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UsefulCharts

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UsefulCharts Publishing Ltd.
Company typePrivate
GenreInfographics
FounderMatt Baker
Headquarters,
Products
  • Educational charts
  • Nonfiction books
YouTube information
Channel
Presented byMatt Baker
LocationVancouver, British Columbia, Canada
GenreEducation
Subscribers1.75 million[‡ 1]
Associated actsAndrew Mark Henry
Websiteusefulcharts.com
100,000 subscribers
1,000,000 subscribers

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

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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

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The company was started by Matthew Baker on February 2, 2018.[citation needed]

Store

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The 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

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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.[7]

Notable charts

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Timeline of Ancient history
Timeline of ancient history, uploaded by UsefulCharts to Wikimedia Commons in 2011.

Charts designed by the company which have received media attention include:

Books

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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

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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.[12] Mark Wilson, writing for Fast Company, said Evolution of the Alphabet "beautifully illustrated" the history of the alphabet.[8]

References

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Secondary sources

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "Meet Matthew Baker, Useful Charts". Small Business BC. Archived from the original on 2024-03-02. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
  5. ^ "About Us". Beacon Hill Academy. Archived from the original on 2024-03-14. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
  6. ^ "Matt Baker". Simonandschuster.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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 (‡):

  1. ^ "About @UsefulCharts". YouTube.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ The Cult I Grew Up In | British Israelism Debunked (Video). UsefulCharts. 2021-04-16. Archived from the original on 2024-08-22 – via YouTube.