Seen and Noted
Dueling Diptychs
Parisian Graphic Designer Vahram Muratyan presents the dueling
iconography of two great cities — Paris and New York —
in a series of diptychs. The series of posters are a good-humored
and thought-provoking comparison of the cultural centers, with none
of the rancor of the “freedom fries” era. Among the
images: Jean-Luc Godard’s square eyeglasses beside Woody
Allen’s arched pair (le réalisateur), croque-monsieur
versus hot dog (le snack), cheese verus cheesecake
(le fromage), CDG versus JFK (l’aeroport), et ainsi de
suite, etc. So clever is the work that it has spawned a blog,
an exhibit and the sale of limited edition prints at the
renowned concept store Chez Colette in Paris. A picture
book by Penguin is coming to the States this Spring. Muratyan
is the co-founder of ViiiZ, an art direction and graphic
design studio.
Contact:
parisvsnyc.blogspot.com or www.viiiz.fr
Freedom of (Ketchup) Choice
After 42 years of dealing with messy ketchup packets, 4sight,
a New York-based design and innovation firm, has teamed up with
Heinz to produce a user-friendly product for consumers. The new
single-serve Heinz Ketchup packets allow customers to both
“dip” and “squeeze” depending on their
preference. The packet design is shaped like a Heinz bottle and
boasts the traditional keystone imagery and visual cues —
the signature red color of the product, the tomato vine and the
logo. “The option to dip or squeeze in the single-serve
packets results in greater portion control, which was another
one of our goals with this project, in addition to crafting a
non-complicated product that would appeal to consumers,”
said Stuart Leslie, president of the design firm. 4sight
collaborated with Heinz operations, R&D and marketing teams.
Contact:
www.4sightinc.com
Holistic Honeycomb
Julia Beardwood of Beardwood&Co. developed this multi-hued
honeycomb symbol for Millennium Promise, an international non-profit
committed to reducing extreme poverty in Africa. She says that “nature’s strongest structure” represents the
holistic approach that differentiates Millennium Promise from other
anti-poverty groups. The mission involved a multi-pronged attack
on a range of issues: food, water, health, infrastructure, gender
equality and income poverty — indeed, all the UN Millenium
Development Goals — for maximum impact. Beardwood also
designed program area icons, print materials, stationery and
signage. The website was designed by Free Association, and
Undercurrent provided digital strategy on the project.
Contact:
www.beardwood.com