Given the opportunity to create their own Google homepage, sophomores in Graphic Design are designing artwork and submitting entries to “Doodle 4 Google,” a competition in which students create their own doodle for the chance to have it made into an interactive experience on the Google homepage.

“[Doodle for Google] gives students an opportunity to showcase their work and also gives Google a chance to kind of see what kids are interested in and who their younger audience is.” Graphic Design teacher Jeffrey Ball said.

Although applicants can submit work created on any medium of their choice, Graphic Design students will be creating their “Doodle 4 Google” entries on Adobe Illustrator.

“Every year ‘Doodle 4 Google’ has a different topic for students to do,” Ball said. “It’s meant to inspire creativity and see what students are interested in. This year’s theme is ‘what inspires me.’ I think this is an interesting topic because it’s about the students and to see what drives them to create.”

The final submission date is on Mar. 2 for anyone who wants to participate, but students will turn their assignment in on Jan. 30 and Feb. 1.

“I’m pretty excited to be submitting something to ‘Doodle 4 Google’,” sophomore Kiana Espinoza said. “It gives me an opportunity to express myself in the form of a design. This opportunity is exciting to have because anyone could be picked to win and be one of Google’s designs.”

Five winners will receive a $30,000 college scholarship, a technology package worth $50,000 for their school and a behind-the-scenes tour with Google’s “Doodle team” to turn their artwork into an interactive experience on the company’s homepage.

“Hopefully this project is teaching students to look inward and actually see what drives them,” Ball said. “Once they find out what actually drives them they can reach out and look at that more and get themselves going into whatever it is that they want to be doing.”

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