Google’s 27th Birthday: How the Tech Giant Celebrates Its Journey from BackRub to Global Innovation

Google Doodle brings back the 1998 design

To celebrate Google’s 27th birthday, the company showcased its first official wordmark from 1998 on the search homepage. This visual throwback, known as a Google Doodle, carried a simple message: “This Doodle marks Google’s 27th birthday. Thank you for searching with us throughout the years!”

The retro design evoked a sense of nostalgia for longtime users and introduced younger generations to the roots of the company’s visual identity.

Key details about the anniversary Doodle:

• Featured the first Google logo designed in 1998

• Visible on search homepages across multiple countries

• Marked the official September 27 birthday celebration

Google founding date and the early days of BackRub

Before becoming Google, the company started as a project called BackRub, developed by Stanford PhD students Larry Page and Sergey Brin. The project’s focus was building a search algorithm that ranked web pages by backlinks, a groundbreaking approach at the time.

While Google’s incorporation date was September 4, 1998, the company later chose September 27 as its official birthday. The reason ties back to indexing milestones and one of its earliest public Doodles.

Timeline of Google’s early development:

The surprising story of the Google name origin

The company’s name is a playful twist on “googol,” a mathematical term for the number 10 raised to the power of 100. Interestingly, a spelling error in registering the domain led to “Google” becoming the permanent brand name. This accident not only shaped the identity of the search engine but also became one of the most recognized names in the world.

The role of Ruth Kedar in shaping the Google 1998 logo

The first logo, re-introduced this year for the anniversary, was designed by Ruth Kedar, a Brazilian-born artist and Stanford professor. She chose the Catull typeface and a sequence of bold primary colors, breaking convention with a green “l” to symbolize Google’s unconventional approach.

Kedar’s design principles of simplicity and playfulness have influenced every logo update since, leading to the clean, modern version used today.

Why September 27 became the official birthday

Although the legal incorporation happened on September 4, Google celebrates its birthday on September 27. This date was tied to an early record in search indexing when the company publicly highlighted its rapid growth. Over time, the tradition stuck, and since the mid-2000s September 27 has been recognized as the official date.

Google 1998 logo to global innovation

From a two-person project to a global technology powerhouse, Google’s journey over the past 27 years has reshaped the internet. Today, its services extend beyond search into email, mapping, mobile software, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence.

Areas where Google has expanded beyond search:

• Gmail and productivity tools

• Google Maps and navigation services

• Android mobile operating system

• Google Cloud infrastructure

• AI research and development

• Hardware, including Pixel devices

Larry Page & Sergey Brin: the visionaries behind the search engine

The contributions of Larry Page and Sergey Brin remain central to Google’s legacy. Their original vision of organizing the world’s information and making it universally accessible still guides the company’s innovations. From garage headquarters in Menlo Park to global offices in more than 50 countries, their idea has transformed into an essential tool for billions of users daily.

A legacy built over 27 years

Celebrating its 27th anniversary, Google is more than a search engine—it is a cultural and technological landmark. From the Google 1998 logo to the modern minimalist design, and from the BackRub project to artificial intelligence breakthroughs, the company’s journey reflects constant reinvention.

The birthday Doodle not only honors the past but also hints at the company’s continued role in shaping the future of digital technology.