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Ambigram

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Animation of a half-turn ambigram of the wordambigram,with 180-degree rotational symmetry[1]

Anambigramis acalligraphiccomposition ofglyphs(letters, numbers, symbols or other shapes) that can yield different meanings depending on the orientation of observation.[2][3]Most ambigrams are visualpalindromesthat rely on some kind ofsymmetry,and they can often be interpreted asvisual puns.[4]The term was coined byDouglas Hofstadterin 1983–1984.[2][5]

Most often, ambigrams appear as visually symmetrical words. When flipped, they remain unchanged, or they mutate to reveal anothermeaning."Half-turn" ambigrams undergo apoint reflection(180-degreerotational symmetry) and can be read upside down (for example, the word "swims" ), while mirror ambigrams haveaxial symmetryand can be read through areflectivesurface like amirror.Many other types of ambigrams exist.[6]

Ambigrams can be constructed in variouslanguagesandAlpha bets,and the notion often extends tonumbersand othersymbols.It is a recentinterdisciplinaryconcept, combiningart,literature,mathematics,cognition,andoptical illusions.Drawing symmetrical words constitutes also arecreational activityforamateurs.Numerous ambigramlogosare famous, and ambigramtattooshave become increasingly popular. There are methods to design an ambigram, a field in which someartistshave become specialists.

Etymology[edit]

The wordambigramwas coined in 1983 byDouglas Hofstadter,an American scholar ofcognitive sciencebest known as thePulitzer Prize-winning author of the bookGödel, Escher, Bach.[7][4][5] It is aneologismcomposed of the Latin prefixambi-( "both" ) and the Greek suffix-gram( "drawing, writing" ).[2]

Hofstadter describes ambigrams as "calligraphic designs that manage to squeeze in two different readings."[8]"The essence is imbuing a singlewritten formwithambiguity".[9][10]

Anambigramis avisual punof a special kind: acalligraphic designhaving two or more (clear)interpretationsaswritten words.One can voluntarily jump back and forth between the rivalreadingsusually by shifting one's physicalpoint of view(moving the design in some way) but sometimes by simply altering one'sperceptualbias towards a design (clicking an internal mental switch, so to speak). Sometimes the readings will say identical things, sometimes they will say different things.[11][4]

— Douglas Hofstadter

Hofstadter attributes the origin of the wordambigramto conversations among a small group of friends in 1983.[12]

Prior to Hofstadter'sterminology,other names were used to refer to ambigrams. Among them, the expressions "verticalpalindromes"[13]byDmitri Borgmann[14](1965) andGeorges Perec,[15][16]"designatures" (1979),[17]"inversions" (1980) byScott Kim,[18][19]or simply "upside-down words" byJohn Langdonand Robert Petrick.[20]

Ambigramwas added to theOxford English Dictionaryin March 2011,[6][21]and to theMerriam-Websterdictionary in September 2020.[2][22]Scrabbleincluded the word in its database in November 2022.[23][3][24]

History[edit]

Sator square(word squareandpalindrome) with the letters S and N reversed.
Rotational ambigramPuzzle / The endbyPeter Newelldesigned in 1893.
Mirrorambigram ΝΙΨΟΝ ΑΝΟΜΗΜΑΤΑ ΜΗ ΜΟΝΑΝ ΟΨΙΝ (Wash your sins, not only your face,inAncient Greek) in themonastery Panagia Malevi[el].[25]
Ambigrams published inThe Strand Magazine,June 1908.

Many ambigrams can be described asgraphicpalindromes.

The firstSator squarepalindrome was found in the ruins ofPompeii,meaning it was created before theEruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. A sator square using themirror writingfor the representation of the letters S and N was carved in a stone wall inOppède(France) between theRoman Empireand theMiddle Ages,[26]thus producing a work made up of 25 letters and 8 differentcharacters,3 naturally symmetrical (A, T, O), 3 others decipherable from left to right (R, P, E), and 2 others from right to left (S, N). This engraving is therefore readable in four directions.[27]

Although the term is recent, the existence ofmirrorambigrams has been attested since at least thefirst millennium.They are generallypalindromesstylizedto be visuallysymmetrical.

