The Verge art team was busy this year, creating illustrations, photographs, and interactive designs to match stories about underwater sea cables, competitive Excel, parental anxiety, AI companions, and so much more. Here’s a look back at 20 of our favorite projects from 2024, with comments from those of us who worked on the project.
Technology
2024: a year in art on The Verge
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2004 was the first year of the future
In a special issue on the year 2004, The Verge looked 20 years back to examine how 2004 was “the year of the future,” setting in motion the internet as we know and use it today. Cath Virginia absolutely crushed the hub design (with three skins! Remember skins?), Graham MacAree built the smoothest pages, and Amelia Holowaty Krales took the early aughts photos of my dreams. This package is both a love letter to a time we all saw ourselves for the first time online and a capsule of what we hope it can become again: a place for play, creativity, and connection. – Kristen Radtke, creative director
Photography by Go Takayama
For Josh Dzieza’s feature on the hundreds of thousands of miles of internet cables at the bottom of the world’s oceans — and the people who fix and tend to them — we created an immersive electric blue world of maps and schematics. It’s great to have an opportunity to mash up data visualizations and maps along with stunning original photography, and Go Takayama’s intimate photos of these seafaring men give a face to an essential but otherwise invisible job. – Kristen Radtke, creative director
Photography by Stormy Pyeatte
The visuals for these pieces are one of my proudest Verge projects. Stormy Pyeatte’s ethereal style of floral photography and projection mapping makes for a rhythmic and mesmerizing feature design — it almost makes you want to fall in love. – Cath Virginia, senior designer
We started this story trying to figure out how on earth a bunch of Excel nerds ended up on ESPN. We ended up discovering exactly how powerful, versatile, and important spreadsheets really are and the power they confer when you can reduce the world to rows and columns. In the process, our brilliant design team found yet another way to build a spreadsheet: to use rows and columns to tell the story, and depict its characters, in their natural habitat. – David Pierce, editor-at-large
Photography by Amelia Holowaty Krales
Every once in a while, we go bananas on a special-edition print project, and for our subscription launch this year, we somehow convinced our colleagues to pose in 1980s office wear for our Content Goblins magazine. It’s an issue about the enshitification of the internet, so I basically lobbed as much goop and slime on top of the design as possible. Our A/V producer Andrew Marino was the real MVP of this project for letting us turn him into a literal goblin. – Kristen Radtke, creative director
Today’s smart homes: the hopes and the realities
The occupant of a home filled with “smart” technology — speakers, lights, a robovac — sits by the window and ignores the tech in favor of gazing at the trees and clouds outside. Adrián Astorgano’s vibrant art gives us a moving (both figuratively and literally) picture of how today’s smart homes are useful and even preferable, but not an end in themselves. –Barbara Krasnoff, reviews editor
Getting Kristen Radtke’s beautiful comic up on the site was an interesting challenge: how do we preserve the artwork and animation without compromising on performance? I think the amount of work done to optimize the piece ultimately paid off in the user experience. It’s our smoothest comic yet. – Graham MacAree, senior engineer
I love everything that Samar Haddad makes, especially how she breaks down complex topics step by step in clever visual ways. For this short series on AI in sports, she created a massive suite of graphics in a cool retro vibe. I hate sports, and I love this series. – Kristen Radtke, creative director
Photography by Amelia Holowaty Krales; design by Maeve Sheridan and Cath Virginia
Creating the lede images for our gift guides is a big job each year. We source all the products, create distinct sets for each guide, and try to keep things fresh for the whole suite. I love the joyful scenes photographer Amelia Holowaty Krales created this year with prop stylist Maeve Sheridan, with bold, poppy wrapping papers designed by our senior designer Cath Virginia. You can even buy your own custom Verge wrapping paper from our merch store. – Kristen Radtke, creative director
Searching for color at Pantone’s all-brown party
Photography by Amelia Holowaty Krales
I was so excited to head to a party with Verge senior photographer Amelia Holowaty Krales: one, because it meant we were both off the hook for bedtime with our respective kids, and two, because she can communicate a vibe so sharply through her lens. Her photos from the Pantone Color of the Year party are visual arguments in themselves, and her use of double exposures throughout perfectly communicates the branded extravaganza of the evening. – Kristen Radtke, creative director
Art by Cath Virginia with photos from Getty Images
There’s a lot to call out in this great, cohesive collection of images that helped bring our physical media issue to life. But I have to put a spotlight on the floppy disk turned turntable, which is as clever as it is mesmerizing. – Andrew Webster, senior editor, entertainment
Art by Cath Virginia, assets from TurboSquid
The most recognizable part of Pitchfork — besides its logo — is its 10-point rating scale. How do you convey the diminishment of an august music publication? You just turn the volume down. – Elizabeth Lopatto, senior reporter
