There's no denying it, 2011 was a rather eventful year. From the tragedy of Japan's earthquake and tsunami, to the pomp and circumstance of a British royal wedding; from Osama bin Laden's assassination to the sunsetting of NASA's space shuttle program. The human race experienced myriad groundbreaking and earthshaking events that rocked every corner, none perhaps so important as what is collectively known as the Arab Spring.

It begin with a bang, not a whisper. A Tunisian man sets himself on fire more than one year ago, starting a chain of pro-democracy reactions that snowballed into toppled dictators and ruined regimes, and it continues on today. However, with the many Middle Eastern countries involved and their parallel paths of revolution, it can be a challenge to keep things straight.

Luckily, visual communicators Garry Blight, Sheila Pulham and Paul Torpey of the Guardian created this dynamic, interactive infographic to help streamline events. Form and function unite to tell a story of revolutionary proportions. Navigate to the Guardian to interact with the infographic.

The infographic navigates vertically—forward and backward through the recent past—reminiscent of the 2001 artificial gravity centrifuge. Icons show which category an event falls under, hovering displays a summary and clicking navigates to the news article. Truly a well-organized visual catalogue and an innovative way of promoting interior content.

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