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Ranked: Which Artists are Used Most in AI Prompting?

2025-12-14 05:10:58

Key Takeaways

  • Alphonse Mucha is the most AI-prompted artist on Midjourney.
  • In architecture prompts, Zaha Hadid dominates with more mentions than the next six architects combined.
  • Wes Anderson is the top director influencing AI-generated content.

As generative AI tools like Midjourney become mainstream for creating visual content, a fascinating question arises: whose artistic styles are AI users borrowing from the most?

To find out, Kapwing, in partnership with NeoMam Studios, analyzed the Midjourney Discord to see how many times popular artists, architects, and directors were named in close to five million user prompts. This dataset reveals which creatives are influencing the aesthetics of AI-generated images and videos today.

Here are the top names across a few different categories.

Person Category Number of Midjourney Images and Videos
Alphonse Mucha Artists 230,794
WLOP Illustrators 166,415
Greg Rutkowski Illustrators 134,695
Rembrandt Artists 128,143
Wes Anderson Directors 92,378
Zaha Hadid Architects 63,103
Krenz Cushart Illustrators 62,408
Leonardo Da Vinci Artists 61,259
Norman Rockwell Artists 57,583
Tim Burton Directors 57,000

Top Architects Used in Visual AI Prompts

Bar chart ranking the most prompted artists in AI image and video prompts, with Alphonse Mucha at the top.
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Alphonse Mucha, the Czech Art Nouveau painter, leads the pack with over 230,000 mentions, which is more than triple any other artist.

Mucha is followed by Rembrandt (128,143) and Leonardo da Vinci (61,259), indicating a strong user preference for foundational techniques in light, anatomy, and composition. This suggests that even in the age of AI, classical mastery remains a benchmark for aesthetic credibility and visual coherence.

Top Architects Used in Visual AI Prompts

Infographic showing the most prompted architects in AI, with Zaha Hadid far ahead of others

Among architects, one name clearly stands above the rest: Zaha Hadid. Her futuristic, fluid forms have inspired over 63,000 prompts—more than the next six architects combined. Frank Lloyd Wright and Tadao Ando follow, highlighting enduring interest in organic and minimalist design philosophies.

Top Film Directors Used in Visual AI Prompts

Visual ranking of the most used movie directors in Midjourney prompts, led by Wes Anderson and Tim Burton

Filmmakers are also popular choices in visual storytelling prompts. Wes Anderson leads with 92,378 prompt mentions, thanks to his distinct color palettes and symmetrical compositions. Tim Burton ranks second at 57,000, with other auteurs like Roger Deakins, Christopher Nolan, and Guillermo del Toro rounding out the top 10.

Distinctiveness Encourages Imitation

While we currently don’t know what people are prompting across all AI platforms, this Midjourney data gives us a fascinating peek at what inspires people in their own creative pursuits.

Whether it’s the ornamental elegance of Mucha, the futuristic forms of Hadid, or the stylized symmetry of Anderson, AI-generated content today draws heavily from artists with instantly recognizable and conceptually rich visual languages—regardless of era.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

Looking for more insights on how people are using AI tools like ChatGPT? See our data dive here: What do people actually use ChatGPT for?

Charted: Substance Use Among Young Adults in the U.S.

2025-12-14 02:22:03

See more visualizations like this on the Voronoi app.

This infographic shows the most-used substances by young adults in America, including alcohol, cannabis, nicotine, and other substances.

Use This Visualization

Charted: Substance Use Among Young Adults in the U.S.

See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Key Takeaways

  • Alcohol remains the most commonly used substance among young adults, with 81% reporting use in the past year.
  • Cannabis use continues to rise, with 41% of young adults using it in some form.
  • Nicotine pouch use doubled year-over-year, from 5% in 2023 to 10% in 2024.

Substance use among young Americans has shifted significantly over the past decade, with cannabis and nicotine vaping emerging as major trends.

This infographic shows what substances young adults (ages 19–30) used in 2024, using the latest data from research by the University of Michigan.

What Substances Are Young Adults Using in America?

While alcohol use remains prevalent among young adults, substances like nicotine, cannabis, and vaping products have seen sharp increases in recent years.

The table below shows the share of 19- to 30-year-olds who reported using each substance in 2024:

Substance Share of young adults reporting use in 2024
Alcohol 81%
Cannabis (any mode) 41%
Vaping Cannabis 22%
Nicotine (any mode) 37%
Vaping nicotine 26%
Nicotine pouches 10%
CBD 19%
Cigarettes 18%
Other drugs* 18%

*Other drugs include hallucinogens, amphetamines, cocaine, sedatives, tranquilizers, and narcotics/opioids.