Inancient Greek,the phrase"ΝΙΨΟΝ ΑΝΟΜΗΜΑΤΑ ΜΗ ΜΟΝΑΝ ΟΨΙΝ"(wash the sins, not only the face), is apalindromefound in several locations, including the site of the churchHagia Sophiain Turkey.[28][29]It is sometimes turned into a mirror ambigram when written in capital letters with the removal ofspaces,and thestylizationof the letter Ν (Ν).

Aboustrophedonis a type ofbi-directional text,mostly seen in ancient manuscripts and other inscriptions. Every other line of writing is flipped or reversed, with reversed letters. Rather than going left-to-right as in modern European languages, or right-to-left as inArabicandHebrew,alternate lines in boustrophedon must be read in opposite directions. Also, the individual characters are reversed, or mirrored. This two-way writing system reveals that modern ambigrams can have quite ancient origins, with an intuitive component in some minds.

Mirror writing inIslamic calligraphyflourished during the early modern period, but its origins may stretch as far back as pre-Islamic mirror-image rock inscriptions in theHejaz.[30]

The earliest known non-naturalrotationalambigram dates to 1893 by artistPeter Newell.[31]Although better known for his children's books and illustrations forMark TwainandLewis Carroll,he published two books ofreversible illustrations,in which the picture turns into a different image entirely when flippedupside down.The last page in his bookTopsys & Turvyscontains the phraseThe end,which, when inverted, readsPuzzle.InTopsys & Turvys Number 2(1902), Newell ended with a variation on the ambigram in whichThe endchanges intoPuzzle 2.[32]

In March 1904 the Dutch-AmericancomicartistGustave Verbeekused ambigrams in three consecutive strips ofThe UpsideDowns of old man Muffaroo and little lady Lovekins.[33]His comics wereambiguous images,made in such a way that one could read the six-panel comic, flip the book and keep reading.

From June to September 1908, the British monthlyThe Strand Magazinepublished a series of ambigrams by different people in its "Curiosities"column.[34]Of particular interest is the fact that all four of the people submitting ambigrams believed them to be a rare property of particular words. Mitchell T. Lavin, whose "chump" was published in June, wrote, "I think it is in the only word in the English language which has this peculiarity," while Clarence Williams wrote, about his "Bet" ambigram, "Possibly B is the only letter of the Alpha bet that will produce such an interesting anomaly."[34][35]

Characteristics[edit]

Natural ambigrams[edit]

The distress signalSOSis a natural rotating ambigram.
"Quarter-turn" natural ambigram
Thenumber 619constitutes a natural ambigram (but not the word "western" ).

In theLatin Alpha bet,many letters are symmetricalglyphs.Thecapital lettersB, C, D, E, H, I, K, O, and X have a horizontal symmetry axis. This means that all words that can be written using only these letters are naturallake reflectionambigrams. For example, BOOK, CHOICE, or DECIDE.

Thelowercaseletters l, o, s, x and z arerotationally symmetrical,while pairs such as b/q, d/p, m/w, n/u, and in sometypefacesh/y and a/e, are rotations of each other. Thus, the words "sos", "pod", "suns", "yeah", "swims", "dollop", or "passed" form natural rotational ambigrams.

More generally, a "natural ambigram" is a word that possesses one or moresymmetrieswhen written in its natural state, requiring notypographicstyling.The words "bud", "bid", or "mom", form natural mirror ambigrams when reflected over avertical axis,as does "ليبيا",the name of the countryLibyainArabic.The words "HIM", "TOY," TOOTH "or" MAXIMUM ", in all capitals, form natural mirror ambigrams when their letters are stacked vertically and reflected over a vertical axis. Theuppercaseword "OHIO"can flip a quarter to produce a 90°rotationalambigram when written inserifstyle (with large "feet" above and below the "I" ).

Like allstrobogrammatic numbers,69is a natural rotational ambigram.

Patterns in natureare visible regularities of form found in the natural world.[36]Similarly,patternsin ambigrams are regularities found ingraphemes. As a consequence to this "natural" property, someshapesappear more or less appropriate to handle for thedesigner.Ambigram candidates can become "almostnatural ", when all the letters except maybe one or two are symmetrically cooperative, for example the word" awesome "possesses 5 compatible letters (the central s that flips around itself, and the couples a/e and w/m).

