And finally... 2012 has been a vintage year for Dezeen, with a major award, high-profile collaborations with Apple and Google and record-breaking traffic to our website.

We were extremely flattered in July when UK newspaper the Independent named us the best architecture blog (above).

Things got even better later that month when we won the prestigious Association of Online Publishers' award for Digital Business Publisher of the Year (above). The jury described us as "A smart entrepreneurial brand, with beautifully designed products - from websites to pop-up shops. Strong evidence of experimentation, fast growing revenue and audience".

We were involved in the biggest tech event of 2012 when Apple included us in the launch of the iPhone 5 in September. As well as featuring in the Keynote launch in San Francisco, Dezeen featured in the global launch movie for the new product (the image above is from the Korean version).

Apple featured us again the following month in the launch of the new MacBook Pro (above). Apple used Dezeen to show off the high-resolution Retina screen of its updated range of laptops.

In October we teamed up with Google for the UK launch of Field Trip, an app that pulls up stories from our archive that are relevant to your location. Look out for further map-related collaborations with Google next year...

In November we came close to scooping a second award. We were highly commended in the Digital Service category at the International Building Press awards, where judges described us as an "exciting and successful site" that “presented a progressive direction for a digital publication, while informing on new designs in images, video and words.”

Finally we were tickled to learn that UK newspaper the Guardian launched its new Architecture and Design Blog (above) with the express intention to "beat Dezeen". Imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery.

Our visitor figures were our best ever this year too, with over 33.5 million visits (up 20% on last year) and over 93 million page views (up 20% on last year). Thanks to all our readers and here's to an even better 2013.

The number of video plays during the year was over 2.2 million - almost treble the number of plays in 2012.

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Our review of the year naturally concludes with December, when the Louvre Lens by SANAA and Imrey Culbert has been our most popular story, the architecture world paid tribute to the late Oscar Niemeyer and the fight to protect design education continued.

Our second most popular story was a music library covered in photographs of marble by Swiss architect Max Dudler.

In third place was a pair of twisting skyscrapers by Chinese firm MAD in Canada.

A swirling complex of apartments, offices and leisure facilities for Belgrade by Zaha Hadid was our fourth most-clicked story of the month.

And finally, our fifth most popular story in December featured Smile Makers, these sex toys inspired by and named after typical female fantasies.

Apple's Jonathan Ive (above) was among over 150 UK designers, brands and organisations to give their support to the growing campaign against the UK government's plans to remove design and other creative subjects from the school curriculum, and even the director of the UK’s Olympic cultural programme said she was "worried" about the changes.

Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer passed away aged 104, having worked right up to his death (see his sneakers for Converse launched last month) and architect Norman Foster was among those to pay tribute.

Finally, the boat Steve Jobs commissioned was back in the news, first impounded in Amsterdam following a dispute over an unpaid bill to French designer Philippe Starck and now released following a temporary agreement with Jobs' heirs.

See all our stories from December 2012 »

See our review of November 2012 »
See our review of October 2012 »
See our review of September 2012 »
See our review of August 2012 »
See our review of July 2012 »
See our review of June 2012 »
See our review of May 2012 »
See our review of April 2012 »
See our review of March 2012 »
See our review of February 2012 »
See our review of January 2012 »

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November's most popular story was a set of images by Dutch architectural photographer Iwan Baan showing scenes of New York recovering from the effects of Hurricane Sandy, while design education came under threat in the UK and 3D printing was taken up by the military.

News that the world's tallest tower will take only 90 days to complete in Changsha, China, caught our readers attention and was second most-clicked.

This house in Alicante by Fran Silvestre Arquitectos takes third place, with an 18-metre-long balcony that stretches out towards the Balearic Sea.

Coming in at four is a house in Lisbon with plants on the facade and a pool on the roof, designed by Portuguese architects Luís Rebelo de Andrade, Tiago Rebelo de Andrade and Manuel Cachão Tojal.

Completing our November lineup is a proposal for a Wine Museum that cantilevers from the side of a mountain, designed by Mauro Turin Architectes for the Lavaux wine-making region of Switzerland.

Fears for the future of creative education in the UK overtook the news in November, with incoming D&AD president Neville Brody (above) calling plans to remove creative subjects from the UK curriculum “short-sighted insanity”, and writer and broadcaster Andrew Marr saying the Royal College of Art will end up as a "Chinese finishing school" unless the UK government does more to encourage young people to study art and design. Read more about design and education here.

