The Marginalian
The Marginalian

Paris vs. New York: Minimalist Illustrated Parallels of Culture

Macaron vs. cupcake, Proust vs. Salinger, bobo vs. hipster, bordeaux vs. cosmo.

For the past two years, graphic designer Vahram Muratyan, a self-described “lover of Paris wandering through New York,” has been chronicling the peculiarities and contradictions of the two cities through “a friendly visual match” of minimalist illustrated parallel portraits. Today, Muratyan joins the finest blog-turned-books with Paris versus New York: A Tally of Two Cities — an absolutely charming collection of these vibrant visual dichotomies and likenesses. From beverages to beards, hands to houses, Muratyan captures the intricacies of cultural difference in a way that blends the minimalist and playful visual whimsy of Noma Bar’s Guess Who? with the side-by-side parallelism of Mark Laita’s Created Equal to deliver something entirely new and entirely delightful.

la romantique
le café
l’obsession

(You might recall the above from the excellent Visual Storytelling: Inspiring a New Visual Language.)

le roman
la barbe
le matin
les mains
la façade
le réalisateur
l’apéro

Many of these gems are available as prints on Society6, one of the best places to find affordable art. A set of postcards is being released shortly.

Images courtesy of Vahram Muratyan / Penguin


Published January 31, 2012

https://www.themarginalian.org/2012/01/31/paris-vs-new-york-muratyan/

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