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ted.com

29

Oct

2009

East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait

By Maria Popova

German punctuality, Western ego and how to stand in line like a Chinese.

We love with infographics — what 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 differences between Eastern and Western mentality — from the individualistic tendencies of the West versus the pluralism of Asian societies, to how differently Westerners and Easterners read the emotions of others. Naturally, we’re head-over-heels with designer Yang Liu’s ingenious East Meets West infographic series, tackling 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.

Lifestyle: Independent vs. dependent

Attitude towards punctuality

Problem-solving approach

Size of the individual's ego

Perception: How Germans and the 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

Catch an interview with Liu about the project over at the always-excellent NOTCOT.

via Design Swan

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This entry was posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 9:15 am in art, culture, design, psychology and was tagged , , , , .

82 Responses

  1. East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait http://bit.ly/3KEMYk [China vs Germany.... GREAT visualization]

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    tdebaillon on October 29th, 2009 at 11:16 am

  2. MUITO BOM: East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait http://bit.ly/4c4m6L

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    jusuzuki on October 29th, 2009 at 12:58 pm

  3. East vs. West – brilliant infographic series captures cultural differences with wit & eloquent minimalism http://ow.ly/xjUm

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    brainpicker on October 29th, 2009 at 1:06 pm

  4. RT @brainpicker East vs. West – brilliant infographic series captures cultural differences with wit & eloquent minimalism http://ow.ly/xjUm

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    bkfarmyards on October 29th, 2009 at 1:08 pm

  5. East vs. West: Brrilliant infographic series captures cultural differences with wit & minimalism http://ow.ly/xjUm (RT @brainpicker)

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    GTello on October 29th, 2009 at 1:09 pm

  6. RT @brainpicker: East vs. West – brilliant infographic series captures cultural differences with wit & eloquent minimalism http://ow.ly/xjUm

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    ashalynd on October 29th, 2009 at 1:10 pm

  7. fun & insightful RT @brainpicker: East vs. West – brilliant infographics capture cultural differences with wit & eloquence http://ow.ly/xjUm

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    loganpic on October 29th, 2009 at 1:12 pm

  8. RT @GTello East vs. West: Brilliant infographic series captures cultural differences with wit & minimalism http://ow.ly/xjUm

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    HoustonPress on October 29th, 2009 at 1:14 pm

  9. The Art of Semiotics – http://bit.ly/owMPT

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    TEDJohnMark on October 29th, 2009 at 1:15 pm

  10. RT @brainpicker East vs. West – brilliant infographic series captures cultural differences with wit & eloquent minimalism http://ow.ly/xjUm

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    davetreston on October 29th, 2009 at 1:17 pm

  11. RT @TEDJohnMark: The Art of Semiotics – http://bit.ly/owMPT

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    sandygautam on October 29th, 2009 at 1:18 pm

  12. RT @ashalynd RT @brainpicker: East vs. West – infographic presentation of cultural differences http://ow.ly/xjUm. – Well worth a look.

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    JDEvolutionist on October 29th, 2009 at 1:22 pm

  13. RT @brainpicker – East vs West – brilliant infographics capture cultural differences with wit & eloquent minimalism http://ow.ly/xjUm

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    amproehl on October 29th, 2009 at 1:30 pm

  14. East meets West (Germany) graphically: http://bit.ly/1AZOEb

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    expectationgap on October 29th, 2009 at 1:59 pm

  15. RT @brainpicker: East vs. West – brilliant infographic series captures cultural differences with wit & eloquent minimalism http://ow.ly/xjUm

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    openroadmaps on October 29th, 2009 at 2:06 pm

  16. RT @tdebaillon East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait http://bit.ly/3KEMYk [China vs Germany.... GREAT visualization]

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    hnauheimer on October 29th, 2009 at 2:21 pm

  17. “East vs. West – brilliant infographics capture cultural differences with wit & minimalism” – http://j.mp/3KEMYk (via @brainpicker) #fb

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    johannrichard on October 29th, 2009 at 4:13 pm

