This past year The Verge launched an ambitious sci-fi series, broke stories that started conversations and forced change in industries, made our first zine, created interactive timelines, guides and a couple of straight-up video games. And for each one, we made a piece of art to carry the story through. So as New Year’s Day approaches, we’ve compiled our favorite illustrations from 2019, made by our art team and incredible freelancers.
2019: A year in The Verge illustrations
Sci-fi futures, toxic cultures, and scooter wars
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
If you want to see more beautiful work from The Verge, check out and follow us on Instagram @thevergeart. As always, our wallpapers page has original art for free download to put on your device. You can also head over to 2019: A year in photographs on The Verge to see the best of our photography from this year.
Illustration by Marcin Wolski for The Verge
Online Reunion
Artist: Marcin Wolski
Illustrations by Corey Brickley
Monsters Come Howling in Their Season
Artist: Corey Brickley
Illustration by Ana Kova
The god box: an oral history of Avatara
Artist: Jude Buffum
Illustration by Arik Roper
The Burn
Artist: Arik Roper
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Why CAPTCHAs have gotten so difficult
Artist: Alex Castro
Illustration by Deborah Lee
Skin City
Artist: Deborah Lee
Illustration by Zoë van Dijk
Move the World
Artist: Zoë van Dijk
Illustration by Benjamin Currie
Machine of Loving Grace
Artist: Benjamin Currie
The Trauma Floor
Artist: Corey Brickley
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
The World Wide Web turns 30: our favorite memories from A to Z
Artist: Alex Castro
Illustration by Cathryn Virginia for The Verge
Why companies want to mine the secrets in your voice
Artist: Cathryn Virginia
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
The armchair psychologist who ticked off YouTube
Artist: Alex Castro
Illustration by William Joel / The Verge
Foxconn is confusing the hell out of Wisconsin
Artist: William Joel
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
How the Game Boy found a new life through emulation
Artist: Alex Castro
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
15 game streaming services you can try before Google Stadia arrives
Artist: Alex Castro
Illustration by William Joel
Redline
Artist: William Joel
Why’d You Push That Button
Artist: Martina Paukova
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Apple and Amazon cut a deal that upended the Mac resale market
Artist: Alex Castro
Illustration by Mark Pernice
It’s easier to donate your body to science than your medical records
Artist: Mark Pernice
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Metadata is the biggest little problem plaguing the music industry
Artist: Alex Castro
Illustration by Corey Brickley
Bodies in Seats
Artist: Corey Brickley
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
How William Gibson’s long-lost Alien 3 script became 2019’s most intriguing audio drama
Artist: Alex Castro
Time-lapse by Amelia Holowaty Krales and Michele Doying / The Verge
One year after Trump’s Foxconn groundbreaking, there is almost nothing to show for it
Artists: Amelia Holowaty Krales & Michele Doying
Illustration by William Joel / The Verge
The Mormon Church vs. the internet
Artist: William Joel
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Deaths and injuries don’t slow Uber Eats’ rapid expansion in Mexico
Artist: Alex Castro
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Instagram ‘tag cleaners’ are fighting against digital vandalism
Artist: Alex Castro
Illustration by Jude Buffum
They said you could leave electric scooters anywhere — then the repo men struck back
Artist: Jude Buffum
It’s Sentient
Artist: Ana Kova
Illustration by Meredith Miotke for The Verge
Welcome to Lower Duck Pond, a fake town of 82,000 people
Artist: Meredith Miotke
Split Screen
Artists: Alex Castro & Michele Doying
Illustration by Selman Design
YouTube shows have become a secret weapon for rising politicians
Artist: Selman Design
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Faraday Cage
Artist: Alex Castro
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Death Stranding: an explainer for Hideo Kojima’s inscrutable new PS4 game
Artist: Alex Castro
Illustration by Laurent Hrybyk
The everything town in the middle of nowhere
Artist: Laurent Hrybyk
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
How one company you’ve never heard of swallowed tens of thousands of text messages — then spit them back out
Artist: Alex Castro
Pirate Radio
Artist: William Joel
Illustration by David Huang for The Verge
Dial Up
Artist: David Huang
The Last Stand
Artist: Alex Parkin
One of PlayStation’s most important studios makes games about loneliness
Artist: Alex Castro
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
How to fight lies, tricks, and chaos online
Artist: Alex Castro
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge, Photography by Richard Parry
PlayStation 25th anniversary issue
Artist: Alex Castro, Photography by Richard Parry
Emotional baggage
Artists: Grayson Blackmon & William Joel
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
The environmental impact of a PlayStation 4
Artist: Alex Castro
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
32 moments that made the decade
Artist: Alex Castro
Illustration by Corey Brickley for The Verge
The Terror Queue
Artist: Corey Brickley
New Away leaks reveal employees worked without heat, struggled with headaches and nausea
Artist: William Joel
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