Hasta La Ideas

“What I Wish for the World” is the theme of this year’s “Doodle 4 Google” contest, in which kids from around the country compete to have their Google logo redesign featured, for one glorious day, on the search giant’s homepage. The judges selected 400 state finalists (100 in each of four grade-level groups) and then narrowed the field to 40 regional winners. Now it’s up to you, the Google-going public, to vote for your favorites. The online voting is open through Monday, May 18.

Given the global wish theme, the doodles are heavy on world peace, endangered species (particularly polar bears), trees, and energy motifs (one 12-year-old West Virginian with the delightful name of Austin Gage Druid adorned the Google logo with colorful wind turbines). The entries from the students in grades 10-12 tend to be more abstract, including 17-year-old Antony Martinez‘s Google grafitti, created to represent his wish: “for public art to be more accepted.” But we’re suckers for simplicity and so are throwing our support behind 12-year-old Abigail Kois of Wolworth, New York, who put down her pencil and picked up some paperclips. “What I wish for the world is unity,” wrote Kois in her entry (pictured above, at right). “The theme is represented by connected paper clips in my doodle….Each clip is interconnected much the way people are.”

Previously on UnBeige: