Google Maps pin

Jens Eilstrup Rasmussen designed the Google Maps pin prior to the launch of Google Maps in 2005. He wanted the pin to accurately mark a point on a map without obscuring the location. The main body of the pin is circular at the top, but tapers into a point at the bottom, forming an inverted teardrop shape. A drop shadow extends from the point at the bottom, giving the pin a three-dimensional look.

In the original version of Google Maps, the pin was displayed with the letters "A" through "J" when there was more than one search result.{{Cite web | title = The era 'A' at Aram Bartholl – Blog | author = Aram Bartholl | work = datenform.de | date = 19 June 2014 | accessdate = 2014-12-12 | url = http://datenform.de/blog/the-era-a/ }} In later versions, the pin was shown with a black dot inside to mark a single location.http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/04/617/D06/1.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321063520/http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/04/617/D06/1.pdf |date=2018-03-21 }} {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}} In 2011, Google released a minor redesign of the pin that changed the black outline of the pin to a dark red for a softer look.{{Cite web | title = The Google Maps Pin Gets Modernized, Maps Sports a Fresh New Look

| author = Lucian Parfeni | work = softpedia | date = 30 September 2011 | accessdate = 2014-12-11 | url = http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Google-Maps-Pin-Gets-Modernized-Maps-Sports-a-Fresh-New-Look-224650.shtml }}

Google has used the pin in online and traditional print marketing campaigns for Google Maps. The pin is displayed as part of the icon for the Google Maps mobile application, on a stylized map along with an uppercase letter "G" for "Google."

File:Google Maps at Deschutes.jpg, 2011]]

The pin has been used on promotional objects like beer glasses, stickers, and coffee cup sleeves in various marketing campaigns.{{Cite web | title = Mihmorandum {{!}} Google Brings Portland Hotpot Campaign to a Rolling Boil {{!}} Google | author = David Mihm | work = davidmihm.com | date = 2 February 2011 | accessdate = 2014-12-12 | url = http://www.davidmihm.com/blog/google/hotpot-portland-update/ }} Google has also designed and sold T-shirts that display a Google Maps pin along with the words "I am here".{{Cite web | title = Google Map T-Shirt | work = googlemerchandisestore.com | accessdate = 2014-12-12 | url = https://www.googlemerchandisestore.com/MadeInUSA/Google+Map+T-Shirt.axd | archive-url = https://archive.today/20141209222302/https://www.googlemerchandisestore.com/MadeInUSA/Google+Map+T-Shirt.axd | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2014-12-09 }}

In 2009, Google launched the Favorite Places marketing campaign. 100,000 local businesses received a store-window decal portraying the Google Maps pin on a map, with the words "We're a Favorite Place on Google."{{Cite web | title = Google Favorite Places coming to window near you | author = Tom Krazit | work = c{{!}}net | date = 6 December 2009 | accessdate = 2014-12-12 | url = https://www.cnet.com/news/google-favorite-places-coming-to-window-near-you/ }} The stickers included a QR code which could be scanned by customers to bring up the business' Place Page in order to leave an online review.{{Cite web | title = Google Promoting Maps with 100,000 Favorite Places Posters | author = Mike Blumenthal | work = Understanding Google Places & Local Search | date = 7 December 2009 | accessdate = 2014-12-12 | url = http://blumenthals.com/blog/2009/12/07/google-promoting-maps-with-100000-favorite-places-poster/ }}

