By Alkimini Gritzali

A collection of animated pictures made and published in Vahram Muratyan’s blog has now become a book and a very popular YouTube video directed and edited by Tony Miotto. The whole project is based on the comparison between two of the most iconic cities of the world; Paris and New York.

Vahram Muratyan, who is a graphic designer, said: “It all started when I wondered, if I was stranded on a desert island, what aspects of Paris and New York would I keep? What would be the perfect collection of things? They could be habits, or landmarks or food, anything that would bring the two cultures together in one image.”

And he did. His blog “Paris Versus New York; a tally of two cities” has so far millions of visitors, his book, published by Penguin, is in every bookstore of the country, and the recent Tony Miotto’s video has gathered hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube and Vimeo, and his art is now everywhere; the art which he described as “a friendly visual match between two cities told by a lover of Paris wandering through New York.”

All in all, this animated comparison of two of the most popular tourism destinations of the world, presents different aspects of the two cities, drawn from the culture and everyday lifestyle – or even the weather. It digs in the heart of each city and contrasts everything; from the airports’ names to fast food and iconic film characters.

In my opinion, Vahram Muratyan and Tony Miotto’s project, is one of the most creative and inspirational tale about two cities/cultural icons ever happened – even better from Woody Allen’s classic, “Manhattan”, and the recent “Midnight in Paris”. The magic about it, is that, it presents what we already, more or less, know, in such a simple and creative way, that it makes it so difficult for the viewer not to smile – or even laugh. Not being romantic or unrealistic, it proves that real cities can be exciting in real life too – not only in movies; you just need a creative point of view. And this is what creativity is about; to make the best out of what you’ve got, even if this is a terrible Parisian traffic jam.

To watch the video click here

Useful links:

MSc in Marketing & Creativity
Creative London Summer Course