Photography by Amelia Holowaty Krales
Wearables — especially smart rings — tend to be small gadgets. So when it comes to art, it’s really important to think about how to make them pop on the page while also differentiating them from each other. (Let’s be real, watches and rings start to look an awful lot alike after a while.) Cue fun, colorful props and sparkly nails! – Victoria Song, senior reviewer
The Verge’s guide to the 2024 presidential election
Design by Mr.Nelson with photos from Getty Images
In one of the most depressing election cycles of all time, Wouter Tjeenk Willink, aka Mr.Nelson, did an apt job with these uncomfortably chaotic collages. – Cath Virginia, senior designer
Alexa, thank you for the music
When people grow old, they don’t stop being individuals capable of joy. Mojo Wang’s imaginative drawing of an older woman in celebration of her favorite music beautifully illustrates an article that explains how the writer’s mother used a smart speaker to enhance the final chapters of her life. – Barbara Krasnoff, reviews editor
Google is further cracking down on sites publishing ‘parasite SEO’ content
Art by Cath Virginia with photos from Getty Images
I’ve spent the last few years writing about all the ways search engine optimization infiltrates Google, making for a frustrating experience for both users and website operators. This image perhaps perfectly encapsulates SEO at its worst: insidious, corrosive, and just plain gross. – Mia Sato, platforms and communities reporter
OpenAI searches for an answer to its copyright problems
Art by Cath Virginia with photos from Getty Images
Basically my favorite part of the story process is finding out what madness our art team has cooked up this time. In this case, I think I told Cath Virginia that I felt like the “it’s all Ohio” meme as I was reporting the story — it’s all copyright law and always has been. And she went galaxy brain with it. – Elizabeth Lopatto, senior reporter
How the Stream Deck rose from the ashes of a legendary keyboard
Richard Parry’s playful 3D animations perfectly express the cult status of the infamous Optimus Maximus keyboard. – Cath Virginia, senior designer
Vice was never as big and solid as Shane Smith made it seem, and the story had a cartoonish surrealness to it that was captured perfectly in Hunter French’s illustrations — whether that was the Buster Keaton-inspired lead art or Smith hawking the brand in secretive deals. Sure, there are a bunch of complicated financial details, but the art really gets to the heart of the thing, doesn’t it? – Elizabeth Lopatto, senior reporter
Photography by Liam James Doyle and Montinique Monroe
Mia Sato’s piece about a lawsuit involving two Amazon influencers is amazing, and the photographs of these two individuals are a perfect pairing. The portraits that Montinique Monroe and Liam James Doyle took in Austin, Texas, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, respectively, were individually fantastic and worked so well together, it was really hard to choose which to use. – Amelia Holowaty Krales, senior photographer
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Hot showers, like electricity, are a luxury that’s easy to take for granted. That all changes after a few nights camping at a music festival, a week toiling at a backcountry job site, or overlanding all summer in the great unknown. An itchy scalp and the vague smell of warm clams suddenly make the idea of spending hundreds on a portable shower seem less absurd.
I’ve been testing the Hottap Go from Australia-based Joolca while vanlifing to shower after surfing and to wash up after cooking. It features a 12L integrated water tank which is an improvement on other portable showers that require an external container and long, cumbersome hose that’s easy to trip over. The Hottap Go also recirculates the water until it reaches your chosen temperature. This slows things down a bit, compared to “instant” portable showers, but it doesn’t waste water since it won’t produce an initial shock of cold water that’s usually sprayed into the ground.
The $554 Hottap Go requires an external 12V power source, but in the US Joolca sells a 12V / 5A $165 power bank that attaches magnetically to the case. In Europe I had to roll my own with an €85 (about $100) power bank found on Amazon. The result is a true, fully self-contained hot water system that can be taken anywhere.
$554
The Good
- All-in-one solution for hot showers anywhere
- Water tank large enough for two showers
- All accessories and attachments store inside the unit
- No water wasted unlike competitors
- Temperature remains steady
The Bad
- Very expensive
- Battery is optional and attaches to the outside of the case
- Have to wait a few minutes to heat up
- Water pressure is just okay
To clear up any confusion right away: the Hottap Go requires electricity to power the integrated water pump and display but it heats the water with propane gas. It works with standard 1lb propane canisters out of the box, and larger tanks with a hose and regulator you must provide.
One thing I love about the Hottap Go is that the hoses, battery, showerhead, and gas canister can all be stored inside the water tank when not in use for easy portability and storage. I also like that the flow-adjustable showerhead comes with a magnetic holder. Taken together with its approach to preheating the water through recirculation, it’s clear that Joolca’s product designers have learned from the shortcomings of the current crop of portable propane showers.
