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Can You Guess the News Story by Just the Illustration?

Wordless News by Maria Fabrizio

Read the article on NPR.

Illustrator Maria Fabrizio starts her day like many of us—she reads the news. What she does next, however, is completely her own. Fabrizio selects one of those headlines, sketches it, digitizes it, and then completes it as an editorial illustration. Afterwards, she posts the finished piece on her site, Wordless News. There, rather than being bombarded with a sensationalist headline or click bait, Fabrizio boasts that the information is “vowel and consonant free.”

The illustrated news comes from a variety sources and ranges in content. Some stories have to do with cultural crises while others are more lighthearted and even strange. One of Fabrizio’s latest illustrations is about a deceased woman who left $300,000 to her two cats. Regardless the content, though, Fabrizio's approach is the same; she captures the essence of what the story is about and sums it up in a single panel. Using symbolism, metaphor, and optical illusions—but definitely no text—she succinctly communicates what’s going on in one corner of the world.

Take a look at a selection of Fabrizio’s work below. Can you guess the news story by the illustration? We’ve included links to the full article so you can check your answer!

Every day, illustrator Maria Fabrizio wakes up and creates an editorial illustration based on one of the day's headlines.

Wordless News by Maria Fabrizio

Read the article on Time.

Her ongoing endeavor is called Wordless News, and it's “vowel and consonant free.”

Wordless News by Maria Fabrizio

Read the article on NPR.

Here's some of her work in 2017. Can you guess the news story based on the illustration?

Wordless News by Maria Fabrizio

Read the article on The New York Times.

The Illustrated News

Read the article on NPR.

Editorial Illustration by Maria Fabrizio

Read the article on CNN.

Wordless News by Maria Fabrizio

Read the article on NPR.

Editorial Illustration by Maria Fabrizio

Read the article on CNN.

Editorial Illustration by Maria Fabrizio

Read the article on NPR.

Editorial Illustration by Maria Fabrizio

Read the article on The New York Times.

Wordless News by Maria Fabrizio

Read the article on USA Today.

Wordless News by Maria Fabrizio

Read the article on USA Today.

The Illustrated News

Read the article on CNN.

Editorial Illustration by Maria Fabrizio

Read the article on NPR.

Wordless News by Maria Fabrizio

Read the article on The New York Times.

Wordless News by Maria Fabrizio

Read the article on NPR.

Wordless News by Maria Fabrizio

Read the article on The New York Times.

The Illustrated News

Read the article on NPR.

Wordless News by Maria Fabrizio

Read the article on NPR.

Maria Fabrizio: Wordless News | Website |  Instagram
h/t: [Brown Paper Bag]

All illustrations via Maria Fabrizio.

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Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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