Data by Design: Visualization and Power from Abolition to the Dawn of Data Science

How the history of data visualization holds the key to designing a more just future.

From maps of colonial empires to charts of national trade, data visualization has long been used to consolidate knowledge and power. But just as often, it has been used to uncover oppression and bring about change. Data by Design journeys across continents and over centuries to expose the power of visualization—and to show how it can be wielded back.

A group of British antislavery activists who created a dia...