Celebrities including Yo-Yo Ma,{{Cite web | title = Yo-Yo Ma's Favorite Places in Boston and around the World | work = google.com | accessdate = 2014-12-17 | url = https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?gl=us&ie=UTF8&msa=0&view=map&z=4&hl=en&mid=z83jYZToRR78.kY4PNsA3PQC8 }} Diane von Furstenberg, Al Gore, and Tony Hawk, shared their favorite locations around the world, such as restaurants, bakeries, and design shops.{{Cite web | title = Google Maps Favorite Places - Tomorrow Awards | work = tomorrowawards.com | accessdate = 2014-12-12 | url = http://tomorrowawards.com/showcase/158/google-maps-favorite-places | archive-date = 2014-12-18 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141218105553/http://tomorrowawards.com/showcase/158/google-maps-favorite-places | url-status = dead }} At 30 of these locations, Google erected an 800-pound pin, each personalized with unique designs based on input from the celebrity who chose that location.{{Cite web | title = Please Enjoy | last = Lee | first = Ji | work = pleaseenjoy.com | date = | accessdate = 2014-12-12 | url = http://pleaseenjoy.com/projects/professional/favorite-places-on-google-maps/#image543 | archive-date = 2014-12-18 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141218062413/http://pleaseenjoy.com/projects/professional/favorite-places-on-google-maps/#image543 | url-status = dead }}

In 2013, Google commissioned New York-based graphic designer Matt Delbridge for the Hello World ad campaign.{{Cite web | title = Google Ad Campaign Cleverly Incorporates Iconic 'Google Maps' Graphics - DesignTAXI.com | author = Dorothy Tan | work = designtaxi.com | date = 8 August 2013 | accessdate = 2014-12-12 | url = http://designtaxi.com/news/359881/Google-Ad-Campaign-Cleverly-Incorporates-Iconic-Google-Maps-Graphics/?interstital_shown=1 }} Many of the illustrations incorporated the Google Maps pin along with images associated with specific locations around the world.{{Cite web | title = Google unveils 'Hello World' campaign images for newly updated Google Maps | author = Jennifer Faull | work = The Drum | date = 9 August 2013 | accessdate = 2014-12-12 | url = http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/08/09/google-unveils-hello-world-campaign-images-newly-updated-google-maps }}

In 2010, Google created online cards that used several pins to spell out "Happy Holidays".{{Cite web | title = Send a message of holiday cheer with Google Maps | author = Katie Mandel | work = Official Google Blog | date = 16 December 2010 | accessdate = 2014-12-12 | url = http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/send-message-of-holiday-cheer-with.html }} In 2011, Google doubled the Google Maps pin to create a heart for a Map Your Valentine holiday feature.{{Cite web | title = Google Maps Goes Gooey- MapYourValentine.com | author = Mike Blumenthal | work = Understanding Google Places & Local Search | date = 13 February 2011 | accessdate = 2014-12-12 | url = http://blumenthals.com/blog/2011/02/13/google-maps-goes-gooey-mapyourvalentine-com/ }}

In 2011, Google partnered with Susan G. Komen for the Cure to create a campaign called Pink Pin in New York City. Businesses and consumers were asked to pin their locations on the Pink Pin website, share personal stories related to breast cancer awareness, and donate to the cause.{{Cite web | title = Small businesses in NYC help fight breast cancer with Pink Pin - Google Small Business | author = Ria Tobaccowala | work = googlesmb.blogspot.com | date = 19 October 2011 | accessdate = 2014-12-12 | url = http://googlesmb.blogspot.com/2011/10/small-businesses-in-nyc-help-fight.html }}

In 2014, Google launched "Smarty Pins", a browser-based geographical trivia game that features the Google Maps pin.{{Cite web | title = Google Maps Smarty Pins | work = smartypins.withgoogle.com | accessdate = 2014-12-13 | url = http://smartypins.withgoogle.com/ | archive-date = 2014-12-09 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141209091221/http://smartypins.withgoogle.com/ | url-status = dead }} Players receive clues about locations around the world, which they then identify by placing the Google Maps pin on a map. Players start the game with 1,000 points, and lose points equivalent to the number of miles they place their pins from the correct location. Bonus points can be gained by answering the trivia questions quickly.{{Cite web | title = Google Maps tests your geography knowledge with 'Smarty Pins' game | author = Chris Welch | work = The Verge | date = 7 July 2014 | accessdate = 2014-12-13 | url = https://www.theverge.com/2014/7/7/5876835/google-smarty-pins-geography-game }}{{Cite web | title = Google's Smarty Pins Lets You Test Your Geography Knowledge | author = Frederic Lardinois | work = TechCrunch | date = 1 July 2014 | accessdate = 2014-12-13 | url = https://techcrunch.com/2014/07/01/googles-smarty-pins-lets-you-test-your-geography-knowledge/ }}

