When internet users in the Philippines went online on June 12, 2018 using the popular search engine Google, they were met by a new Doodle depicting the Philippines Independence Day.
Google Doodles, those “fun, surprising, and sometimes spontaneous changes that are made to the Google logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of famous artists, pioneers, and scientists,” has in fact featured the Philippines Independence Day a total of nine times already.
GoodNewsPilipinas.com put together this list of Philippines-inspired Doodles to celebrate the country’s independence.
1. Philippines Independence Day 2018
To celebrate the 120th Philippines Independence Day, Google deviated from illustrating the event with the usual Philippine flag colors and icons and instead featured the country’s celebrated marine life.
The Doodle showed an underwater scene from the seas of the Philippines with lush colorful corals, blue-spotted sting rays, Moorish idols, a sperm whale, and a school of fish.
The picture-perfect image is wrapped by a ribbon frame bearing the Philippine flag colors of blue, yellow, and red with the Google logo in white, the fourth color of the national flag.
The image is wrapped in a ribbon frame depicting the colors of the Philippine flag.
Clicking on the image shows Google search results for the keywords “Philippines Independence Day.”
2. Philippine Independence Day 2017
Google’s Doodle for the 119th Philippine Independence Day in 2017 is described as on the page a colorful celebration of both the Philippine flag and the country’s unique island landscapes.
“Each component of the flag’s design holds specific meaning. The prominent sunburst has eight rays to represent the eight provinces that began the fight for independence, while the three surrounding stars represent the country’s three island groups: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
With more than 7,000 islands that make up the country, there is no shortage of opportunities to watch the sun rise over the water. The sunrise imagery in the Doodle is meant to capture Filipinos’ optimism in the face of adversity.
In the foreground of today’s Doodle, a group of people gather for a traditional flag-raising ceremony. Accompanied by the Philippine national anthem, these ceremonies are held daily at schools and weekly in government institutions.
Maligayang Araw ng Kalayaan (Happy Independence Day)!”
Illustrated by guest artist, Dan Matutina
3. Philippines Independence Day 2016
The 118th Philippine Independence Day in 2016 featured the unique Philippine jeepney.
The Google description notes that Independence Day came a month after the national elections. “We can see elated citizens celebrating on a jeepney: an iconic Filipino traveling vehicle. You can see these types of buses all over Manila, which is the capital and the center of many of today’s festivities. One of the most important Freedom Day traditions is the raising of the flag, and cities all over the Philippines will proudly hoist the blue, red and white.
As Filipinos rally around their new President, Vice President and senators, we hope today’s Doodle inspires a sense of bayanihan — a sense of working together for a common cause. The brilliant colors of the Doodle and the hopeful faces reflect the bright future of this great nation and its people.”
Doodle by Robinson Wood
4. Philippines Independence Day 2015
Google’s explanation of the Doodle to celebrate the Philippines’ 117th year of independence: “Our doodle highlights the sun, stars and colors found in the national flag. The eight rays of the sun represent the eight provinces and the three stars represent the main island groups: Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.”
Illustrated by guest artist, Ana Ramírez
5. Philippine Independence Day 2014
The Filipino tradition of “Bayanihan” is depicted in the 2014 Doodle to commemorate the 116th Philippine Independence Day.
“Happy Independence Day to the Philippines! Our doodle depicts “Bayanihan,” a Filipino tradition where members of a community help a family move by literally carrying their house to a new place.”
6. Philippine Independence Day 2013
The Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite – actual site of the 1898 proclamation of independence from the Spanish colonizers – was the icon of choice for the Google Doodle celebrating the 115th Philippine Independence Day.
The scene is rendered in the colors of the Philippine flag: the 7-storey mansion is decked in white, blue, and red, the sun’s yellow amidst blue skies and white clouds, and Katipuneros wearing yellow hats lined up in front of the house.
The Doodle shows an animated flag being waved where the Philippine flag was first officially presented in public from the window of the general’s ancestral home.
7. Philippines Independence Day 2012
Google Doodle for the 114th Philippine Independence Day in 2012 went back to basics using water colors and sketch-like rendition of the logo bearing the white, blue, and red colors of the Philippine flag with the middle O rendered as the flag’s yellow sun with the three yellow stars.
8. Philippines Independence Day 2010
Google thumb-marked its logo Doodle for the 112th Philippine Independence Day – in keeping with the mood of the country which held its presidential elections a month before.
Thumbprint swirls marked the logo design of Google over the Philippine flag, and the stylized yellow sun replaced the second O of Google.
9. Philippines Independence Day 2009
The 111th Philippine Independence Day marked the first time Google made a Doodle for the country’s anniversary event.
Fittingly, the Google logo was rendered in the colors of the national flag – white for G, the yellow sun with the three stars replacing the first O, and the letters OGLE donning the blue and red.
Google says it has created over 2000 doodles for homepages around the world.
Doodles are decided by a group of Googlers who get together regularly to brainstorm and decide which events will be celebrated with a doodle. The ideas for the doodles come from numerous sources including Googlers and Google users. The doodle selection process aims to celebrate interesting events and anniversaries that reflect Google’s personality and love for innovation.
A team of illustrators and engineers are behind each and every doodle. Google welcomes ideas for Doodles sent via email to proposals@google.com
Your Philippine Independence Day Google Doodle might be next!
