A year that shook the world by ABC

Traditional "year in charts" retrospectives usually consist of rehashed newsroom graphics from the year gone. This project takes a fundamentally different approach.

Instead of revisiting the key stories of 2024, we sought to create a unique, data-driven exploration of what made this year truly exceptional in the broader context of history. By analyzing fresh data across six thematic pillars, we crafted a narrative that captures the essence of a year marked by significant global change – although not always for the better.

From our research, the themes that defined 2024 were: the surge in political violence, the unprecedented scale of global elections, Taylor Swift's record-breaking tour, the alarming reality of climbing surface air temperatures, the economic anomaly of a pharmaceutical company surpassing its nation's GDP, and the burgeoning energy demands of AI and cryptocurrency.

This project epitomizes playful yet impactful data visualization, blending fundamental techniques with creative innovations. To enhance the narrative and maintain a sense of pace and originality, we deliberately selected a diverse range of chart types and used each one only once.

While familiar chart types like line, bubble, and proportional area charts provide grounding, they are juxtaposed with novel visualizations designed to capture the unique nuances of each theme.

For instance, the rise of violent political events is rendered through a visceral, red flowing bump chart, evoking the bloodshed of recent civil unrest. To convey the magnitude of 2024's global elections, we employed a modified cartogram, sizing countries by population size to create a more accurate visual picture of half the world's population.

The most challenging and rewarding aspect of this project was visualizing the energy consumption disparity between traditional online search, LLM queries and Bitcoin transactions. The sheer scale of the comparison – a staggering 3.3 million to one ratio – posed a significant design hurdle. Our goal was not only to present these figures accurately but also to contextualize them in a manner comprehensible to a broad audience.

The solution is an innovative, long-scrolling dot density plot, peppered with informative signposts to both engage users and provide context along the journey. As users traverse the visualization, the gargantuan scale of Bitcoin's energy consumption is revealed in a jaw-dropping way. This visualization is a strong example of how effective design can transform abstract data into a stunning and emotionally-charged narrative.