To shower, you first attach the quick-release hoses for the gas and showerhead, plug the shower into a 12V power source (power bank, power station, or the cigarette plug inside your car), set your desired temperature and wait. The unit will begin heating and recirculating the water until a series of beeps indicates that the target temperature is reached. I brought tap water up to a hot 47C / 117F (per the display) in exactly four minutes, which was just enough time to gather everything I needed to shower outside my van with my modesty preserved.
On one windy day at the beach, I noticed the Hottap Go had to keep reigniting, despite its leeward venting. It failed so often that I saw an E3 error message on the display. Repositioning the shower out of the wind kept the flame lit. The handle on top makes it easy to move, and the seal around the lid ensures that water won’t slosh onto the ground or your power bank. Otherwise, the Hottap Go always lit and stayed lit without issue during my testing.
Joolca says the Hottap Go is good for two “great showers” or a single “long, luxurious one.” I was able to take two functional yet satisfying showers from its full 12L (3.2 gal) water tank, making liberal use of the on/off switch on the showerhead to conserve water while lathering.
1/11
Water flow is just okay, even at maximum setting. It’s strong enough to penetrate long, thick hair when shampooing but it’s not going to jettison grime from my mountain bike, for example. The magnetic holder is strong and the showerhead feels good in the hand with a nicely positioned on/off switch. Adjusting the flow rate dial is a two-handed operation, but mostly I just left it on max.
If you’ll only use it once or twice a year, then spending over $554 for the Hottap Go portable shower doesn’t make much sense, especially when tankless portable showers like BougeRV’s cost half that. I much prefer the Hottap Go’s recirculating water tank, performance, and overall convenience, though I do wish the optional $165 magnetic power bank was included in that price. Still, for vanlifers like me or anyone who regularly spends days away from plumbing, $719 can be easily justified for what could be the best portable hot water shower available.
- Tank: 12L (3.2 gal), ~2 showers
- Water flow rate: 1.5 – 3.5 L/min (0.4 – 0.9 gal/min)
- Shower hose: 3m (9.8 ft)
- Showerhead has an integrated magnetic mount and controls to turn off the water and adjust its flow
- Two-stage filter lets you use creek water
- Cigarette socket power cable: 5m (16.4 ft), 12V DC
- Power draw: 45W
- Max temp: 60°C (140°F), pre-heats in ~5 min
- Gas: 0.45 kg (1 lb) canister, ~15 showers
- Gas flow rate: 20MJ/hr (18,956 BTU/hr)
- Weight: 9.5 kg (20.9 lb) without water
- Size: 495 x 359 x 180 mm (19.5 x 14.1 x 7.1 in), designed to fit most jerry can holders
Photos by Thomas Ricker / The Verge
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If your clean laundry has been sitting in a basket long enough to qualify as furniture, Isaac 1 may sound like the robot you have been waiting for. Weave Robotics has introduced Isaac 1, a mobile home robot designed to handle household chores that many of us keep pushing off to tomorrow. It can pick up dirty clothes, handle loaded hampers, fold laundry and put clothes away.
It can also help with making beds, fixing pillows and blankets, plus putting everyday clutter back where it belongs. That sounds pretty amazing to me, especially if your house has kids, pets or a laundry pile that seems to regenerate overnight. However, Isaac 1 also raises a very personal question: how much access would you give a robot inside your home if it meant fewer chores?
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Weave Robotics’ Isaac 1 home robot can fold laundry, make beds and tidy rooms, but its $7,999 price tag raises questions about cost and privacy. (Weave Robotics)
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What is the Isaac 1 robot?
Isaac 1 is a wheeled mobile robot built from the ground up for the home. Weave says it designed and assembled the robot in San Francisco. The robot has a soft fabric shell, a solid internal structure and a collapsible torso. It can shrink down when it is off duty or extend up to a more human height when it needs to work.
Unlike a robot vacuum, Isaac 1 can reach for objects, move items around and interact with clutter in your home. You control it through a smartphone companion app. That app lets you request a task on demand or schedule one for later. So, Isaac 1 could work while you are home or handle a chore while you are away.
How the Isaac 1 robot folds laundry and resets rooms
Isaac 1’s main features fall into two areas. The first is Laundry Flow. Isaac 1 can find dirty clothes, pick them up, handle loaded hampers, fold clothing and put items away. Depending on your home setup, Weave says Isaac 1 may also help with related tasks, such as loading and unloading clothes from a washer or dryer.
