2D Cafe Makes You Feel Like You’re Inside a Black and White Coloring Book

Original article on OddityCentral.com – a blog on oddities and wacky news http://www.odditycentral.com/

BW Kafe is an unusual-looking cafe with venues in Moscow and Sankt Petersburg which look like the setting of A-ha’s famous “Take on Me” video.

BW Kafe first made international headlines last year, when photos of the Sankt Petersburg branch went viral online. Designed by Russian artist Anfisa Toshina, the interior of the cafe looks sketched with charcoal on a piece of white paper, creating the illusion that you are the only 3D “object” in a two-dimensional world. It’s a pretty nice trick, but one that might seem oddly familiar if you’ve been on the internet sometime in the last two years…

This whole coloring book concept is actually nothing new. It was first introduced in South Korea, by the designers of Cafe Yeonnam-dong 239-20, but has since been copied by other entrepreneurs looking to capitalize on the popularity of the design. We’ve seen similar venues open in Japan a couple of years ago, now Russia, and I bet there are dozens more all over the world, not to mention official Cafe Yeonman branches.

While it may look like a copy of Cafe Yeonnam-dong 239-20, it’s a pretty well-executed one, and for Europeans who can’t visit the South Korean cafe, it’s a chance to enjoy a cup of coffee in a 2D world, or get some more material for their Instagram.