page_title: Google Maps pin
hierarchical_section_title: Google Maps pin
caption_attribution_description: Street View camera car and giant map pushpin. Mountain View, California
context_page_description: 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. In 2020, the pin icon became the official logo of Google Maps.
context_section_description: 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. In 2020, the pin icon became the official logo of Google Maps.
caption: The pin in Google headquarters, next to a Google Maps Street View vehicle
exif: {"Image Make": "Apple", "Image Model": "iPhone 5", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "7.1.1", "Image DateTime": "2014:06:19 14:16:03", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "204", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "N", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[37, 25, 2569/100]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "W", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[122, 5, 2877/100]", "GPS GPSAltitudeRef": "0", "GPS GPSAltitude": "1971/829", "GPS GPSTimeStamp": "[21, 16, 261/100]", "GPS GPSImgDirectionRef": "T", "GPS GPSImgDirection": "174982/809", "Image GPSInfo": "946", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1242", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "10312", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/398", "EXIF FNumber": "12/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "50", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2014:06:19 14:16:03", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2014:06:19 14:16:03", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "48477/5612", "EXIF ApertureValue": "4845/1918", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "33668/4319", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "103/25", "EXIF SubjectArea": "[1631, 1223, 1795, 1077]", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "653", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "653", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3264", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2448", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "33", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[103/25, 103/25, 12/5, 12/5]", "EXIF LensMake": "Apple", "EXIF LensModel": "iPhone 5 back camera 4.12mm f/2.4"}