Image: Officer and Laughing Girl by Johannes Vermeer, circa 1657.

First, a disclaimer – the title of this post is a half-lie. It says “work-in-progress”, (mis)leading the reader to infer that there will be a final version of an economic atlas of Malaysia. The plain truth is that I have a mental block that prevents me from sharing my work below without the caveat that it is a work-in-progress draft.

The five images below were created for an assignment for my Master’s module “Cartography and Data Visualisation”. The brief was simple – create five A3-sized static pages of maps and charts on any topic. I spent around six full days working on this, mostly brainstorming grandiose ideas, hunting appropriate data which don’t exist, tunneling down dead ends, speed-learning different techniques and software, and making infinite formatting tweaks.

Had there been more time, the visuals and content could have been vastly improved. Some of it is not great and you might even spot errors. I did consider many design and content decisions from fonts, colours, text, layout, sizes, chart types…

On one hand, I’m kinda embarrassed to share this online. But on the other, one tries to work to one’s best ability in the time available. Considering the sleepless nights and unsettling dreams, plus the blood, sweat, and tears shed, I guess I’m proud of this output.

It would have been fun, working on this without the pressure of time and grades. The impossible benchmark that I was aiming for was the maps in this book “The Atlas of the Invisible” by James Cheshire and Oliver Uberti. Another disclaimer: Although one of the authors is my professor for this module, this isn’t a plug. I honestly did enjoy the book and highly recommend it unbiasedly.”

In the spirit of shipping work done, here are the five pages for your reading pleasure. The first provides a macroeconomic perspective of Malaysia. The second explores Malaysia’s colonial past. The third compares socioeconomic indicators at the state and parliamentary district levels. The fourth discusses the environmental impacts of Malaysia’s palm oil industry. The fifth highlights Malaysia’s role as an important hub in the global semiconductor supply chain. The five pages are meant to be read either in sequence or independently. Do let me know if you have any constructive comments.