Kristen Radtke has been the creative mind behind many of The Verge‘s gorgeous visuals, and in this visual essay, she tells a story of her own.
Beginning with her inner conflicts as a new mother, “How to Watch a Baby” draws (literally and figuratively) on personal experience, historical research, and reporting to evoke the specific roots of a common parental anxiety. A well-regarded graphic novelist in her own right, Radtke elevates her strong written journalism through the medium of comics. The interplay of image and idea create moments of levity, confusion, and resonance, all in the pursuit of expressing the ambiguous, complicated feeling of how to approach baby technology.
“How to Watch a Baby” managed to surprise [the judges]. The author really knew their audience; it succeeds by blending deeply personal storytelling with meticulous visual craftsmanship, using the comics medium to explore the emotional and technological complexities of modern motherhood.The web presentation enhances the story through thoughtful interactivity, pacing, and design that unfold in sync with the narrative, offering a more immersive and intentional reading experience.