  18. East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait http://bit.ly/eoeZM (via feedly)

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    hvaudaux on October 29th, 2009 at 5:36 pm

  19. East Meets West: Yang Liu’s Infographic Portrait http://ow.ly/xoZY

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    SpiroDavis on October 29th, 2009 at 6:03 pm

  20. RT @SpiroDavis: East Meets West: Yang Liu’s #Infographic Portrait http://ow.ly/xoZY

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    joshscribble on October 29th, 2009 at 6:39 pm

  21. RT @hnauheimer: RT @tdebaillon East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait http://bit.ly/3KEMYk [China vs Germany.... GREAT visualization]

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    ipreuss on October 29th, 2009 at 6:45 pm

  22. East vs. West – brilliant infographic on cultural differences http://ow.ly/xjUm (via @brainpicker)

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    daylemajor on October 29th, 2009 at 9:24 pm

  23. RT @brainpicker East vs West – brilliant infographic series captures cultural differences http://ow.ly/xjUm [Indian colleagues loved it!]

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    AJ_ay_it on October 30th, 2009 at 12:46 am

  24. RT @brainpicker East vs. West – brilliant infographic series captures cultural differences with wit & eloquent minimalism http://ow.ly/xjUm

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    findlo on October 30th, 2009 at 1:51 am

  25. RT @daylemajor East vs. West – brilliant infographic on cultural differences http://ow.ly/xjUm (via @brainpicker)

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    esolcourses on October 30th, 2009 at 3:19 am

  26. Entertaining when lighthearted, but some of them… Chinese all having tiny ego? Please, give me a break. I’ve met some egomaniacal Chinese in my day, so take it with a grain of salt.

    ChrisG on October 30th, 2009 at 4:16 am

  27. Stunning visual portrait of German vs. Chinese attitudes (via @brainpicker): http://twurl.nl/ou4nb3

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    breakawaycook on October 30th, 2009 at 1:24 pm

  28. East meets West: An Infographic Portrait http://bit.ly/35p3Je HT @gastropoda

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    pc on October 30th, 2009 at 1:51 pm

  29. East Meets West: Insightful info graphics by Chinese German comparing cultures http://bit.ly/3KEMYk

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    Joelwillans on October 30th, 2009 at 4:26 pm

  30. RT East meets West: An Infographic Portrait http://bit.ly/35p3Je

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    nyhsieh on October 30th, 2009 at 6:33 pm

  31. I love these http://bit.ly/3KEMYk

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    funoodle on October 30th, 2009 at 11:05 pm

  32. “East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait | Brain Pickings” http://j.mp/1XHguL

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    herbert68 on October 31st, 2009 at 6:22 pm

  33. East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait | Brain Pickings http://ping.fm/loA2H

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    imjustcreative on November 1st, 2009 at 7:38 am

  34. RT @imjustcreative: East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait | Brain Pickings http://ping.fm/loA2H

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    r27 on November 1st, 2009 at 7:41 am

  35. RT @imjustcreative: East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait | Brain Pickings http://ping.fm/loA2H

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    daftks on November 1st, 2009 at 7:46 am

  36. This is really cute! – East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait | Brain Pickings http://ping.fm/loA2H via @imjustcreative

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    ivyclark on November 1st, 2009 at 7:47 am

  37. Marvellous pieces :)

    Scarlett on November 1st, 2009 at 7:48 am

  38. RT @imjustcreative East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait | Brain Pickings http://ping.fm/loA2H

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    ar_hoi on November 1st, 2009 at 8:01 am

  39. RT @imjustcreative: East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait | Brain Pickings http://ping.fm/loA2H

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    GregCorey on November 1st, 2009 at 8:11 am

  40. East Meets West. Brilliant info graphic. http://bit.ly/4c4m6L

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    mediapeople on November 1st, 2009 at 11:57 am

  41. East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait http://ping.fm/loA2H

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    kunalmaithani on November 1st, 2009 at 12:24 pm