The Google Maps API allows developers to create customized maps, for which they can create their own markers.{{Cite web| title = Customizing Google Maps: Custom Markers | work = Google Developers | date = 7 October 2014 | accessdate = 2014-12-13 | url = https://developers.google.com/maps/tutorials/customizing/custom-markers }}

Although the Google Maps pin is protected under a U.S. design patent, other organizations have used it as a component of their own logos.{{Cite web | title = Aktuelle Mittagstisch-Angebote in Deiner Umgebung | accessdate = 2014-12-13 | url = http://www.wo-wollen-wir-essen.de/ | language = de | quote = Denis Campbell IT Services | archive-date = 2014-12-17 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141217122102/http://www.wo-wollen-wir-essen.de/ | url-status = dead }}{{Cite web | title = PizzaPerto.com - Encontre as pizzarias próximas de você! Cardápios, fotos, vídeos, opiniões, promoções, pedido online... | work = pizzaperto.com | accessdate = 2014-12-13 | url = http://pizzaperto.com/ | archive-date = 2014-12-18 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141218020240/http://pizzaperto.com/ | url-status = dead }}

The Labour Party of Malta used an image closely resembling the Google Maps pin as their logo in the 2014 European Parliament election campaign. A Google spokesperson contacted by The Times of Malta would not comment on whether the logo was a breach of Google's intellectual property rights, though a copyright lawyer interviewed for the article explained that the similarity could result in legal repercussions.{{Cite web | title = Google silent on PL map pin similarity | author = Ivan Martin | work = Times of Malta | date = 22 May 2014 | accessdate = 2014-12-13 | url = http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140522/local/Google-silent-on-PL-map-pin-similarity.520018 | quote = Jeanine Rizzo }}

In 2010, Facebook filed a trademark application for a design including a marker similar to the Google Maps pin above a representation of a rectangular map, but later abandoned the application.{{Cite web | title = F - Reviews & Brand Information - FACEBOOK, INC. MENLO PARK, CA - Serial Number: 85168398 | work = trademarkia.com | date = 30 September 2012 | accessdate = 2014-12-13 | url = http://www.trademarkia.com/f-85168398.html }}

File:Prideevicted1.jpg

When Metahaven, an Amsterdam-based studio for design and research, was charged with drafting concepts for WikiLeaks' new visual identity, they considered integrating the Google Maps pin, inverted. This suggested a dripping leak, and the impossibility of pinpointing the source.{{Cite web | title = In Conversation with Julian Assange, Part I {{!}} e-flux | author = Hans Ulrich Obrist | work = e-flux.com | date = 2011 | accessdate = 2014-12-13 | url = http://www.e-flux.com/journal/in-conversation-with-julian-assange-part-i/ }}

In 2013, demonstrators in San Francisco carried signs shaped like the Google Maps pin, bearing the word "evicted" to protest tech-driven evictions in the city.{{Cite web | title = Anti-gentrification activists "GET OUT" with Pride {{!}} SF Politics | author = Rebecca Bowe | work = sfbg.com | date = 30 June 2013 | accessdate = 2014-12-12 | url = http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2013/06/30/anti-gentrification-activists-“get-out”-pride }}{{Cite web|title=Do the Anti-Tech Protests Still Matter? |last=Montgomery |first=Kevin |work=Valleywag |date=26 June 2014 |accessdate=2014-12-13 |url=http://valleywag.gawker.com/do-the-anti-tech-protests-still-matter-1596158848 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218102856/http://valleywag.gawker.com/do-the-anti-tech-protests-still-matter-1596158848 |archivedate=18 December 2014 }}

The Google Maps pin has evolved beyond its original intended use to become quasi-iconic in popular culture. Rob Walker cites the pin as an example of dedigitization, "something from the digital world crossing over to the physical". The pin has been used in various mediums not just to pinpoint locations, but to represent abstracts like mapping technology or even the technology industry as a whole.

