Author Archives: Jessica Yu

Meet the 2020 Doodle for Google winner!

This year’s Doodle for Google contest was one for the books. We received tens of thousands of entries from students all over the nation answering our prompt “I show kindness by…” The student entrants this year blew us away with their empathy, artistic talent and eloquence. A few weeks ago we announced our five national finalists, one from each grade group. After careful deliberation from our Google judging panel, today we’re excited to announce the winner of the 2020 Doodle for Google contest is Texas 5th grader, Sharon Sara!

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Sharon’s Doodle titled “Together As One” highlights the importance of inclusion and acceptance, and was inspired by her personal experiences with friendship and her strong commitment to spreading kindness. Let’s get to know this year’s  Doodle for Google winner:


You’re in 5th grade now, but you entered the contest last school year when you were in 4th grade. What inspired you to enter the 2020 contest?

My art teacher from school introduced us to the contest in 3rd grade, and in 4th grade I remembered the contest and asked my dad to enter my Doodle.

How did you come up with the idea for your Doodle? 

I thought about my personal experiences. People have not wanted to be my friend because of how I look, so I decided to draw what I do! No matter what people look like, you look on the inside and then decide if you want to be their friend.

What does kindness mean to you? 

Kindness to me means to not look at someone from the outside, but look at their personality, and be open to their friendship.

Were you surprised when you were chosen as a Doodle for Google finalist? What has it been like for you? 

When I found out, I could feel my face turn red like a tomato, I was so excited! I was already excited that I was one of the five national finalists and it still didn't feel real. I was so happy, my parents told me during school which was a big surprise! It’s made me a lot more confident!

What does winning mean for you and your art? 

I think winning will affect my view on art by giving my art more of a meaning. When I made my Doodle it had a meaning and I really want to do this with all my art!

Congratulations again to Sharon Sara! As our national contest winner, Sharon’s Doodle will be seen by the nation on the Google homepage. Sharon will also receive a $30,000 college scholarship, and her school, Vaughn Elementary School, will receive a $50,000 technology package. Thank you Sharon, and thank you to the tens of thousands of students who entered the contest this year and inspired us with their unique Doodles and kind words.  As we close the 2020 contest, we hope you all continue to share your art with the world and spread kindness! 


A Doodle dedicated to the aloha spirit

When I think of my time living in Hawaiʻi, I simply think of “aloha.” “Aloha” means more than “hello” or “goodbye,” it’s a way of life. To embody the aloha spirit is to embody kindness, humility, harmony, patience and sincerity. And if there were a soundtrack to this idea, it would be the music of Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, whom we’re celebrating in today’s Google Doodle. Of course, Israel was incredibly proud of his Hawaiian roots, which is why it’s perfect that today’s Doodle is also a larger celebration of Asian American Pacific Heritage Month. 


Best known for his beloved cover of “Over the Rainbow” (which I walked down the aisle to at my wedding), Israel’s music and his voice have always felt so welcoming to me. But it’s also the little details about Israel that I identify with. His wife, Marlene, told us one of his favorite flowers was the plumeria. These flowers are all over Oʻahu, where Israel and I both lived, and remind me of backyard barbecues with my Lōkahi Canoe Club teammates or friends being piled high in floral birthday leis. Most often, I think of simply plucking a plumeria and tucking it behind my ear, as so many people in Hawaii do—behind your right if you’re looking for love and behind your left (the same side as your heart) if you’re taken. 


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A photograph of the author surfing in front of Diamond Head, and some memorabilia from the Lōkahi Canoe Club.

I also loved learning that one of Israel’s favorite places in Oʻahu was the Waikiki Shell, where he often played. It sits in the shadow of Diamond Head, an iconic landmark of great significance to Israel and many others. Seeing the profile of Diamond Head depicted in the first few seconds of today’s Doodle video brings back many warm memories for me of concerts, movies on the beach, surf sessions off its coast and afternoon jogs around the crater. 

But perhaps the thing that resonated with me most is something Israel’s former producer, Jon de Mello, said about him, which is that he got along with anyone he met, and that he only had love for people. Today, this kind of love and hopefulness Israel shared are turning up in an unexpected, but fitting way: People all over the world are displaying photos of rainbows, which Israel loved, in their windows and on sidewalks to uplift their neighbors and give people passing by a smile. We feel like this Doodle is a way for us to do the same.

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No matter where you are, or what your circumstances, like a rainbow after the rain—and like Israel’s voice always does for me—we hope that this Doodle brings a smile to your face.  

