Midterm Elections (elections that fall between major Presidential elections for local and Federal representatives) historically see the lowest voter turnout in America. Voters turn to Google with questions about where to vote, how to register, and information about the voting process. We saw the opportunity to increase civic participation and get voters one-click access to their most frequently asked questions right on our homepage.

Historically, voter turnout for Midterm Elections in America has been low. This year, on November 6th 2018, Google changed its logo for one day to simple “Go Vote” to help increase access to lesser known election day information. This Election Day Doodle clicked through to a Google tool that helped people find their polling place and explained the voting process in both English and Spanish.

Voters turn to Google with questions about where to vote, how to register, and information about the voting process. We saw the opportunity to increase civic participation and get voters one-click access to their most frequently asked questions right on our homepage. By linking to a Google tool with both Spanish and English options, we ensured that language would not be a barrier to entry for the two most common languages in the US, and that all who were interested in voting would have the resources to do so.

The Google homepage Doodle is high profile real estate that comes with a number of rules and restrictions. The main requirement is that the Google logo be cleverly hidden or alluded to within the design. The Go Vote design subverted the design requirement, using the Google Sans typeface and brand colors to completely replace the logo with a call to action--making it the first doodle in company history to break this design requirement.

This project serves as an example of well-executed artistic direction and typography, mainly in how its visual aesthetic was fueled by its larger purpose. While the “Go Vote” doodle went against the traditional requirement of the Google logo being a part of the image, the doodle still maintained the simplicity of the company’s easily recognizable iconography while disrupting the rules in a much more powerful way.

Search queries for information about the election saw a 500% increase over the 2014 midterm election, making it the most-searched midterm in Google history. The election information tools and promotions received almost 95K posts and over 510M impressions on Twitter alone.