UsefulCharts
 Brand logo | ||||||||||
| Company type | Private | |||||||||
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| Genre | Infographics | |||||||||
| Founder | Matt Baker | |||||||||
| Headquarters | , | |||||||||
| Products |
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| Owner |
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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 | ||||||||||
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.
Founder
[edit]Matthew 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
[edit]The company was registered under the corporate name "UsefulCharts Publishing Ltd." on February 2, 2018. Private ownership of the corporation is divided between Baker and Cheratra Yaswen.[7]
Store
[edit]The storefront of the company is located at Commercial Drive, Vancouver, where physical posters and books by UsefulCharts are sold.[8] Posters can also be purchased online through its website.[2]
YouTube
[edit]The 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.[8]
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][9][10][11]
- Writing Systems of the World: a chart detailing writing systems of various languages.[2][12]
Books
[edit]Books 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
[edit]Biblical 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.[13] Mark Wilson, writing for Fast Company, said Evolution of the Alphabet "beautifully illustrated" the history of the alphabet.[9]
References
[edit]Secondary 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.
- ^ "Federal Corporation Information - 1061297-9". Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. Archived from the original on 2024-09-01. 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.