of Doodle subjects, cultural consultants, and subject matter experts. Assembling this dynamic global team is critical for bringing Doodles to life in the most authentic way possible.

Step 2

Research

To fully grasp the story and nuance of the Doodle subject, the team conducts thorough research. This research directly fuels the Doodle art direction and storytelling approach.

Step 3

Concepting

Doodle artists, designers, and engineers explore different creative approaches to capturing the subject in one of our many Doodle formats. These approaches often start as simple sketches. The team holds creative review sessions to align on a single direction and concept.

Step 4

Iteration and testing

All Doodle concepts are refined many times over before they appear on screens all over the globe. This is especially true for our interactive games, which require additional iteration, building, and testing.

Step 5

Launch time!

Whether celebrating a world event or historical figure, Doodles launch on dates that are notably connected to their subject. Oftentimes there are multiple Doodles running around the world, at the same time in different locations. Most Doodles launch for only 24 to 48 hours—but they live forever on doodles.google.

Step 6

Meet our guest artists

We are proud to partner with local artists from communities around the globe to bring Doodles to life. Learn more about our guest artists and the Doodles they've helped create.