According to the study, nearly 81% of young adults used alcohol in the last 12 months, making it the most widely used substance by far.

Meanwhile, cannabis continues to trend upward, with 41% of young adults reporting use, double the rate from the early 2010s. Vaping is also widespread with 26% of young adults vaping nicotine, and 22% vaping cannabis, up from 14% in 2023.

Furthermore, nearly 37% of young adults used nicotine in some form, making it one of the most widely-used substances. Nicotine pouches saw the biggest year-over-year shift, with their use doubling to around 10% in 2024, reflecting their growing popularity as an alternative to smoking and vaping.

In terms of daily usage, 25% of young adults reported binge drinking, where they consumed five or more drinks in a row in the past two weeks. Among cannabis users, 11% reported daily cannabis use (>20 occasions in the last 30 days).

What’s Driving Substance Use?

Several factors influence the shifting substance habits of young Americans:

  • Legalization of cannabis across many states has normalized its use.
  • Vaping products are often perceived as less harmful than traditional smoking.
  • Nicotine pouches are marketed as “smoke-free,” making them appealing to younger users.

At the same time, traditional cigarette use continues its decades-long decline, although 18% of young adults still report smoking in the past year.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, see this infographic on alcohol use in U.S. teenagers on Voronoi.

Ranked: The 10 Countries with the Most Spoken Languages

2025-12-13 23:41:11

See more visuals like this on the Voronoi app.


Graphic showing the countries with the most spoken languages in 2025, led by Papua New Guinea and other globally diverse nations.

Use This Visualization

Countries with the Most Spoken Languages

See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Key Takeaways

  • Papua New Guinea has more than double the number of living languages found across Europe.
  • The visualization includes all established and immigrant languages currently spoken, as of 2025.

Language diversity varies around the world, shaped by geography, migration, and centuries of cultural development. Some countries are home to hundreds of distinct languages, often concentrated in small communities with deep historical roots.

This visualization highlights the countries with the most living languages in 2025. The data for this visualization comes from Ethnologue.

Papua New Guinea Leads the World

Papua New Guinea stands far above all other nations, with 841 living languages documented in 2025. Its rugged geography and isolated communities have allowed distinct languages to flourish over thousands of years. This level of linguistic diversity exceeds that of entire global regions, including Europe as a whole.

The country remains the world’s most concentrated hub of linguistic heritage.

Rank Country Living Languages
1 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea 841
2 🇮🇩 Indonesia 721
3 🇳🇬 Nigeria 538
4 🇮🇳 India 459
5 🇺🇸 United States 364
6 🇦🇺 Australia 320
7 🇨🇳 China 308
8 🇲🇽 Mexico 304
9 🇨🇲 Cameroon 281
10 🇧🇷 Brazil 240

Indonesia and Nigeria Follow as Multilingual Giants

Indonesia ranks second with 721 languages, spread across its vast network of islands. Geographic separation and longstanding local cultures help maintain linguistic variety across the archipelago.

Nigeria follows with 538 languages, reflecting its long-standing regional identities.

Large, Culturally Diverse Nations Also Rank High

India, the United States, and Australia each host hundreds of living languages.

In India, linguistic diversity is tied to deep historical traditions and regional identities.

Despite English being the dominant language in the U.S.—and Spanish serving as a strong second-most spoken language—the country has 364 living languages, including nearly 200 Indigenous ones.

Australia’s linguistic landscape is shaped by its Aboriginal languages and multicultural migration patterns.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Ranked: Countries Seeing the Fastest Growth in Migrant Populations on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

The Rise and Fall of Civilizations, on One Epic Visual Timeline

2025-12-13 21:05:18

See the high-resolution version of this image by clicking here

The World's Biggest Empires of History, on One Epic Visual Timeline

The Rise and Fall of Civilizations, on One Epic Visual Timeline

See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Key Takeaways

  • The famous Histomap tries to show 4,000 years of human civilization wrapped up in one epic visual.
  • Originally created in 1931 by John B. Sparks, it shows the extent of different civilizations throughout time. The wider the column, the more influence they had at that point in history.
  • Being made almost a century ago, the Histomap has obvious limitations in the modern context, which are discussed below.

World history is extremely complicated and nuanced.

And yet, there is a very human desire to put all of it in one neat and tidy package—as if we can momentarily ignore what happens at the edges—disagreements, gray areas, and unresolved debates.

Creating a “single artifact” that sums up all of human history has been tried many times.

Ancient writer Eusebius had a go in the 4th century. Writer H.G. Wells tried it in 1920 with The Outline of History. More recently Yuval Noah Harari saw commercial success with Sapiens, which was framed as distilling human progress into one book.

