‘Air rage’ and personality tests: our favorite illustrations of 2021

From the climate crisis to airline passenger tantrums, the Guardian illustrations that best captured 2021

Artists around the world helped us illustrate some of the biggest stories of the year, from eroding coastlines to the rise of teletherapy. The art for these stories were painted on canvas, drawn on digital tablet and even cut out of paper for a collage. Thank you to all the illustrators who worked with us this year.

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Can recycled glass help restore Louisiana’s eroding coastline?

New Orleans’ coastline is eroding – but some ecologists think they have the solution: by recycling the city’s many glass bottles into sand.

Illustrator: Luis Mazón

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Revealed: The true extent of America’s food monopolies, and who pays the price

A joint investigation by the Guardian and Food and Water Watch found that only a handful of brands control 80% of the total market share of many grocery store items that shoppers regularly buy, creating a system that exploits workers and farmers while falsely giving consumers the illusion of variety and choice.

Illustrator: Julia Louise Pereira

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How mercury sneaks into the most vulnerable communities in US and Canada

This lush comic by Julia Louise Pereira shows how mercury is steadily poisoning the lakes and rivers that Indigenous communities and communities of color have historically relied on.

Illustrator: Julia Louise Pereira

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‘Nobody ever put hands on me before’: flight attendants on the air rage epidemic

Since our gradual return to society after Covid-related lockdowns, flight attendants have experienced a severe uptick in passenger tantrums.

Illustrator: Ulises Mendicutty

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The dirty dozen: meet America’s top climate villains

This article dispels that myth that Americans are personally responsible for the climate crisis, when really a handful of “climate villains” have allowed fossil fuel companies to destroy the planet.

Illustrator: Jason Goad

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What personality are you? How the Myers-Briggs test took over the world

Personality tests are whimsical and sometimes delightful, despite their many flaws. But what happens when the results are used to make real-life decisions? This is a story about how the Myers-Briggs – called “astrology for businessmen” – took over the personality test world.

Illustrator: Ricardo Cavolo

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A teenager was a suicide risk – and then the pandemic happened

Pandemic shutdowns caused many people’s mental health to deteriorate, giving rise to teletherapy. But the physical and psychological distance were an especially big challenge for people who were already at high risk for suicide.

Illustrator: Maria Medem

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Would you live with your boss 24/7? These people do

Does living with your boss sound like a nightmare scenario? It’s the reality for employees of the US startup Fiveable.

Illustrator: Kike Congrains