Berlin-based conceptual artist Aram Bartholl is known for creating works that examine the relationship between the digital and physical world, using popular imagery from software and games.{{Cite web | title = Aram Bartholl's "Speed Book" Collapses The Digital World Into Physical Space | author = Noah Robischon | work = Fast Company | date = 14 February 2012 | accessdate = 2014-12-13 | url = http://www.fastcompany.com/3010824/aram-bartholls-speed-book-collapses-the-digital-world-into-physical-space }} Beginning in 2006, Bartholl has created a public art installation called Map.{{Cite web | title = Art Imitates Digital Life: Real-World Google Map Pins | author = Stephanie Rogers | work = WebUrbanist | date = 24 April 2012 | accessdate = 2014-12-13 | url = http://weburbanist.com/2012/04/24/art-imitates-digital-life-real-world-google-map-pins/ }} Bartholl installs a large physical representation of the Google Maps pin in the exact location that Google Maps identifies as the center of a city.{{Cite web | title = gateways. Art and Networked Culture - Works - Map | work = goethe.de | accessdate = 2014-12-13 | url = http://www.goethe.de/ins/ee/prj/gtw/aus/wer/bar/enindex.htm }} Locations thus far have included Taipei, Berlin, Arles, and Tallinn. Each sculpture remains in place for about three months, usually coinciding with a local art festival or exhibit.{{Cite web | title = Map | author = Aram Bartholl | work = datenform.de | date = 19 June 2014 | accessdate = 2014-12-13 | url = http://datenform.de/blog/tag/map/ }} The series was designed to raise viewers' awareness of the increasing overlap between the virtual and the physical, and to highlight mapping services' influence on perceptions of location. Bartholl's physical representations of the Google Maps pin urges viewers to reevaluate the information given by digitized maps, the meaning of the "center" of a city, the politicization of boundaries, and other issues related to maps and the digital versus the physical world.{{Cite web | title = Aram Bartholl - datenform.de | work = datenform.de | accessdate = 2014-12-13 | url = http://www.datenform.de/mapeng.html }}

Before the Royal College of Art's 150th-anniversary exhibition in 2007, student Robert Sollis e-mailed Google requesting a temporary Google Maps marker be placed over the college's temporary site in Kensington Gardens.{{Cite web |title=Google Carpet Emails |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Google_Carpet_Emails.pdf |website=Wikimedia Commons|date=June 2007 }} Upon receiving only an auto-reply, Sollis created his own physical marker, which he hoped would appear in satellite images.{{Cite web | title = Google Carpet by Robert Sollis | author = Jeannie Choe | work = Core77 - Industrial Design Supersite | date = 19 June 2007 | accessdate = 2014-12-16 | url = http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/google_carpet_by_robert_sollis_6609.asp }} Sollis constructed the Google Carpet of individual carpet tiles, each 185mm², which corresponds to one pixel of Google's satellite imagery.{{Cite web | title = Make your own Google map marker for your house | author = jonahbc | work = MAKE | date = 13 November 2008 | accessdate = 2014-12-16 | url = http://makezine.com/2008/11/13/make-your-own-google-map/ }}

