UsefulCharts is a chartmaking company founded by Canadian educator and designer Matt Baker. The company produces infographic posters both physically and digitally and has an associated storefront in Vancouver and a YouTube channel.
 Brand logo | ||||||||||
| Company type | Private | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genre | Infographics | |||||||||
| Founder | Matt Baker | |||||||||
| Headquarters | , | |||||||||
| Products |
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YouTube information | ||||||||||
| Channel | ||||||||||
| Presented by | Matt Baker | |||||||||
| Location | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | |||||||||
| Genre | Education | |||||||||
| Subscribers | 1.75 million[‡ 1] | |||||||||
| Associated acts | Andrew Mark Henry | |||||||||
| Website | usefulcharts | |||||||||
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Last updated: September 2024 | ||||||||||
Founder
editMatthew James Baker[‡ 2] is a Canadian[1] educator and designer[2] who was born on either 1974 or 1975.[3] In a YouTube video, Baker said that he was born into a family who were members of the Worldwide Church of God. He described the church as a "cult" and has since converted to Progressive Judaism.[‡ 3] In 2003, he cofounded Beacon Hill Academy, a non-profit school in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka, where he had previously worked as a teacher.[3][4][5] When he moved to Vancouver in 2009, he uploaded around 100 educational charts online covering various topics which earned him money through Google AdSense advertisements on his website.[3] He later began selling physical posters on Amazon.com and was able to rely on income from the UsefulCharts business by 2011.[3]
Baker has a PhD in education,[6] with his dissertation titled "Psychological type and atheism: why some people are more likely than others to give up God."[‡ 2]
Business
editThe company was started by Matthew Baker on February 2, 2018.[citation needed]
Store
editThe storefront of the company is located at Commercial Drive, Vancouver, where physical posters and books by UsefulCharts are sold.[7] Posters can also be purchased online through its website.[2]
YouTube
editThe company has an associated YouTube channel where Baker narrates over videos presenting educational charts. Baker has said the revenue between physical chart sales and the channel is "about 50/50." In a Global News segment covering UsefulCharts, a video detailing the history of Vancouver was highlighted.[7]
Notable charts
edit
Charts designed by the company which have received media attention include:
- Evolution of the Alphabet: a visual timeline of all 26 glyphs in the English alphabet.[2][8][9][10]
- Writing Systems of the World: a chart detailing writing systems of various languages.[2][11]
Books
editBooks released under the UsefulCharts name include:
- Baker, Matt (2016-01-01). The Atheist Personality: Why some people are more likely to give up God. Vancouver: UsefulCharts. ISBN 9780994834669.
- Baker, Matt; Andrews, John (2020-10-20). Timeline of World History. Thunder Bay Press. ISBN 978-1-64517-417-2.
- Baker, Matt (2023-09-05). Timeline of the British Monarchy. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-6672-0079-8.
- Baker, Matt (2024-01-09). Timeline of the Bible. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-6672-0078-1.
Reception
editBiblical scholar Jacob L. Wright commented on Twitter in 2024 that Baker was "an extraordinary pedagogue" while sharing a video by UsefulCharts on the Twelve Tribes of Israel.[12] Mark Wilson, writing for Fast Company, said Evolution of the Alphabet "beautifully illustrated" the history of the alphabet.[8]
References
editSecondary sources
edit- ^ Diment, Marcia (2023-10-03). "Popular quirky YouTube channel has a Vancouver storefront". Vancouver Is Awesome. ISSN 0832-218X. Archived from the original on 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
- ^ a b c d Noe, Rain (2019-01-29). "Cool Charts Depicting the Evolution of the Alphabet, and the Writing Systems of the World". Core77. Archived from the original on 2023-06-04. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
- ^ a b c d Lee, Jenny (2015-09-09). "Greek mythology? There's a chart for that". Vancouver Sun. ISSN 0832-1299. Archived from the original on 2024-09-01. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
- ^ "Meet Matthew Baker, Useful Charts". Small Business BC. Archived from the original on 2024-03-02. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
- ^ "About Us". Beacon Hill Academy. Archived from the original on 2024-03-14. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
- ^ "Matt Baker". Simonandschuster.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
- ^ a b Charting Vancouver's History (Video). Global News. 2023-11-18. Archived from the original on 2023-11-18. Retrieved 2024-09-01 – via globalnews.ca.
- ^ a b Wilson, Mark (2019-01-31). "See the amazing evolution of the alphabet, from 1750 BC to today". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 2022-12-25. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
- ^ Frauenfelder, Mark (2019-01-29). "Fascinating chart shows the evolution of the English alphabet from Egyptian hieroglyphics". Boing Boing. Archived from the original on 2023-11-29. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
- ^ Sierzputowski, Kate (2019-01-29). "Evolution of the Alphabet: Nearly 3,800 Years of Letters Explored Through a Color-Coded Flowchart". Colossal. Archived from the original on 2023-03-22. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
- ^ Marshall, Colin (2023-10-30). "The Writing Systems of the World Explained, from the Latin Alphabet to the Abugidas of India". Open Culture. Archived from the original on 2024-08-26. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
- ^ Wright, Jacob L. [@JacobLWright] (2024-02-11). "Matt Baker is truly an extraordinary pedagogue. @usefulcharts" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2024-09-01. Retrieved 2024-09-01 – via Twitter.
Primary sources
In the text these references are preceded by a double dagger (‡):
- ^ "About @UsefulCharts". YouTube.
- ^ a b Baker, Matthew James (2015). Psychological type and atheism: why some people are morelikely than others to give up God (Thesis). Coventry: University of Warwick.
- ^ The Cult I Grew Up In | British Israelism Debunked (Video). UsefulCharts. 2021-04-16. Archived from the original on 2024-08-22 – via YouTube.