Literally Just 30 Striking Illustrations From BuzzFeed UK In 2018

Explaining the stories behind the art.

Tobatron for BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

For Hanifah Rahman's essay Everyone Needs To Start Rearranging Their Bedroom Furniture And Here’s Why, illustrator Tobatron created this Ikea-inspired GIF.

Finn & Tim Lane / BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

In a BuzzFeed exclusive, Emily Dugan found research showing that the number of people being turned away by family lawyers in England and Wales has risen fourfold since 2014. I liked the idea of an angry child scribbling all over the Ministry of Justice's logo rather than colouring it in.

Alva Skog / jellylondon.com for BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

Alva Skog, a 2018 graduate of Central Saint Martins in London, did this illustration for Cassie Smyth's piece Sewing Is A Life Skill That So Many People Are Missing — Here’s Why You Need To Learn.

Tim Lane / BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

For Alex Spence's piece titled Theresa May Is Losing The Support Of Her Party's Grassroots, Opening The Door For Boris Johnson As Leader.

Sian Butcher for BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

Illustrator Sian Butcher created this header for a BuzzFeed News investigation titled Exposed: Hundreds Of Homeless Slaves Recruited On British Streets.

Laura Gallant / Vault 49 / Tim Lane / BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

To celebrate the start of this year's Great British Bake Off, we photographed the host and comedian Noel Fielding, then commissioned New York design company Vault 49 to make Noel's head melt.

Tim Lane / Getty / BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

The European Research Group has dominated the Tory debate on Brexit in the British government, but its true size and membership has been a mystery. BuzzFeed News identified scores of MPs who back its cause.

Toby Leigh for BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

For Scott Bryan's 27 Podcasts You Need To Start Listening To In 2018, we gave different illustrators the same brief: Show how podcasts can transport people to a different place. This was illustrator Toby Leigh's response.

Tim Lane / Getty / Hanad Yusuf / Will Bremridge / BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

This header design features photography and headlines from a number of BuzzFeed UK stories published in the past year. It was used in this exclusive story by Emily Dugan: The Home Office Has Created A Secret Process To Solve Immigration Cases That Generate Negative Headlines.

Rebecca Hendin for BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

LGBT editor Patrick Strudwick's story The Government Threatened To Deport This Man With Learning Disabilities Because They Didn't Believe He Could Be Gay was illustrated by Rebecca Hendin, whose images each evoked the feeling of a sad memory.

Tim Lane / BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeednews.com

In November, BuzzFeed's world news reporter Rose Troup Buchanan wrote a piece titled “We Can’t Save Everyone”: The Hopeless Mission Of The Only Ship Still Rescuing Refugees. The image of rescuers watching someone drowning without being able to help was a powerful one and represented the issue at the heart of the story.

Tim Lane / BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

We used a GIF illustration for Mark Di Stefano's piece, Revealed: Britain's Biggest Local TV Company Has “Gamed” The BBC For Hundreds Of Thousands Of Pounds Of Licence Fee Payers' Money.

Tim Lane / BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

For the BuzzFeed News investigations team The Ghost Companies Connected To Suspected Money Laundering, Corruption, And Paul Manafort.

Tim Lane / BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

There have been many Brexit illustrations to accompany BuzzFeed UK's coverage in 2018. This one represents the topic in the most simple terms possible.

Tim Lane / BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

Money, Russia, politics, spies: This report by Alex Spence had a rich set of images to draw from. Like the story, the illustration centres around Monaco, with the key characters and other locations circling.

Dale Edwin Murray for BuzzFeed

Every year, BuzzFeed UK asks an illustrator to help create the identity for that year's Black History Month coverage. In 2018 we commissioned Dale Edwin Murray.

Rob Dobi for BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

Big rewards for investors and executives, “chaos” and “unhygienic” conditions for children. Richard Holmes' piece on Britain's largest private child care home provider was illustrated by Rob Dobi.

Tim Lane / BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

This illustration is a depiction of how some Labour members and voters feel about Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May. It was used in Hannah Al-Othman's piece: Here’s The Inside Story Of What’s Really Going On With Labour And Brexit.

Natalya Lobanova / BuzzFeed

Natalya Lobanova illustrated and wrote an essay called If Your Skincare Routine Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It.

Tim Lane / Getty / BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeednews.com

For Rachael Krishna's piece titled The #MeToo Era Is Happening In South Korea Whether It’s Ready For It Or Not. The illustration plays with the South Korea flag and the idea of a mass movement.

Dan Woodger / jellylondon.com for BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

Dan Woodger created this fun illustration for Jasmin Nahar's piece The Type Of Person I’ll Definitely Be Once I Buy This New Notebook. The crowd huddle around the precious notebook, while behind them hang famous artworks with cobwebs on them.

Rob Dobi for BuzzFeed

Rob Dobi created this powerful illustration for Emily Dugan's piece: Victims Of Trafficking Were Refused Free Legal Advice Because The Government Got The Law Wrong.

Tim Lane / BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

Senior political correspondent Alex Spence's piece This Huge Leak of WhatsApp Chats Reveals The Full Fury Of The Tories’ Brexit Split revealed many hostile exchanges about Theresa May and her government.

Tim Lane / BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

Police Are Struggling To Cope With An Avalanche Of Digital Evidence was a report from Patrick Smith, who explored how police forces in Britain are overwhelmed with information gathered from mobile phones and social media.

Sam Taylor for BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

In her essay How I Fell In Love With Love Stories, Cecilia Vinesse talks about her love for books. Illustrator Sam Taylor created this fun love-themed illustration with Cecilla at the centre.

Alessandra Genualdo for BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

Alessandra Genualdo's unique style was perfect for Hannah Al-Othman's disturbing story on the techniques used on psychiatric patients by the notorious Dr William Sargant: This Is What It's Like To Be Put To Sleep So You Can't Resist Electric Shock Treatment.

Tim Lane / BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeednews.com

Using the only photo available of the man at the centre of the story, this illustration was the header for an award-winning BuzzFeed News investigation: This Russian Double Agent Is A Lot Less Dead Than He Seemed.

Tyler Spangler for BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

For Scott Bryan's piece 27 Podcasts You Need To Start Listening To In 2018,

mentioned above, this was American illustrator Tyler Spangler's response.

Natalya Lobanova / BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

Jasmin Nahar's essay describes why September should be the month of reinvention. Natalya Lobanova's illustration combined the ideas of work and school in a fun way.

Tim Lane / BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

Hannah Al-Othman's piece reported on how by alienating black and Asian voters, the Tories could lose some of their flagship London councils.