Quartz’s coverage of space in 2014 used all the best storytelling tools the web offers. In a series of pieces between October and December, we reported on various aspects of space and the space business with stunning and effective multimedia.
“This is every active satellite orbiting earth,” by David Yanofsky and Tim Fernholz, did exactly what the headline promised: an illustration of every satellite up in space. It included interactive elements that helped explain the origin and purpose of each satellite. Most importantly, the beauty of the piece helped convey the awe of its subject.
“The view from above,” by Sam Williams and Nikhil Sonnad, was not your average online quiz: Using beautiful satellite imagery, we asked readers to guess what country they were looking at. It was fun, challenging, informative, and gorgeous.
“What it took for Elon Musk’s SpaceX…,” by Tim Fernholz, with graphics by David Yanofsky, was a beautifully illustrated feature on the world’s preeminent private space company. It effectively mixed text and visual to tell a compelling story.
All told, the pieces garnered more than a million readers who were given fascinating new perspectives on space.
