Atlas of Finance:
Mapping the Global Story of Money
This book for map lovers uses 80 original data visualizations to demystify the financial world.
“Atlas of Finance is a stunning visual experience, every page a revelation.”
“Ingenious, often beautifully executed illustrations . . . a master class in the use of design as exposition.”
“The book is a lot of fun . . . elegantly produced maps, graphs, and other visualisations.”
My most intricate cover design to date
From the emergence of money in the ancient world to today’s interconnected landscape of high-frequency trading and cryptocurrency, the story of finance has always taken place on an international stage. This atlas uses graphics and maps to bring the complex and abstract world of finance down to earth, showing how geography is fundamental for understanding finance, and vice versa. It illuminates the ways that history, laws, and regulations have influenced finance; shows how finance relates to innovation, globalization, and environmental change; and details how finance plays a key part in drawing the landscape of uneven development, inequality, and instability. Atlas of Finance, with word and image, will change the way you view both your money and your world.
I designed this book and its 80 data visualizations in collaboration with an international team of coauthors* led by Dariusz Wójcik, professor of financial geography at the National University of Singapore. The maps and graphics were my latest booklength collaboration with James Cheshire, professor of geographic information and cartography at University College London.
*Dariusz Wójcik, Panagiotis Iliopoulos, Stefanos Ioannou, Liam Keenan, Julien Migozzi, Timothy Monteath, Vladimír Pazitka, Morag Torrance, and Michael Urban
“Erudite, spectacular, and revealing . . . a tremendous accomplishment!”
“Each page bursts with stunning and illuminating illustrations.”
TRAILER
excerpts
When I was hired on this project, I gave myself a challenge: what if every page—its fonts, layout, colors, illustrations, and page numbers—evoked the beauty of international banknotes?
I wrote a short post about my design process for the publisher, Yale University Press.
REVIEWS
“Pertinent to all our lives . . . beautifully illustrated by James Cheshire and Oliver Uberti . . . to catch the imagination and inspire people to learn more about the financial plumbing that underpins the modern world.”
—Money Week
“Engaging visuals.”
—Associated Press
“Detailed, highly aesthetic maps that you can immerse yourself in forever.”
—Manager magazin
“A wonderful achievement . . . maps and visualizes brilliantly an analysis of millions of financial data points.”
—The Irish Times