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Google by Johannes P Osterhoff

After playing around with Windows and Mac OS interface elements for quite a while, the infamous interface artist Johannes P Osterhoff is now messing with Google. This time his experiment goes beyond repurposing GUI elements in order to create new images and narratives.

In his work “Google by Johannes P Osterhoff” he documents all his Google search queries between January 1 and December 31, 2011 on a website. He is probably not the first person to do that and maybe not even the first person to do that as an artistic project. But there is more to it.

1. He does not simply list the query string and links them to the result page, but he actually displays each query string in an input field that is designed after Google’s search field. To see the result one can click the search button. After all Osterhoff is an interface artist.

2. Each search field is accompanied by a Paypal donate button and by a Flattr button along with the Flattr Counter.

3. At the top of the page one sees the latest query in Google design (including Google’s logo) followed by a word cloud of the most recent search terms and a brief mission statement