I first got
into these after seeing a book called Wordplay by John Langdon (2005). He
created the ambigrams for Dan Brown’s book Angels and Demons.
I found them totally fascinating and of course attempted my
own, starting with names of friends and family.
Library
This is one of my
earliest creations and I really like the typeface. It shows
that libraries are not boring stuffy places
My process
I create my
ambigrams, by first sketching possible solutions. Then I look
for a typeface that has most letters to fit one of those
solutions and hopefully characterises the person or the
word.
I use illustrator to
create them and I tend not to add colour so I can see how well
the word works. I try not to deviate to far from the original
letter, and make changes/additions using parts of other
characters in the same typeface.
My priority is to
have something that is readable. Many ambigrams are created
these days, and quite a few are completely
unreadable.
How to get one
I am happy to create
a custom ambigram for you for free (subject to no deadline,) but if you cannot wait, or want a
gothic style visit the wow tattoos website. They have a
generator and many designs of names and words already.
www.wowtattoos.com I think their prices
are good value for money.
I have a wait list which you can see on my blogspot
sidebar or facebook page. For ambigram updates, follow my
blog or twitter account or become a fan on Facebook.