In July 2013, as part of a public art event in Horsens, Denmark, the Icelandic-Danish design duo ÖRNDUVALD installed a mural called Pin at {{coord|55|51|42|N|9|50|47|E}}.{{Cite web | title = Partition By ÖRNDUVALD | author = Costas Voyatzis | work = Yatzer.com | date = 20 July 2013 | accessdate = 2014-12-20 | url = http://www.yatzer.com/partition-ornduvald }} The 9-square-meter piece,{{Cite web | title = glittering google map icon made from 10,000 sequins | author = Nina Azzarello | work = designboom {{!}} architecture & design magazine | date = 23 July 2013 | accessdate = 2014-12-17 | url = http://www.designboom.com/art/glittering-google-map-icon-made-from-10000-sequins/ }} "a giant and shimmering reinterpretation of the Google Maps pin",{{Cite web | title = Google Maps Pin made from 10.000 sequins by Örnduvald | work = urdesign.it | date = 1 August 2013 | accessdate = 2014-12-17 | url = http://www.urdesign.it/index.php/2013/08/01/google-maps-pin-made-from-10-000-sequins-by-ornduvald/ }} was made from 10,078 circular discs mounted to plywood.{{Cite web | title = Giant Map Pin Installation Made of Metallic Discs | author = Caroline Williamson | work = Design Milk | date = 23 July 2013 | accessdate = 2014-12-17 | url = http://design-milk.com/pin-55-51-42-n-9-50-47-e-by-ornduvald/ }} Amanda Kooser of cnet wrote, "if Liberace had been on the Google Maps design team, all the pins would look like this,"{{Cite web | title = Giant sequined Google Maps pin lands on Denmark | author = Amanda Kooser | work = c{{!}}net | date = 24 July 2013 | accessdate = 2014-12-17 | url = https://www.cnet.com/news/giant-sequined-google-maps-pin-lands-on-denmark/ }} while Jamie Condliffe stated in Gizmodo, "The Google Maps pin is iconic: bold and simple, yet incredibly memorable. And emblazoned on the side of a Danish building in twinkling metallic form, it might just be the geekiest mural ever."{{Cite web | title = Is This the Geekiest Mural Ever? | last = Condliffe | first = Jamie | work = Gizmodo | date = 25 February 2014 | accessdate = 2014-12-17 | url = https://gizmodo.com/is-this-the-geekiest-mural-ever-1530402651 | quote = Pin (55° 51′ 42″ N; 9° 50′ 47″ E) }}

In June 2012, Taiwanese designer Shu-Chun Hsiao created Project Google Birdhouse by hanging pin-shaped birdhouses around Taipei.{{Cite web | title = Project Google Birdhouse by Shuchun Hsiao | author = | work = urdesign.it | date = 15 January 2013 | accessdate = 2014-12-21 | url = http://www.urdesign.it/index.php/2013/01/15/project-google-birdhouse-by-shuchun-hsiao/ }}{{Cite web | title = 2012 Project Google Birdhouse | author = Shu-Chun Hsiao | work = Flickr | date = 2012 | accessdate = 2014-12-21 | url = https://www.flickr.com/photos/hvn1007/sets/72157631160876530 }} He stated, "Google Map had created a remarkable landmark icon, showing the sites on its street views. To search for a landmark with online Google map, we can scroll to zoom from the satellite, soon we'll be able to wander on streets, virtually. Birds, have the most real experience of google map. Birds can fly through the city, through streets. A birdhouse becomes their destination as google map does. The iconic symbol will become a navigating landmark for the flying birds."{{Cite web | title = SHUCHUN HSIAO | date = 2012 | accessdate = 2014-12-21 | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20140109170716/http://shuchunhsiao.com/#ccc/custom_plain | archivedate = 2014-01-09 | url-status = dead | url = http://shuchunhsiao.com/#ccc/custom_plain }} Jaime Derriger wrote, "The icon that we have all come to know and love which graces our Google maps to let us know where we are, or where we need to go, has become ubiquitous. Designer Shu-Chun Hsiao realized this and created the Google Birdhouse Project, an ongoing project to give birds destinations of their own, just like Google maps does for humans".{{Cite web | title = Google Maps Inspired Birdhouse Tells Birds Where Home Is | author = Jaime Derringer | work = Design Milk | date = 28 January 2013 | accessdate = 2014-12-21 | url = http://design-milk.com/google-maps-inspired-birdhouse-destination-for-birds-homes/ }}

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File:Google Carpet 2.jpg|Google Carpet
Robert Sollis 2007

File:Google Maps Pin Wall Sculpture 01.png|Felt Google Maps Pin, 2010

File:'Map' by Aram Bartholl, part of the show 'From Here On' during Rencontres Arles, France 2011.jpg|Map, 2011

File:Birdhouse01.jpg|Project Google Birdhouse, 2012

File:Pin 11 ornduvald2013.jpg|Pin, 2013

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