Google Maps pin

The Google Maps pin is the inverted-drop-shaped icon that marks locations in Google Maps. The pin is protected under a U.S. design patent as "teardrop-shaped marker icon including a shadow." Google has used the pin in various graphics, games, and promotional materials.

The pin, sometimes referred to as "the marker," has been widely co-opted by other companies, organizations, and individuals for their own marketing efforts, artwork, and activism. In both digital and physical representations, the pin is often used to symbolize mapping software and the technology industry as a whole.

The Google Maps pin has been called "a product of pure function that has evolved into a cultural phenomenon," and "a solution that would take on a life of its own, recognizable enough to stick up for itself in the art and design projects of others." "Looking like a hot air balloon in flight, this marker has landed squarely in the middle of our visual culture."

In 2014, the Museum of Modern Art acquired a physical representation of the Google Maps pin for its permanent collection.

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 results. In later versions, the pin was shown with a black dot inside to mark a single location. 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.

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."

The pin has been used on promotional objects like beer glasses, stickers, and coffee cup sleeves in various marketing campaigns. Google has also designed and sold T-shirts that display a Google Maps pin along with the words "I am here."

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." 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.

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Wikipedia