The second area is Daily Reset. That means Isaac 1 can tidy rooms so they feel ready to use again. It can make beds, straighten pillows and blankets and return toys, shoes and other clutter to their places. For many homes, that could be a big deal. Laundry and daily pickup chores tend to drain time because they never really end.
Isaac 1 robot specs for your home
Isaac 1 has an 8-hour battery life and a listed charge time of about two hours. It connects through Wi-Fi and has a footprint of 20.5 inches by 22 inches. Its height ranges from 3 feet to 5 feet 9 inches because the torso can collapse or extend.
Weave also lists an 80-inch vertical reach and a 38-inch horizontal reach. Those specs help explain how Isaac 1 could reach beds, hampers, shelves and other parts of a normal home. It also uses a wheeled base, which Weave says makes it passively stable as it completes tasks.
At preorder, you can also choose a color preference, including Sage, Gray, Slate Blue, Terracotta or Vesper.
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Isaac 1 is designed to help with laundry, clutter and daily home resets while using cameras, Wi-Fi and possible remote assistance. (Weave Robotics)
Isaac 1 robot autonomy and privacy questions
Weave says Isaac 1 is autonomous by default for Laundry Flow and Daily Reset. However, the company also says teleoperation assistance may step in when needed to make sure tasks get completed. That detail deserves your attention because Isaac 1 works inside your home. Teleoperation means a person can help the robot remotely if it gets confused by an item, a room layout or a task. In some cases, that could make the robot more useful. It could also help prevent chores from getting stuck halfway.
Weave says privacy is core to Isaac 1’s design. The company also says the robot has physical cues that show when it is working. However, Weave’s privacy policy says its robots have video cameras and may record visual content about their surroundings. That can include tasks being performed, objects in the robot’s field of view and people nearby. The policy also says Weave’s workforce may remotely access that information in connection with the robot’s operation. That does not mean you should panic. It does mean you should read the policy before putting down a deposit.
Isaac 1 may need cameras to fold clothes and move through your home. Still, your bedroom, laundry area and living room are private spaces. You deserve clear answers about what gets recorded, who can see it and how long it is stored. Before ordering, ask whether video can be deleted, whether you can opt out of AI training uses and how you can limit where the robot operates.
Isaac 1 robot price and preorder details
Weave lists two payment options for home customers. You can pay $7,999 upfront, with an optional $99-per-month premium membership, or choose a $449-per-month subscription plan. You can also preorder Isaac 1 with a fully refundable $250 deposit. That deposit reserves your place in line and remains refundable until your robot ships.
For some, the math may come down to time. If Isaac 1 handles enough laundry and daily cleanup, the cost may feel easier to justify. For others, $449 a month may feel like too much for an early home robot.
Isaac 1 robot shipping timeline
Weave says first shipments begin in fall 2026. California deliveries come first, with broader U.S. availability expected through 2027.
After you preorder, Weave says you should receive a confirmation and thank-you email. As your delivery date gets closer, the company plans to coordinate a demo.
That demo may happen in person at a Weave location or remotely over a video call. Weave also says it will use that time to understand your top priorities for Isaac 1 inside your home.
What this means to you
If Isaac 1 works as promised, it could give you back time from chores that never seem finished. Laundry alone can take hours each week, especially in a busy household. It could also help if bending, lifting or carrying loaded hampers has become a hassle. For some homes, a robot that folds clothes and resets rooms may offer more than convenience.
However, Isaac 1 is still a connected device moving through private rooms. It uses cameras, connects to Wi-Fi and may involve remote help when needed. So before you place a deposit, think about your home layout and where you would actually feel comfortable letting it work.
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Weave Robotics says Isaac 1 can pick up dirty clothes, fold laundry and put items away after users schedule chores through an app. (Weave Robotics)
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Kurt’s key takeaways
Isaac 1 is the kind of robot that makes you stop and say, “OK, now we’re getting somewhere.” Nobody looks forward to folding laundry, making beds or picking up the same clutter again and again. These are the chores that eat up your precious time and seem never-ending. The price is the hard part. At $7,999 upfront or $449 a month, Isaac 1 has to do a lot more than look cool in a demo. It has to save you real time, work reliably and fit into your home without creating new headaches. Then there is the privacy side. Isaac 1 uses cameras, connects to Wi-Fi and may involve remote help when needed. That does not make it a dealbreaker for me, but I would want very clear answers before letting it work in private spaces like my bedroom or bathroom. I love the idea of a robot taking laundry off my hands. I am just not sure most of us are ready to pay nearly $8,000 for that privilege quite yet.
Would you let a robot see inside your home if it meant you never had to fold another load of laundry again? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com.
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