3D printing stayed in the spotlight with news that the US military is investing in 3D printing on the frontline and Dezeen went to Shanghai, where Michael Young insisted that “China is a dream scenario for a designer” but architects Neri&Hu told us that "architects in China are lost".

See all our stories from November 2012 »

See our review of October 2012 »
See our review of September 2012 »
See our review of August 2012 »
See our review of July 2012 »
See our review of June 2012 »
See our review of May 2012 »
See our review of April 2012 »
See our review of March 2012 »
See our review of February 2012 »
See our review of January 2012 »

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We're now looking back at our top five stories in October and sailing into an easy first place is the yacht designed by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs before his death, while the news was dominated by architecture in China and the integration of digital and industrial design at Apple.

At number two are these Scary Beautiful shoes by Leanie van der Vyver, which force the wearer to walk in an unnatural way.

Third place goes to a news story about the UK government no longer allowing schools to be built with curved or glass walls. Design and education has been in the news a lot recently and you can see all our stories on the topic here.

A three-storey bookcase comes in at number four in this house in Rotterdam by Shift.

Fifth place goes to the Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry by Chartier-Corbasson Architectes, built next to a 100-year old mansion in Amiens, France.

Architecture and design in China were top of our agenda, with creative director of Beijing Design Week Aric Chen warning that contemporary China should "slow down" just as a Chinese company announced plans to build the world’s tallest skyscraper (above) in just seven months, using a kit like Meccano. Later that month work started on a high-density, car-free "satellite city" for 80,000 people (below) that will be built from scratch in a rural location close to Chengdu.

Apple announced plans to bring its hardware and software design teams closer together with both headed by Jonathan Ive (below), as part of a major shake-up of its management team following claims that the company is "a little bit behind" in integrating industrial and digital design.

Meanwhile Google offered a look inside its data centres (below) and Dezeen was at the Istanbul Design Biennial, where Joseph Grima curated a showcase of new technologies causing a "cultural revolution".

We then took a closer look at 3D printing with MakerBot Industries' CEO telling us manufacturing can again take place at home as it did before the industrial revolution and creative director of 3D printer company 3D Systems saying that printing products at home is cheaper than shopping.

See all our stories from October 2012 »

See our review of September 2012 »
See our review of August 2012 »
See our review of July 2012 »
See our review of June 2012 »
See our review of May 2012 »
See our review of April 2012 »
See our review of March 2012 »
See our review of February 2012 »
See our review of January 2012 »

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Our most popular story in September was the Ostrich Pillow by Kawamura Ganjavian, squishy headgear meant for sleeping in public, plus Dezeen collaborated with Apple and 3D printing got controversial.

Second up it's The Pool Shophouse by FARM and KD architects, a converted 1920s shophouse in Singapore with, you've guessed it, a pool inside.

Dominic Wilcox's No Place Like Home GPS shoes with LED lights in the toes to guide you home are at number three.

Fourth place goes to the Offices for Junta de Castilla y León by Alberto Campo Baeza, wrapped in glass behind a stone perimeter wall.

An interview we filmed with curator Justin McGuirk about his Golden Lion-winning exhibit at the Venice Architecture Biennale, looking at community living in a vertical slum in Caracas, comes in at number five.

In News, the 3D printing revolution took a controversial turn in September when it emerged that libertarian activists in the US planned to distribute open-source blueprints for homemade 3D-printed guns.

Dezeen was featured in Apple's launch of the iPhone 5 and makes an appearance in the movie demonstrating the new product. That same month, Apple was named best design studio of the past 50 years at one-off D&AD ceremony and it emerged that Apple industrial designer Jonathan Ive is to design a camera for German brand Leica.

Danish architect Henning Larsen was among the five laureates of the Praemium Imperiale arts prize and Peter Zumthor (above) was named as the recipient of the Royal Gold Medal for architecture.

See all our stories from September 2012 »

See our review of August 2012 »
See our review of July 2012 »
See our review of June 2012 »
See our review of May 2012 »
See our review of April 2012 »
See our review of March 2012 »
See our review of February 2012 »
See our review of January 2012 »

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