In the summer of 2003, the fifth Harry Potter book was shattering records, Beyoncé had just released her debut solo album, and Netflix was mailing thousands of DVDs in red envelopes. And, on July 10th, Shutterstock was founded. It was a time before iPhones, Facebook, and even MySpace.
To celebrate our anniversary, we’ve taken a look back at how the world has changed over the past 15 years, from profound political shifts and monumental scientific discoveries to the technology that has transformed how we live. Our talented team of designers has chosen defining moments and events from each year and turned them into posters using our collection of 200 million images.
2003 – Mapping of the Human Genome
2004 – Launch of Facebook
2005 – Angela Merkel elected as Germany’s first female Chancellor
2006 – Disney’s acquisition of Pixar
2007 – Release of the first iPhone
2008 – Barack Obama, first African-American President of the U.S., elected
2009 – Oldest skeleton of human ancestor discovered
2010 – Worst oil spill in U.S. history takes place in the Gulf of Mexico
2011 – Game of Thrones premieres on HBO
2012 – NASA’s Curiosity rover lands on Mars
2013 – Nelson Mandela dies at age 95
2014 – Germany wins the FIFA World Cup in Brazil
2015 – Same-sex marriage becomes legal across the U.S.
2016 – Pokémon Go shows the possibilities for augmented reality
2017 – #MeToo movement goes global
To see more artwork and insights from Shutterstock, keep reading:
- Shutterstock’s 2018 Creative Trends
- Oscar Pop! The 2018 Best Picture Nominees as Pop Art Posters
- “Shapes” Advertising Campaign Wins Best Print Campaign at Cannes Lions