Android's Green Robot Logo Was Inspired By Bathroom Signs

Irina Blok was a designer at Google who gets little recognition for her former team's now-famous creation: the green Android robot logo. She told The New York Times how it was created.

Three years ago, Google told Blok to create a symbol for the company's mobile devices that would resonate with people. Google wanted it to include a robot.

Blok's inspiration came from a interesting, clever place: bathroom doors. The outlines of men and women have become universally recognized, so she mimicked the design for Android.

She ended up with a simple green figure with antennas on top. Her team decided to open source the logo, so others could dress up the green creation any way they wanted.

Here's a reminder of what male and female bathroom signs look like:

And here's what the green Android robot looks like: