Editor’s Note: 
This article is adapted from our podcast interview with Ruth Kedar, originally recorded for Twos Talks and released on the Twos Studio YouTube channel. It has been edited for clarity and format.

In this episode of Twos Talks, we spoke with Ruth Kedar: a designer and educator whose career spans more than three decades, from teaching at Stanford to creating the visual identity of one of the world’s most recognized companies. Kedar’s approach combines precision, curiosity, and a sense of play, influenced as much by her design philosophy as by her practice of Aikido. Our conversation focused on the Google logo, the process of working with a small, pioneering team, and the principles that have guided her career in design.
 

From Dojo to Design Table

Ruth Kedar’s journey to designing the Google logo began in an unexpected place: an Aikido dojo.

“I was sweeping the floor in my doggy. And the person who was sweeping next to me, which was a fellow aikido practitioner, said: ‘are you Ruth Kedar?’ and I said ‘yes.’ He said ‘Are you the Ruth Kedar?’ I said ‘I have no idea. I’m Ruth Kedar.’ And then he said ‘are you the one who teaches at Stanford University?’ and I said ‘yes.’”

The fellow Aikido practitioner was a post-doc at Stanford’s design research center. He knew Sergey Brin and Larry Page, who were forming a new company, and introduced Kedar to them. A few days later, she received an email from Larry Page asking to meet.

“So, we met up with Larry Sergey and they told me a little bit about company I told them a little bit about myself and they said you are not the only people we are talking to. We’re looking at a lot of different designers and we just want to kind of get a sense for how you think and how you approach things.”

Kedar sent some ideas afterward, and the response was: “we love the way you think.”

Designing Through Dialogue

Kedar knew the logo had to express Google’s dual nature: analytical yet curious, precise yet playful. Computers were intimidating at the time, so the design needed to feel approachable.

“Those were the old days of the Mac that very often a little bomb would show up… People really thought that they push a button and the whole screen is going to explode or something like that. So, what better way to introduce people to something that feels safe than introducing the idea of play?”

The founders’ playful energy guided her decisions. “They were incredibly playful…they really were not like everybody else.”

Primary colors formed the foundation, echoing childhood play, while breaking expected order. “Of course, the first thing you think, you put it in the order that they come in the wheel, but they wanted to be a company like no other…So why on earth put those colors in order? So actually, taking them completely out of order made sense conceptually.”

Lessons from Aikido

Kedar approached design as a conversation. Feedback became a tool for refinement rather than frustration.

“For me the design process is always a conversation; it’s a dialogue the client and me…Presentations are always meant to me not to be the end of all…but it’s a way that it will put in front of them because design is a language.”

Aikido taught her discipline, patience, and harmonizing energies.

“Aikido…it's the practice of using your energy for harmonizing…Somehow, I'm always, so levelheaded and so calm and nothing feels. But in real life, sometimes things take you by surprise and so, you hope for the best.”

Fascinating Point About Designing a Logo

Once Kedar settled on a purely typographic approach, color became the key to personality and meaning. Beyond primary colors, she added a secondary color to introduce playfulness and surprise.

“Two things there: One is kind of risk-taking, which is kind of getting away from a pattern, right? Doing something that’s unexpected.”

The second element reflected curiosity and discovery, inspired by her childhood experiences with encyclopedias, where opening a page on “parakeet” might reveal “parachute” alongside it. Every detail, from spacing to typeface, was carefully considered.

“The reason why I love logo design so much is that you start distilling these really, really complex ideas to something that is very, very small… and it’s not only what the ideas that you put into it, but it’s what this thing represents for the people who come in contact with it.”

A Logo That Travels the World

Kedar’s logo has endured remarkably. When Google adopted the logo, it was a small startup. Over 16 years, Kedar’s design remained central to its identity, scaling alongside the company while retaining clarity and energy. Kedar attributes its success to curiosity and careful groundwork:

“Do the work first. Take the time to understand the problem. Be curious! Curiosity is more important than talent. Talent comes later. Every time you work with a new client, you enter a new world. Learn everything about it. The more you learn, the richer your toolbox becomes.”

The global impact became tangible years later, in a moment she recalls vividly. Her daughter returned from trekking in Nepal and said,

“We were in the mountains, and someone had a computer open with the Google logo.”

That was when Kedar realized her work had entered everyday life around the world.