Enter: The Histomap

Created in 1931 by John B. Sparks, Histomap is one of the world’s most famous historical visualizations.

It starts its journey 4,000 years ago in the Bronze Age, with familiar civilizations like the Egyptians, Greeks (Minoans), and Indians (Indus Valley). As you scroll through the visualization, more familiar names appear (Assyrians, Romans, Parthians, Huns, etc.) until you get to the nation states we know today.

As the reader scrolls through, you can see the rise and fall of these civilizations, imagining pivotal moments like the Battle of Thermopylae or the Battle of Waterloo. You can picture the famous figures like Augustus, Alexander, Genghis Khan, George Washington, Ashoka, or Cyrus the Great shaping world affairs.

It’s ambitious. It’s confident. It’s epic.

But is it accurate?

History is Dynamic and Always in Flux

The problem with this extremely confident take is that our understanding of history changes over time.

When Histomap was made, the world felt knowable and progress seemed inevitable. History was often told as a single, linear story driven by empires, leaders, and progress.

Over time, however, that confidence eroded.

New perspectives—from marginalized voices to systems like economics, climate, and technology—revealed history as fragmented, contested, and incomplete. We gained more data than ever before, but lost agreement on what matters most. History didn’t become messier; we simply stopped pretending it was tidy.

What’s “Wrong” With the Histomap?

Viewed in historical context, there is nothing inherently “wrong” with the Histomap.

Judged by modern standards, however, it has clear limitations.

  • Civilizations are shown as clearly bounded units
    Example: Rome appears to end in 476 AD, despite Roman law, culture, and institutions continuing for centuries in Byzantium and Europe.
  • Political power is prioritized over social influence
    Example: Territorial empires dominate the chart, while the spread of religions like Buddhism or Christianity is visually secondary.
  • The perspective is Western-centric
    Example: European timelines are detailed and continuous, while African and Indigenous American civilizations are compressed or simplified.
  • History is presented as linear and settled
    Example: Civilizations rise and fall cleanly, leaving little room for overlap, ambiguity, or disputed transitions.
  • The visualization reflects 1931-era knowledge
    Example: Later discoveries and reinterpretations—such as Göbekli Tepe or revised views of the Indus Valley—are not represented.

The Urge Will Endure…

Despite the aforementioned limitations above, it seems unlikely that humans will be able to resist the urge to neatly package human history in the future.

We want to understand, and seeing history as one singular narrative helps us do that—even if it’s not perfect.

And for that reason, the Histomap, along with similar attempts to codify human history and progress, will continue to endure.

Charted: The Industries Most Reliant on Immigrant Workers

2025-12-13 03:46:25

See more visuals like this on the Voronoi app.

This graphic shows the share of foreign-born and native-born workers by industry in developed countries.

Use This Visualization

The Industries Most Reliant on Immigrant Workers

See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Key Takeaways

  • Immigrants in developed countries are far more concentrated in hospitality, administrative services, and construction roles.
  • Native-born workers dominate public-sector, health, and manufacturing jobs.

Immigrants play a crucial role in the labor markets of developed countries, yet their employment patterns differ significantly from native-born workers. This visualization breaks down where foreign-born workers tend to work across OECD economies.

The data for this visualization comes from the OECD’s International Migration Outlook 2025. It measures the share of foreign-born and native-born workers by industry across several developed countries.

Industries Where Immigrants Are Most Concentrated

Hospitality and administrative services stand out with the highest immigrant share—over 16% in accommodation and food, and 17% in administrative service activities. These sectors often rely on flexible and seasonal labor, making them entry points for newcomers.

Construction also shows a modest immigrant concentration, reflecting long-term demand for skilled and semi-skilled labor. Together, these industries highlight where migration most visibly supports economic activity.

Industry Foreign-born (%) Native-born (%) Difference (percentage points)
Accommodation and Food 16.5 5.2 11.3
Administrative Service Activities 17.2 6.5 10.7
Agriculture 4.6 2.9 1.7
Construction 8.6 7.6 1.1
Other Service Activities 2.9 2.7 0.2
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation 1.6 1.4 0.1
Real Estate Activities 0.8 0.9 -0.2
Mining and Quarrying 0.3 0.5 -0.2
Information and Communication 2.8 3 -0.2
Water Supply 0.2 0.5 -0.3
Electricity, Gas and Steam 0.1 0.5 -0.4
Professional Activities 4.9 5.6 -0.7
Transportation and Storage 4.3 5.3 -1
Education 4.2 5.3 -1.2
Financial and Insurance Activities 1.1 3.2 -2.2
Wholesale and Retail Trade 11.5 15 -3.5
Health 6.3 10 -3.7
Public Administration and Defense 3.6 9.3 -5.7
Manufacturing 8.6 14.4 -5.8

Industries Dominated by Native-Born Workers

Public administration, health, and manufacturing show the widest gaps in favor of native-born workers. These fields typically require domestic credentials, security clearances, or lengthy training pipelines.

