We in the West love the graphical display of information -- infographics -- an elegant way to depict complex concepts with brilliant simplicity. We also have a longtime love affair with social psychology, some of which deals with the fascinating cultural differencesbetween Eastern and Western mentalities -- from the individualistic tendencies of the West versus the pluralism of Asian societies, to how Westerners and Easterners read the emotions of others in different ways.
Designer Yang Liu’s ingenious East Meets West infographic series tackles everything from differences in self-perception to evolution of transportation. Born in China but living in Germany since she was 14, Liu has a unique grip of this cultural duality, and she channels it with great wit and eloquent minimalism in graphics that say so much by showing so little. I lived in China for six years, and my experience also confirms these different perceptions.
Blue = Germany (the West)
Red = China (the East)
Lifestyle: Independent vs. dependent
Attitude towards punctuality
Problem-solving approach
Size of the individual's ego
Perception: How Germans and
Chinese see one another
How to stand in line
Complexity of self-expression
The evolution of transportation
over the last three decades
The volume of sound in a restaurant
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