Meet the woman behind Google's International Women's Day Doodle

The slideshow of Doodles is by German illustrator Thoka Maer

German illustrator Thoka Maer has created a Google Doodle for International Women's Day. Photo: Google

Google Doodle is celebrating International Women’s Day with a special slideshow of women from different cultures offering a glimpse into their daily lives.

Clicking on the Google Doodle opens a slide of various illustrations, from a motorcycle mechanic teaching her daughter how to fix a bike, to a stay-at-home mum with her children.

Another slide shows a disabled woman designing clothes, while another depicts a woman taking photos of wild animals in nature.

The work comes from German illustrator Thoka Maer, who is art director of Google Doodle. In a blog post, Maer shared her thoughts on the drawings.

“I really hope that women feel seen and valued for whatever they’ve been doing and are doing right now. Getting up in the morning and getting through the day. Doing the dishes, holding on to the job or letting go of it, taking care of themselves and others. Those very basic things have been a huge piece of work since the beginning of the pandemic,” she says.

She also said the pandemic helped shape the scenes she created for the Doodle.

“The last couple of years have been hard for everyone but women especially. We usually celebrate women and their incredible accomplishments in the past and present, and inspire young girls to dream big,” she said. “The reality of the last couple of years has forced women to shift focus, adjust priorities and make sacrifices to be there for others who need them.”

Who is Thoka Maer?

The German illustrator is also the art director at Google Doodle, where she's been since December 2020, according to her LinkedIn page. After graduating from the University of the Arts in Berlin in 2014, she moved to New York City and has worked as a full-time freelance illustrator and GIF artist. She prefers to use pencil, paper and Photoshop.

She won awards early in her career, including the Association of Illustration Self Initiated New Talent Award, and she was an honoree in the category of WebArt from the Webby Awards, both in 2014. She's exhibited her artwork at shows in Australia, the UK, Serbia and Berlin.

What are Google Doodles?

Google Doodles feature sporadically throughout the year, transforming the search engine's traditional logo into an animation to pay tribute to an important figure or moment in history.

The doodles can also mark seasonal or celebratory events, such as International Women's Day, for example.

Scroll through the gallery below to see other regional Google Doodles from the past.