Manufacturing also faces long-standing workforce shortages, yet remains far less accessible to immigrant workers at entry. The result is a structural divide that limits immigrant participation in some of the largest employment sectors.

Neutral or Balanced Sectors

A handful of industries like real estate, arts and entertainment, and other service activities show almost no difference between foreign- and native-born representation. These sectors may offer more flexible entry paths or a mix of small-business and freelance roles.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Ranked: U.S. Job Cuts by Industry in 2025 on Voronoi, the app from Visual Capitalist.

Ranked: AI Competitiveness by Country

2025-12-13 00:41:52

Bar chart ranking AI competitiveness across 30 countries based on Stanford University’s AI Vibrancy Tool 2025

Ranked: AI Competitiveness by Country

Key Takeaways

  • The U.S. leads global AI competitiveness by a wide margin, with China and India following.
  • This ranking reflects not just R&D output, but economic strength, policy engagement and public awareness of AI.
  • Smaller high‑income countries like Singapore and UAE outperform many larger economies relative to their size.

The infographic above, created by Iswardi Ishak, uses data from Stanford University’s Global AI Vibrancy Tool, which aggregates dozens of indicators of national AI performance, from research output and investment to talent attraction and governance frameworks.

Here’s how the world’s most AI‑competitive countries rank:

Rank Country AI Vibrancy Score
1 🇺🇸 United States 78.6
2 🇨🇳 China 36.95
3 🇮🇳 India 21.59
4 🇰🇷 South Korea 17.24
5 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 16.64
6 🇸🇬 Singapore 16.43
7 🇪🇸 Spain 16.37
8 🇦🇪 UAE 16.06
9 🇯🇵 Japan 16.04
10 🇨🇦 Canada 15.56
11 🇨🇭 Switzerland 14.86
12 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 14.73
13 🇫🇷 France 14.63
14 🇮🇱 Israel 14.26
15 🇩🇪 Germany 13.15
16 🇧🇷 Brazil 12.74
17 🇮🇪 Ireland 12.49
18 🇫🇮 Finland 12.27
19 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia 12.1
20 🇵🇹 Portugal 12.07
21 🇩🇰 Denmark 11.97
22 🇳🇱 Netherlands 11.58
23 🇧🇪 Belgium 11.36
24 🇦🇺 Australia 11.21
25 🇸🇪 Sweden 11.11
26 🇲🇾 Malaysia 11.05
27 🇮🇹 Italy 10.68
28 🇷🇺 Russia 10.67
29 🇦🇹 Austria 10.62
30 🇳🇴 Norway 10.19

At the top of the list is the United States, ahead by a significant margin. China comes in second with strong research and patent activity, while India’s rapidly growing tech ecosystem and large talent pools land it firmly in third place.

Economies like South Korea, the U.K., Singapore, and Spain also score highly, highlighting how a variety of national strategies—such as Singapore’s regulatory sandbox approach or Spain’s public-sector AI adoption—can accelerate AI progress even in smaller economies.

What Is the AI Vibrancy Tool?

Stanford University’s Global AI Vibrancy Tool is a comprehensive dashboard designed to measure and compare how “vibrant” a country’s AI ecosystem is. Rather than focusing on a single metric, the tool uses 42 indicators across 8 pillars including research, economic competitiveness, infrastructure, policy & governance, and public opinion.

This composite score helps show where innovation and talent are concentrated, and where gaps are emerging. The approach is intentionally multidimensional, blending traditional measures such as R&D output with policy engagement and responsible AI adoption.

Why the U.S. and China Lead

The United States tops the ranking thanks to its dominance in private investment, academic research, and AI startup activity. Its homegrown tech giants and prolific research institutions drive a significant share of global AI innovation.

China follows, buoyed by rapid growth in AI publications, patent filings, and large‑scale deployment of AI technologies across industries. Despite trailing the U.S. in some areas, China continues to close the gap in model development and research output.

India’s placement reflects its expanding AI talent base and robust digital ecosystem, although it still faces challenges scaling research infrastructure to match global leaders. External analyses similarly show rising engagement from Indian AI researchers and policymakers.

Emerging and Regional Players

Beyond the top three, many smaller but wealthy countries perform well relative to their size. Nations like Singapore and the U.K. benefit from supportive policy frameworks, strong human capital, and vibrant tech sectors. These factors help them punch above their weight in a landscape increasingly shaped by global competition.