And the winner of the first-ever Doodle 4 Google Singapore competition is…

After so many months of waiting, the results is finally out. The Winner of the Doodle 4 Google Singapore competition is 17-year-old James Rotanson from Anglo-Chinese School (Independent). He will have the honor of showing off his Doodle for Google on Google.com.sg on the Singapore National Day (9th August 2010) for 24 hours.

And the winner of the first-ever Doodle 4 Google Singapore competition is….

17-year-old James Rotanson from Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) clinches top prize

Millions of Singaporeans to see James’ winning doodle on Google’s local homepage this National Day 2010

Singapore, 29 April 2010 – Today, 17-year-old James Rotanson from Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) was named the national winner of the first-ever Doodle 4 Google Singapore competition. James took top honours for his doodle, “Colours of Singapore”, which depicted the various panoramic places of interest in Singapore and represented Singaporean values such as education, punctuality, racial harmony and total defence.

James’ doodle will be displayed for 24 hours on Google.com.sg on this year’s National Day to be seen by millions of users around the world.

The awards ceremony, held at The Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM), was attended by all 50 finalists, their teachers and parents together with Julian Persaud, Managing Director of Google Southeast Asia and representatives from the Ministry of Education. All invited guests were treated to an exclusive funfair with face painters, candy makers, puppeteers and lots more at the Doodle Tent on the ACM Green, which was decorated with a giant Doodle 4 Google balloon sculpture.

Winning national doodle is a proud expression of “Our Singapore” theme

James’ artwork, “Colours of Singapore” was handpicked by original Google Doodler Dennis Hwang after it was voted by the public as the winner of the 17-19 age group. His doodle, along with those of the top 50 finalists, will be displayed at the Asian Civilisations Museum, venue sponsor of this year’s Doodle 4 Google special exhibit, from 30 April to 23 May.

While he was not able to physically attend the award ceremony in Singapore, Dennis sent over a special video message announcing the national winner and explaining his choice. “I had the tough job of choosing just one winner for this competition,” he said. “James’ work was exceptionally creative. I loved the artistic style and how it worked in harmony with the message the doodle was trying to send. I loved the creative use of the Singapore MRT and the Merlion for the letter ‘g.’ Clearly, James is so proud of his country and I could immediately tell that from his work. I was just truly impressed.”

James Rotanson is the first Doodle 4 Google winner in Asia Pacific to win a visit to Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California, USA, where he will be meeting Dennis and the rest of Google’s doodle team in person. This national winner’s prize, worth over $10,000, will send James, a parent and a representative of his school on this once-in-a-lifetime trip.

Age group winners reflect creativity and artistic talent in young Singaporeans

Over 60,000 votes were cast to determine the winners for the five age group categories:

• Age group 4-6: Pradyot Dubey, DPS International School
• Age group 7-9: Quirsten Russel Magalong Fernandez, Coral Primary School
  Age group 10-12: Christel Gan, Fernvale Primary School, Singapore
• Age group 13-16: David De Guzman, West Spring Secondary School
• Age group 17-19: James Rotanson, Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)

“It’s heartening to see how artistic expression and creativity are thriving amongst young Singaporeans and how they enthusiastically showcase those talents through initiatives like Doodle 4 Google.” said Julian Persaud, who unveiled the national winner’s doodle at the awards ceremony. “The competition exceeded even our wildest expectations, having garnered nearly 30,000 doodle entries from students and over 60,000 votes from the Singapore public. I’d like to thank the students, teachers and schools who participated in this first-ever Doodle for Google competition in Singapore — they are the real reasons behind its overwhelming success.”

Each of the age group winners were presented with several prizes, including a laptop, a personalized trophy and an exclusive Google Apps workshop for their school teachers. Photos and descriptions of their doodles are listed at the bottom of this release.

From nearly 30,000 entries to 50 finalists, everyone is a winner!

The 50 finalists were selected earlier this month from the nearly 30,000 entries by locally renowned comic artist Mr. Lee Chee Chew, creator of comic strip “CHEW ON IT”, local art trio Vertical Submarine, winners of the President’s Young Talent Award 2009, and Mr. Puvan Ariaratnam, Deputy Director of National Education & Planning from the Ministry of Education.  Entries were judged on the basis of artistic merit, creativity, and how well the theme of “Our Singapore” was communicated.

The 50 finalist entries were posted online at www.google.com.sg/doodle4google to let the Singapore public vote for their favourite doodle in each age group. The public also had a chance to view the doodles and vote at a special gallery held at Marina Square from 15-18 April 2010.

Each of the finalists received a Doodle 4 Google certificate and a personalised t-shirt printed with their own doodle design.

For more information, please visit: www.google.com.sg/doodle4google

What are Google doodles?

The customisation of the Google logo first took place in 1999, and the Google doodle team has since celebrated events, anniversaries and holidays worldwide with doodles that incorporate the Google logo.

About Google Inc.

Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google’s targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.sg.

Google is a trademark of Google Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

Doodle 4 Google Singapore age group winners

Age group 4-6 winner Pradyot Dubey, DPS International School Title: Progressive, Peaceful and Colourful Singapore Description: A colourful Singapore, flowers trees and high-rises all around. A clean and green Singapore has no litter on the ground. Singapore has a rich culture, living with peace and harmony. A progressive Singapore, having Changi SQ and Esplanade. Our Singapore is “unique” on the Earth.
Age group 7-9 winner Quirsten Russel Magalong Fernandez, Coral Primary School Title: Google in Singapore Description: The Singapore flag is interred weaving between the word ‘Google’. The crescent moon represents a young nation and the five stars stand for democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality.
Age group 10-12 winner Christel Gan, Fernvale Primary School Title: Singapore- My Home Description: In my doodle, My Singapore is all about the architecture, the national flower, food and tourist attractions such as the Singapore Flyer, Supreme Court, Changi Airport and others. We should learn to appreciate the art of these things as they represent our country.
Age group 13-16 winner David De Guzman, West Spring Secondary School Title: My Pride Description: Singapore is well known for its peace and prosperity. The landmarks I have selected are well known to tourists and are meaningful to our culture. My doodle features Singapore’s achievements. The Singapore Flyer which is the world’s largest observation wheel. Singapore hosting the first ever “F1 Night Race”. Singapore as the financial centre with a thriving economy. Singapore Airlines, reliable way to fly, first to fly the A380 and a first class airport. A lot of shopping areas. A vibrant night life. An efficient public transport system. Finally, an international city. Singapore is continually building on for a richer nation.
Age group 17-19 winner and overall winner James Rotanson, Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) Title: Colours of Singapore Description: On the surface level, the Google letters depict the various panoramic places of interests in Singapore. Several of the iconic tourist attractions featured by my illustration encompass the Merlion, the Singapore Flyer, the Jurong Bird Park, the Esplanade and the Changi Airport. In a more abstract manner, several distinctive values of Singaporeans such as education, punctuality, racial harmony and total defence are also shown respectively by the depiction of the graduation cap, the MRT, the people holding hands together and the 5 jets parading in the air. Thus, I feel that my doodle has expressed the theme of “Our Singapore” effectively.

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