Google Android are almost as well-known for their ‘little green man’ mascot as they are for their smartphone and tablet computer operating system and the periodic ‘candy’ naming process of its latest versions, but it has been revealed that the corporate look of the brand could have differed completely based on the initial concept.
Google executive Dan Morrill recently showed off on Google+ his in-house work from 2007 that was being considered as the ‘concept illustration’ behind the Android logo.
He claims to be the designer of the four colourful robots, known as ’Dandroids’ after their creator, in the typical red-blue-green-yellow variations (that would have matched Google’s colours), but were dropped in favour of the ‘Bugdroid’ concept shortly after, a design which has stuck to this day.
Morrill noted of the drawings: “They had a brief flurry of minor popularity amongst the team – enough to pick up the nickname ‘Dandroids’, anyway. But then Irina Blok (as I recall) presented her work: the Bugdroid we all know and love. Funny how the professional work is of vastly higher quality than the amateur, isn’t it? Even so, these guys [Dandroids] have the distinction of being the first proposed mascots for Android (that I’m aware of, at least).”
Sega have Sonic the Hedgehog, McDonalds have Ronald McDonald, and every sports franchise or event under the sun has one, so a mascot is obviously a key part of establishing an identity, so did Google’s Android division make the right call in choosing ‘Bugroid’ over their more generic alternatives?
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