  42. RT @kunalmaithani: East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait http://ping.fm/loA2H ~Neat!

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    sharmipatel on November 1st, 2009 at 12:59 pm

  43. Sensitivity training or politcally incorrect? – http://bit.ly/1FnguG

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    Animal on November 1st, 2009 at 3:25 pm

  44. Brain Pickings : East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait, http://bit.ly/3KEMYk

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    jockr on November 1st, 2009 at 5:23 pm

  45. RT @Animal: Sensitivity training or politcally incorrect? – http://bit.ly/1FnguG

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    amoregolf on November 1st, 2009 at 8:58 pm

  46. East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait http://bit.ly/1wv6D2 LUV IT!

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    LarisaBelliveau on November 1st, 2009 at 9:12 pm

  47. These where great! Thanks for the treat.

    Revnant Dream on November 2nd, 2009 at 3:56 am

  48. East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait http://ping.fm/loA2H @imjustcreative *Good stuff!

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    SharonHayes on November 2nd, 2009 at 6:40 am

  49. East meets West- a beautiful data visualization: via @brainpicker http://ow.ly/yAkS

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    Tomcallard on November 2nd, 2009 at 9:36 am

  50. The power of simplicity. East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait http://bit.ly/z40la

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    paradisetossed on November 2nd, 2009 at 9:57 am

  51. Very cool representation. RT @paradisetossed: The power of simplicity. East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait http://bit.ly/z40la

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    kimberlysc on November 2nd, 2009 at 10:28 am

  52. [...] La col·lecció d’infografies Ost trifft West, creades per Yang Liu deixen clares –segons l’autora– les diferències entre orient i occident.  [més] [...]

    altacapa » Blog Archive » Ost trifft West on November 2nd, 2009 at 4:57 pm

  53. [...] Problem-solving approach[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="502" caption="Perception: How Germans and the Chinese see one another"][/caption]How to stand in line[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Complexity of self-expression"][/caption]The evolution of transportation over the last three decades.[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="The volume of sound in a restaurant"][/caption]via Brainpickings [...]

    West meets east « Singing birds on November 3rd, 2009 at 3:02 am

  54. East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait | Brain Pickings http://ff.im/-aVJk8

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    simonmainwaring on November 3rd, 2009 at 1:21 pm

  55. East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait | Brain Pickings http://ff.im/-aVJk8 (via @simonmainwaring )

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    staceyandeen on November 3rd, 2009 at 1:27 pm

  56. East meets West Infographic series RT @simonmainwaring: East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait | Brain Pickings http://ff.im/-aVJk8

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    _the_gabe on November 3rd, 2009 at 4:50 pm

  57. RT @_the_gabe: East meets West Infographic series – East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait | Brain Pickings http://ff.im/-aVJk8

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    andrewNewland on November 3rd, 2009 at 4:53 pm

  58. RT @_the_gabe @simonmainwaring: East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait | Brain Pickings http://ff.im/-aVJk8

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    BHAKTAno1 on November 3rd, 2009 at 4:59 pm

  59. [...] Novembre 2009 in Cinesi, Differenze, Tedeschi Le immagini sono un raffronto fra la mentalità cinese e quella tedesca … ma si prestano a molte altre [...]

    Differenze « Smile on November 5th, 2009 at 10:18 am

  60. A wonderful look at cultural difference by artist Yang Liu http://bit.ly/2csz0H I

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    jesshobbs on November 11th, 2009 at 6:58 pm

  61. [twitter] East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait | Brain Pickings http://bit.ly/3pBIhA

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    yamasas on November 13th, 2009 at 5:37 am

  62. Great article. Pretty much sums it up. Here’s more about “the brain, the east and west”:
    How the brain unites us all, Ed Yong (article in Science); The East-West Dichotomy, Thorsten Pattberg; The Master and his Emissary, Iain McGilchrist; The Geography of Thought, Richard Nisbett. Cheers!

