Google has chosen a student's vision of the future as the winner of its Doodle4Google competition. That future belongs to Sarah Harrison, and it involves diversity, a crucial area of discussion of late. Her illustration makes it clear: a coterie of minorities are linked arm-in-arm, all of them in shirts that spell "Google," with each letter some form of symbolism for equality, peace, and fellowship.
Doodle4Google Winner Focuses On A Diverse Future
Harrison, a high school student from Connecticut, says her vision of the future is a world in which it's possible for everyone to learn to love each other irrespective of our core human aspects.
"My future is a world where we can all learn to love each other despite our religion, gender, race, ethnicity, or sexuality," she tells Google in reference to her design. Harrison's form of utopia doesn't involve flying cars, two-way trips to Mars, or merging of artificial intelligence in tandem with the human race. She has opted to show something much simpler and commonplace, a concept so easily understandable in today's broad spectrum of compassion, yet extremely challenged:
"I dream of a future where everyone is safe and accepted wherever they go, whoever they are."
Harrison's doodle, called "A Peaceful Future," went live on Google's homepage Friday, March 31. It was the culmination of an annual event by Google in which K-12 students craft their own Google Doodles, as informed by this year's theme: "What I see for the future."
Doodle4Google Prizes
Winning the Doodle4Google competition earns Harrison a $30,000 college scholarship, a Chromebook, an Android tablet, and the opportunity to visit Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California to meet with the Doodle team. In addition, her high school will also be granted a $50,000 technology fund.
Her doodle was picked by a diverse set of panelists which includes Sia, Simone Biles, Jimmy Kimmel, Brenda Chapman, and others.
Apart from Harrison, Google also named other finalists belonging to each of the other age groups. They will each receive a $5,000 scholarship, a trip to Google's headquarters, a Chromebook, and an Android tablet.
"The winning artists from this year's contest shared powerful visions for the world of tomorrow with artwork that advocated for a cleaner environment, worldwide equality, advancing technology, and more. The next generation showed us a bright and hopeful future," says Google.
Google Doodles
For the uninitiated, Doodles are a staple part of Google's homepage, often signifying historical or modern-day events, celebrating a cultural touchstone; or honoring key individuals in the field of art, science, technology, medicine, and others. The first Doodle appeared in 1998, and since then, Google has leveraged it for purposes aforementioned. More often than not, Doodles are premeditated and planned in advance, although Google has been compelled to create Doodles at the behest of a recent and significant event, such as the death of the musician Prince last year.
Other Doodle4Google entries show a bright vision ahead, showing, among other things, the advancement of virtual reality; the increased prominence and visibility of women in the field of science; and continued space exploration, which has decidedly been dormant decades after the moon landing.
