The Middle East Web: An Interactive Cartogram by Jonas Oesch

Even for people deeply familiar with the Middle East, keeping track of the complex relationships between the region’s key players is hard. Especially with the changing alliances and groups. That’s what inspired this interactive cartogram — a project born from our own frustration.

We distilled 40 000 words of research notes into one interactive chart. It maps 20 significant actors across 10 countries, showing their alliances, enmities, and everything in between. Clicking on an actor reveals who they are, what motivates them, and how they relate to others in the region.

The final article is the result of extensive user testing. We found that readers struggled to grasp the interactive at first, so we designed an article to guide them—introducing the map, color meanings, and selectable actors. Read the background article here: https://jonasoesch.ch/portfolio/middle-east-frenemies/