    East&West&Literature on December 4th, 2009 at 9:16 pm

  63. Simplistic and reductionist. Not simple.
    Full of cliched knowledge so not even new.
    And at some places I found it bordering on offensiveness with it’s tone veering towards condescension. Disappointed with this being featured here. It’s the kind of stuff that makes me cringe at it’s mediocrity.

    Sonal on February 20th, 2010 at 5:52 pm

  64. [...] became art. The UK got itself a museum of everything. We drooled over vintage jazz album covers. An infographic portrait of the East vs. West culture clash became a big hit. Thirty conversations on design gave us some [...]

  65. [...] East meets West Posted April 19, 2010 Filed under: Uncategorized | Click on the image below to check out work from Yang Liu’s East Meets West infographic series.  Awesome! http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2009/10/29/east-vs-west-yang-liu-infographics/#ixzz0lZ0rg1GW [...]

    East meets West « Page 84 Design on April 19th, 2010 at 9:21 am

  66. [...] Hofstede* schon vor Jahrzehnten herausfand, scheint noch heute aktuell zu sein. Dazu gibt es bei Brain Pickings folgende interessante [...]

  67. [...] glimpses of the graphics (http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2009/10/29/east-vs-west-yang-liu-infographics/) (No Ratings Yet)  Loading [...]

  68. This is a wonderful infographic. I just spent a year in Korea. People there are all about cars but bicycles? No way. They’d rather take a taxi.

    Seth on April 20th, 2010 at 8:50 pm

  69. Typical self-loathing attitude of Chinese. I mean, Germans stand in line and Chinese don’t? It seems to be reverse to me most of the time.

    Pak-Kei on April 22nd, 2010 at 11:55 am

  70. I suspect that the punctuality would even show a difference if you went Germany to Italy or Greece. It would be interesting to look at more cultures on the dimensions shown for example queing in the UK would look more like the chinese than the german. Germans belive in Ordnung Ordnung!!

    Lyle on April 23rd, 2010 at 3:34 pm

  71. [...] East vs. West [...]

  72. [...] East Meets West: An Infographic Portrait | Brain Pickings (10-04-27)Zwar schon etwas älter, aber dennoch gut: Die in Deutschland lebende Chinesin Yang Liu hat ein Serie mit toll-minimalistischen Infografiken über den Unterschied zwischen Deutschland und China gestaltet. Sehr schick und witzig. [...]

    Linkschleuder 10-04-27 – freeQnet on April 27th, 2010 at 12:01 pm

  73. Very nice. First read through, I thought this was done by a German, and from that perspective they felt a bit racist. Interesting paradigm shift…

    seanwilk on April 28th, 2010 at 8:54 am

  74. [...] graphic by designer Yang Liu on cultural differences between the East and the West.  Posted on the Brain Pickings [...]

  75. [...] April we wrote a post about cultural differences, where the Chinese artist Yang Liu showed us a very artistic depiction of the differences between Eastern and Western cultures and the [...]

  76. [...] Una imagen vale más que mil palabras…. http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2009/10/29/east-vs-west-yang…  por cucuchumusa hace 5 segundos [...]

    Una imagen vale más que mil palabras.... on May 31st, 2010 at 6:20 am

  77. [...] BrainPickings and @BBHLabs] And if you’re still [...]

    Four Infographical Morsels No. 6 – ????|???? on June 2nd, 2010 at 10:21 pm

  78. [...] glimpses of the graphics (http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2009/10/29/east-vs-west-yang-liu-infographics/) (No Ratings Yet)  Loading [...]

  79. [...] Culture: East Meets West [...]

    Information is Beautiful | And Far Away on June 8th, 2010 at 4:21 am

  80. [...] infogràficos son una elegante manera para representar conceptos complejos con una simplicidad brillante(..).Yang Liu posee una mente brillante para comparar mediante èstos la  cultura occidental frente a la [...]

  81. [...] Bron [...]

  82. [...] This is an awesome infographic: East Meets West, looking at the differences in Eastern and Western [...]

    Friday Links! « The Fight Sequence on July 23rd, 2010 at 6:43 am

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