Dear Friends,

We’re pleased to announce that, in collaboration with the Google Doodle team, two special Google logos featuring artwork by Takashi Murakami have been released to celebrate the Summer/Winter solstice.

As part of an ongoing project in which Google commemorates holidays, seasonal changes, the birthdays of famous artists and other noteworthy events,today’s logo features two unique designs for the northern and southern hemispheres.
The artwork will appear on June 21 (in America and Europe) and June 22 (in Asia), as each country hits the start of the Summer and Winter Solstices.The Summer Solstice takes place on June 22 in Japan.

Northern Hemisphere Version (http://www.google.co.jp/)

Southern Hemisphere Version (http://www.google.com.au/)

These images were produced over a three month period.
It was only after dozens of sketches and minute revisions that the results you see now were achieved. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the Google Doodle team for giving us this wonderful opportunity. Our entire staff worked day and night to make it happen. Thank you very much.

Staff Credits
Design Management: Shinya Kikuchi (Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.）
Rough Sketches:　Yuki Shinbo, Sorahisa Koda, Maeri Makuno（Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.）
Data Creation: Reiko Irie, Makito Takagi, Ayaki Yamane
Logo Research: Akira Murakami（Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.）
Communication: Bradley Plumb （Kaikai Kiki New York, LLC）
Communication/Legal：Yayoi Shionoiri（Kaikai Kiki New York, LLC）
Design Brush-up: Takashi Konuma

We’re happy to announce that today’s Google logo featuring artwork by Takashi Murakami has been covered in the following publications:
Updated : June 22, 2011

• ■Art Info
• ■Blackbook
• ■The Christian Science Monitor
• ■The Guardian
• ■The Hollywood Reporter
• ■The Huffington Post
• ■The Independent
• ■International Business Times
• ■L Magazine
• ■The Los Angeles Times
• ■The Mirror
• ■National Geographic
• ■PC World
• ■The Telegraph
• ■Time Magazine
• ■The Washington Post