Two weeks of Doodles to thank essential workers

Essential workers keeping our world safe and running during this global pandemic deserve a standing ovation. To show our appreciation, we created a two week Google Doodle series to honor and recognize all who have stepped up in unprecedented ways— including putting their own lives at risk—to provide services that keep our society moving forward.

Google Doodles usually take months (sometimes years!) of planning and development. This one came together in a matter of days. Though in the past we’ve moved quickly to create a Doodle in response to a major world—or even outer world—event, this is our first real-time Doodle series focusing on one theme. 

In this series of animated GIF Doodles, the big "G" represents communities around the world sending our love to the other letters, which represent the essential workers. Fun fact: we purposely used the first and last letters of our logo to ensure characters in every Doodle were practicing social distancing.

Beyond the efforts of essential workers, “help” has become more than a concept, a desire or an unusual action. Help has become part of our day-to-day lives. We notice it in small actions—like going to the supermarket for your elderly neighbor, or donating homemade face masks to healthcare workers—and in what people are searching for around the world. One thing has become clear: people want to help.

Where There's Help, There's Hope

As with all of our Doodles, we hope the series allows for helpers everywhere to feel seen, heard, and valued and for everyone to remember there will be a light at the end of what could feel like a long tunnel. Because where there’s help, there’s hope.

Doodle for Google 2020: How do you show kindness?

I’ve had a lifelong love of art and creativity. As the Doodle team lead, it’s an incredible privilege to use that passion professionally to create surprising, magical moments that inspire and connect us all. 

Today our 12th annual Doodle for Google contest kicks off, and I can’t wait to see the extraordinary artwork students across the nation dream up for the chance to be featured on the Google homepage, and to inspire millions of people with their creativity.

We’re excited to announce that this year’s theme is “I show kindness by…” Acts of kindness bring more joy, light and warmth to the world. They cost nothing, but mean everything. . 

As submissions open, we’re inviting young artists in grades K-12 to open up their creative hearts and show us how they find ways to be kind. Starting a community garden? Standing up for a friend being bullied? Doing chores around the home? How you interpret the theme is up to you! 

This year’s national winner will have their artwork featured on the Google homepage for a day and receive a $30,000 college scholarship. The winner’s school will also receive a $50,000 technology package.

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Rodney Robinson

We’re assembling an amazing panel of judges to help us choose the winner. This year, we’re lucky enough to have the help of an incredibly kindhearted educator, Rodney Robinson, 2019’s National Teacher of the Year. Who will the others be? An inspiring scientist? A famous musician? Stay tuned to find out!

In the meantime, check out the artwork of our 2019 national winner, Arantza Peña Popo, for inspiration. If you’re ready to join the ranks of previous winners, the contest is open for submissions for 10 weeks; submissions close on March 13th, 2020.

Ready to enter? Let kindness inspire you and start doodling your heart out! 

For more details on contest rules, theme inspiration and the entry form, head to doodle4google.com.   

A doodle celebrating Zhou Youguang and the ABCs of learning Mandarin

Mandarin Chinese is a tremendously rich logographic language, meaning every word is represented by a unique character or combination of characters. And there are a lot—the largest Chinese dictionaries contain more than 60,000 different ones.   


The sheer volume makes it challenging for non-native speakers to master Mandarin. As anyone who has studied the language knows, it’s difficult remembering the pronunciations of thousands of characters!


Thanks to Zhou Youguang’s work, it’s now a lot easier to learn Mandarin. An economist by training, in the 1950s, he was tasked by the Chinese government to turn Chinese characters into words with Roman letters. Over three years, Zhou developed pinyin, a phonetic alphabet for Mandarin. With the help of just 26 letters of the Roman alphabet and four tonal marks, pinyin allows for the accurate pronunciation of any of Mandarin’s 60,000 or so characters, no matter how obscure. It’s thanks to Zhou that we can learn “拼音” is pronounced “pīn yīn” by reading its phonetic spelling, instead of listening to someone else pronounce it first.


So today’s doodle in countries including Argentina, Chile, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Sweden and the U.S. celebrates Zhou’s 112th birthday. Zhou passed away at the ripe old age of 111 last year. He lived long enough to see people using pinyin to type Mandarin characters on computers and mobile phones. By inventing pinyin, Zhou didn’t just help generations of students learn Mandarin. He also paved the way for a new generation of Mandarin speakers to communicate online.