Google’s 27th Birthday: Meet Ruth Kedar, The Designer Who Created Its Iconic Logo

As Google marks its 27th birthday, it’s not just the search engine that’s being celebrated. The spotlight is also on Ruth Kedar – the woman who designed the logo that has become as familiar as the company itself. Also Read: Adobe Brings Google’s Nano Banana AI To Photoshop: How To Use It

Kedar’s story is not your typical Silicon Valley tale. Born in Campinas, Brazil, in 1955, she moved with her family to Israel when she was just 16. It was a tough shift – new culture, new language – but she leaned on what she loved most: math and art. That mix took her into architecture, and she even ran her own studio for a while. Still, something was missing. After a few years, she packed her bags again, this time heading to the US to continue her studies. Also Read: Google Plans To Bring Android To PCs Soon: What We Know So Far

At Stanford, she pursued a Master’s in Design. One of her projects – a playing card design that caught the eye of Adobe – turned into a real career break. She worked on Adobe’s promotional Illustrator deck, later became Art Director at the company, and eventually returned to Stanford as a Visiting Art Professor. Also Read: Google Photos Expands Conversational Editing From Pixel 10 To More Android Phones

That’s where fate stepped in. Two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, were working on a little project that would later change the world. They asked Kedar to design their logo. She could have dismissed it as just another student request, but instead she took it seriously.

Kedar chose the Catull typeface – a serif font that balanced tradition with something fresher and more forward-looking. She added a playful twist with primary colours. To her, those colours weren’t just bold and eye-catching; they symbolised endless possibility, much like search itself.

What she created wasn’t just a logo. It was the start of a visual identity that outlasted design fads and trends. The foundation she laid also gave rise to the Google Doodle, a quirky tradition that millions look forward to even today.

Nearly three decades later, Google’s look has evolved, but the DNA of Kedar’s design remains intact. On its 27th birthday, it’s worth remembering the professor who gave the internet’s front door its very first face.