Single words or several words[edit]

A symmetrical ambigram can be called "homogram" (contraction of "homo-ambigram" ) when it remains unchanged after reflection, and "heterogram" when it transforms.[11][37]In the most common type of ambigram, the twointerpretationsarise when the image is rotated 180 degrees with respect to each other (in other words, a second reading is obtained from the first by simply rotating the sheet).

Single word ambigrams[edit]

Douglas Hofstadtercoined the word "homogram" to define an ambigram with identical letters.[11][37]In this case, the first half of the word turns into the last half.[38]

Several words[edit]

Three words ambigram: a changing combination "India/Nepal"associated with the invariant conjunction" and ".

A symmetrical ambigram is called "heterogram"[11][37](contraction of "hetero-ambigram" ) when it gives another word. Visually, a heterogram ambigram is symmetrical only when both versions of the pairing are shown together. Theaestheticalappearance is more difficult to design, when a changing ambigram aims to be revealed in one way only, alternatively or separately, becausesymmetrygenerally enhanceselegance.Technically, there are twice more combinations of letters involved in ahetero-ambigramthan in ahomo-ambigram.For example, the 180° rotational ambigram "yeah" contains only two pairs of letters: y/h and e/a, whereas the heterogram "yeah / good" contains four: y/d, e/o, a/o, and h/g.

A single word ambigram cannot behetero-,but a multiple words ambigram can behomo-type if the letters overlapse, like in "upsidedown" written attached, for example. The ambigram saying "upsidedown" one way and "upsidedown" again the other way, means it is a two wordshomogram.But the ambigram saying "upside" one way and "down" after rotation, means it is a two wordsheterogram.

There is no limitation to the number of words potentially associable, and full ambigramsentenceshave even been published.[15][38]

  • "Ambigram / Wikipedia", hetero- type.[39]
    "Ambigram /Wikipedia",hetero-type.[39]
  • "True flag", self-referential flag, horizontal axis mirror hetero- type.
    "True flag",self-referentialflag, horizontal axis mirrorhetero-type.
  • Two words ambigram "Stay Here".
    Two words ambigram "Stay Here".
  • Two words ambigram "Real / Fake" showing alternatively one version of the pair.
    Two words ambigram "Real/Fake"showing alternatively one version of the pair.

Types[edit]

Ambigrams are exercises ingraphic designthat play withoptical illusions,symmetryandvisual perception. Some ambigrams feature a relationship between theirformand theircontent.Ambigrams usually fall into one of several categories.

180° rotational ambigrams[edit]

180° rotational ambigram saying "Upside Down".[40]

"Half-turn" ambigrams orpoint reflectionambigrams, commonly called "upside-down words", are 180°rotational symmetricalcalligraphies.[7]They can be read right side up or upside down, or both.

Rotation ambigrams are the most common type of ambigrams for good reason. When a word isturned upside down,the top halves of the letters turn into the bottom halves. And because our eyes pay attention primarily to the top halves of letters when we read, that means that you can essentially chop off the top half of a word, turn it upside down, and glue it to itself to make an ambigram. [...][41]

— Scott Kim

Mirror ambigrams[edit]

Amirrorambigram, orreflectionambigram, is a design that can be read when reflected in amirrorvertically, horizontally, or at 45 degrees,[42]giving either the same word or another word or phrase.

Vertical axis reflection ambigrams[edit]

Vertical axis reflection ambigram "Love you", with the letter I added over like in a totem ambigram.
"Perfect",vertical axis mirror ambigram.
"Nothing written",self-referentialvisual wordplay, vertical axis reflection.
HistoricalMaoamlogo (candy), vertical axis mirror ambigram, between 1900 and 1931.

When thereflectingsurface is vertical (like amirrorfor example), the calligraphic design is avertical axis mirror ambigram.

The "museum" ambigram is almost natural with mirror symmetry, because the first two letters are easily exchanged with the last two, and the lowercase letter e can be transformed into s by a fairly obvious typographical acrobatics.[43]

Vertical axis mirror ambigrams find clever applications inmirror writing(orspecular writing), that is formed by writing in the direction that is the reverse of the natural way for a given language, such that the result is themirror imageof normal writing: it appears normal when it is reflected in amirror.For example, the word "ambulance" could be read frontward and backward in a vertical axis reflective ambigram. Following this idea, the French artist Patrice Hamel created a mirror ambigram saying "entrée"(entrance,in French) one way, and "sortie"(exit) the other way, displayed in the giant glass façade of theGare du NordinParis,so that the travelers coming in readentrance,and those leaving readway out.[44]

Horizontal axis reflection ambigrams[edit]

"Motel"on the facade of a building is mirroring in the water of apondto give "Water",self-referentialconcept using alake reflection.
Horizontal axis mirror ambigram "Body/Yoga".

When the reflecting surface is horizontal (like amirroring lakefor example), the calligraphic design is ahorizontal axis mirror ambigram.

The bookAmbigrams Revealedfeatures several creations of this type, like the word "Failure" mirroring in the water of a pond to give "Success", or "Love" changing into "Lust".[45]

Figure-ground ambigrams[edit]

Figure-ground ambigramMichel Onfray,revealing the surname in thenegative spaceformed by the letters of the given name.
Figure-ground ambigram "Liar / Jail" (and incidentally also atessellation)

In afigure / groundambigram, letters fit together so thenegative spacearound and between one word spells another word.[42]

InGestalt psychology,figure–ground perceptionis known as identifying afigurefrom the background.For example, black words on a printed paper are seen as the "figure", and the white sheet as the "background". In ambigrams, thetypographic spaceof the background is used asnegative spaceto form new letters and new words. For example, inside acapitalH,one can easily insert a lowercasei.

The oil paintingYou & Me(US) byJohn Langdon(1996) belongs to this category. The word "me" fills the space between the letters of "you".[46]

Ambigram tessellations[edit]

Ambigramtessellation"Future",180°rotational symmetry.Upside-down, the light-color letters "future" occupy thenegative spacebetween the dark color letters. Two tints, blue and black, separate each block.

WithEscher-liketessellationsassociated to wordpatterns,ambigrams can be oriented in three, four, and up to six directions via rotational symmetries of 120°, 90° and 60° respectively,[47]such as those created by French artist Alain Nicolas.[48]Some words can also transform in thenegative space,but the multiplication of constraints often has the effect of reducing either the readability or thecomplexityof thedesignedwords.

Ambigram tessellations are wordpuzzles,in whichgeometrysets the rules.[48]

Media related toAmbigram tessellationsat Wikimedia Commons.

Chain ambigrams[edit]

Chain ambigramMichel Onfray.
This chain ambigram "nouvel an" (new year,in French) reads upside down.

A chain ambigram is a design where a word (or sometimes words) are interlinked, forming a repeating chain.[42] Letters are usually overlapped: a word will start partway through another word. Sometimes chain ambigrams are presented in the form of a circle. For example, the chain "...sunsunsunsun..." can flip upside down, but not the word "sun" alone, written horizontally. A chain ambigram can be constituted of one to several elements. A single element ambigram chain is like asnake eating its own tail.A two-elements ambigram chain is like a snake eating the neighbor's tail with the neighbor eating the first snake's, and so on.

Scott Kim's "Infinity"works, and that ofJohn Langdon"Chain reaction",are alsoself-referential,since the first is infinite in the literal sense of the word, and the second, both reversible at 180° and interfering around the letter O, evokes a chain reaction.[49]

Spinonyms[edit]

Aspinonym[de]is a type of ambigram in which a word is written using the sameglyphrepeated in differentorientations.[38] WEB is an example of a word that can easily be made into a spinonym.

Perceptual shift ambigrams[edit]

Perceptual shift ambigram,WaveandParticle,byDouglas Hofstadter.
Ambiguous letter that can be interpreted as a H or as an A.

Perceptualshiftambigrams, also called "oscillation" ambigrams, are designs with nosymmetrybut can be read astwo different wordsdepending on how the curves of the letters are interpreted.[42]These ambigrams work on the principle ofrabbit-duck-style ambiguous images.

For exampleDouglas Hofstadterexpresses the dual nature of light as revealed by physics with his perceptual shift ambigramWave / Particle.

90° rotational ambigrams[edit]

"IgnoreWrong!",also" Wrong! / Ignore ", 90° rotational symmetry.
90° rotational ambigram "Jude/Muslim"(Jew/Muslimin German) (and incidentally also a chain ambigram).

"Quarter-turn" ambigrams or 90°rotationalambigrams turnclockwiseorcounterclockwiseto express different meanings.[4]For example, the letter U can turn into a C and reciprocally, or the letters M or W into an E.[38]

Totem ambigrams[edit]

This historicalMariamonogramis close to a totem ambigram, almost symmetrical over the vertical axis.
TheAlabama A&M Universityhas a totem mirror ambigram logo.
Words crossing or totem ambigram "Hot dog",vertical axis reflection symmetry.

A totem ambigram is an ambigram whose letters are stacked like atotem,most often offering a vertical axismirror symmetry. This type helps when several letters fit together, but hardly the whole word. For example, in theMariamonogram[hu],the letters M, A and I are individually symmetrical, and the pairing R/A is almost naturally mirroring. When adequately stacked, the 5 letters produce a nice totem ambigram, whereas the whole name "Maria" would not offer the same cooperativeness.

The ambigrammist artistJohn Langdondesigned several totemic assemblages, such as the word "METRO" composed of the symmetrical letter M, then section ETR, and below O; or the sentence "THANK YOU", vertical assembly of T, H, A, then of the symmetric NK couple, then finally Y, O, U.[50]

Fractal ambigrams[edit]

In mathematics, afractalis a geometricalshapethat exhibitsinvarianceunder scaling. A piece of the whole, if enlarged, has the same geometrical features as the entire object itself. A fractal ambigram is a sort of space-filling ambigrams where thetiledword branches from itself and then shrinks in aself-similarmanner, forming afractal.[51] In general, only a few letters are constrainted in a fractal ambigram. The other letters don't need to look like any other, and thus can be shaped freely.

3-dimensional ambigrams[edit]

The 3D ambigram "GEB" (forGödel, Escher, Bach) on the cover ofHofstadter's book.
Three-dimensional ambigram,ABC.

A3Dambigram is a design where an object is presented that will appear to read several letters or words when viewed from different angles. Such designs can be generated usingconstructive solid geometry,a technique used insolid modeling,and then physically constructed with therapid prototypingmethod.

3-dimensional ambigramsculpturescan also be achieved inplastic arts.They arevolumeambigrams.

The original 1979 edition ofHofstadter'sGödel, Escher, Bachfeatured two 3-D ambigrams on the cover.[52]

Complex ambigrams[edit]

Complex ambigrams are ambigrams involving more than one symmetry, or satisfying the criteria for several types. For example, a complex ambigram can be both rotational and mirror with a 4-folddihedralsymmetry. Or a spinonym that reads upside down is also a complex ambigram.

Symbols[edit]

Other languages[edit]

Mirror ambigram depicting the phraseعليوليالله(Aliis the vicegerent of God,inArabic), Ottoman panel, between 1720 and 1730.
Ambigram곰/문(Bear / Door,in Korean), 180° rotational symmetry.
The word "বাংলা"(Banglaor Bengali, in Bengali), half-turn ambigram.

Ambigrams exist in many languages. With theLatin Alpha bet,they generally mixlowercaseanduppercaseletters. But words can also be symmetrical in other Alpha bets, likeArabic,Bengali,Cyrillic,Greek,and even inChinese charactersand Japanesekanji.

InKorean,곰(bear) and문(door),공(ball) and운(luck), or물(water) and롬(ROM) form a natural rotational ambigram. Some syllables like응(yes),표(ticket/signage) or를(object particle), and words like "허리피라우" (straighten your back) also make full ambigrams.

Thehan charactermeaning "hundred" is writtenTrăm,that makes a natural 90° rotational ambigram when theglyphmakes a quarter turn counterclockwise, one sees "100".[53]

Media related toAmbigrams by languageat Wikimedia Commons.

Numbers[edit]

Mirror and rotational ambigram of an arithmetic operation illustrating thecommutative propertyinaddition.[40]
Although not totally symmetrical, theSochi 2014 (Olympic games)official logo offers mirror and rotational symmetries, linking the numbers to the letters like an ambigram.
Rio 2016(Olympic games), half-turn rotational ambigram logo containing letters anddigits.

An ambigram of numbers, ornumeral ambigram,containsnumerical digits,like1,2,3...[38]

Inmathematics,apalindromic number(also known as anumeral palindrome) is a number that remains the same when its digits arereversedthrough a vertical axis (but not necessarily visually). The palindromic numbers containing only 1, 8, and 0, constitute natural numeric ambigrams (visuallysymmetricalthrough amirror). Also, because theglyph2is graphically themirror imageof5,it means numbers like 205 or 85128 are natural numeral mirror ambigrams. Though not palindromic in the mathematical sense, they read frontward and backward like real ambigrams.

Astrobogrammatic numberis a number whose numeral isrotationally symmetric,so that it appears the same when rotated 180 degrees. The numeral looks the same right-side up and upside down (e.g., 69, 96, 1001).[54][55][56]

Somedatesare natural numeral ambigrams.[57] In March 1961, artistNorman Mingocreated an upside-down cover forMad magazinefeaturing an ambigram of the current year. The title says "No matter how you look at it... it's gonna be aMadyear. 1961, the first upside-down year since 1881. "[58] Tuesday, 22 February 2022, was a palindrome and ambigram date called "Twosday"because it contained reversible 2 (two).[59][60][61]

Ambigrams of numbers receive most attention in the realm ofrecreational mathematics.[4][62]

Ambigrams with numbers sometimes combine letters and numerical digits. Because the number 5 is approximately shaped like the letter S, the number 6 like a lowercase b, the number 9 like the letter g, it is possible to play on these similarities to design ambigrams. A good example is theSochi 2014 (Olympic games)logo where the fourglyphscontained in 2014 are exact symmetries of the four letters S, o, i and h, individually.[63]

Other symbols[edit]

Palindrome withmusical notes,here the centre part ofAlban Berg's operaLulu

AsAlpha bet lettersareglyphsused in thewriting systemsto express thelanguagesvisually, othersymbolsare also used in the world to code other fields, like theprosignsin theMorse codeor themusical notesinmusic.

Similarly to the ambigrams of letters, the ambigrams with other symbols are generally visually symmetrical, eitherpoint reflectiveorreflective through an axis.

The internationalMorse codedistress signalSOS▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄is a natural ambigram constituted of dots and dashes. It flips upside down or through a mirror.

In morse code, the letter P coded▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄and the letter R coded▄ ▄▄▄ ▄are individually symmetrical, like many other letters and numbers. Also, the letter G coded▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄is the exact reverse of the letter W coded▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄.Thus, the combination▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄/▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄coding the pairing G/W constitutes a natural ambigram. Consequently, meaningful natural ambigrams written in morse code certainly exist, like for example the words "wog"▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄,"Dou"▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄or "mom"▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄.[7][64][65]

Inmusic,the interlude fromAlban Berg's operaLuluis apalindrome,thus thescoremade up ofmusical notesis almost symmetrical through a vertical axis.[66]

Inbiology,researchers study the ambigrammatic property ofnarnavirusesby using visual representations of the symmetrical sequences.[36][1][67]

Fields[edit]

Art[edit]

Calligraphy and typography[edit]

AmbigramLove Songpublished in atypographybook (Typism).
Calligraphiccolor-reversal ambigramSoulofLaos,published in the bookAmbigrams Revealed.[68]
CalligraphicdesignDanke(thanks,in German) and half-turn ambigram.

Instead of simply writing them, ambigramletteringcovers theartofdrawingletters.In ambigram calligraphy, each letter acts as anillustration,each letter is created with attention to detail and has a unique role within acomposition.Lettering ambigrams do not translate into combinations of Alpha bet letters that can be used like atypeface,since they are created with a specific candidate in mind.

Thecalligrapher,graffitiwriter andgraphic designerNiels Shoe Meulmancreated several rotational ambigrams like the number "fifty",[69]the names "Shoe / Patta",[70]and the opposition "Love / Fear".[71]

Thecoverof the 7th volume of thetypographybookTypismis an ambigram drawn byNikita Prokhorov.[72]

The AmericantypedesignerMark Simonsondesigned poetic andhumorousambigrams, such as the words "Revelation", "Typophile", and the symbiosis "Drink / Drunk".[73]The last one makes avisual punwhen printed on ashot glass,sold commercially.[74]

Logos[edit]

The rotational logoNew Mancreated byRaymond Loewyin 1968 is a natural ambigram.
The onlinetwo-sided marketplacefor residential cleaningHandyhas a 180° rotational ambigram logo.
Sun(Microsystems) logo designed byVaughan Prattin 1982, chain ambigram, spinonym, 90° and 180° rotational symmetries.
Nissin(Foods) ambigram visual identity (half-turn).
Logo ofVoice of America.

Since they are visually striking, and sometimes surprising, ambigram words find large application incorporate logosandwordmarks,setting the visualidentityof many organizations, trademarks and brands.[75]

In 1968[76]or 1969,Raymond Loewydesigned the rotationalNew Man[fr]ambigram logo.[77][78][79]

The mirror ambigramDeLorean Motor Companylogo, designed by Phil Gibbon, was first used in 1975.[80][81][82]

Robert Petrick designed the invertibleAngellogo[83]in 1976.

The logoSun(Microsystems) designed by professorVaughan Pratt[84]in 1982 fulfills the criteria of several types: chain ambigram, spinonym, 90° and 180° rotational symmetries.

The Swedish pop groupABBAowns a mirror ambigram logo stylizedAᗺBAwith a reversed B, designed byRune Söderqvist[sv][85]in 1976.[86]

TheVenturalogo of the Visitors & Convention Bureau's board, in California, costUS$25,000 and was created in 2014 by the DuPuis group. It uses a 180° rotational symmetry.[87][88]

Other famous ambigram logos include: the insurance companyAviva;[89] theacronymCRD(Capital Regional District) in the Canadian province of British Columbia;[90] the American multinational corporationDXCTechnology; the two-sided marketplace for residential cleaningHandy;[91][92] the brand name of French premium high-speed train servicesInOui;[93] the French company specializing in ticketing and passenger information systemsIXXI; the century-old brandMaoamof the confectionery manufacturer Haribo;[94] the American industrial rock bandNIͶ; the Japanese food companyNissin; the biotechnology companyNoxxonPharma, founded in 1997; the online travel agencyOpodoin 2001;[95] the brand of food productsOXO[96]born in 1899; the video gamePod; the American developer and manufacturer of audio productsSonos;[97] the American professional basketball team PhoenixSuns;[98][99] the German manufacturer of adhesive productsUHU; the quadruple symmetrical logoUAfrom the American clothing brandUnder Armour; the Canadian corporation mandated to operate intercity passenger rail serviceVIAin 1978;[100] the American international broadcasterVOA,born in 1942; and the Malaysian mobile virtual network operatorXOX.The student edition of theTesco Clubcardused 180° rotational symmetry.[101]

Visual communication[edit]

Ambigram "BidenUSAHarris"byDouglas Hofstadterconveying a political message during the2020 United States presidential election.
The movieAnnabyLuc Besson(2019) reveals on itspostera mirror ambigram with a vertical axis.

Because they arevisual puns,[4]ambigrams generally attract attention, and thus can be used invisual communicationto broadcast amarketingorpoliticalmessage.

In France, a mirror ambigram "Penelope/benevole"legible through a horizontal axis became amemeon the web after its diffusion onWikimedia Commons.[102] Penelope Fillon,wife of French politician and former Prime Minister of FranceFrançois Fillon,is suspected of having received wages for a fictitious job. Ironically, her name through the mirror becomesbenevole(voluntaryin French), suggesting dedication for a free service. Shared tens of thousands of times on thesocial networks,thishumorousambigram made thebuzzvia several French,[103]Belgian[104][105]and Swiss[102]medias.

Ambigrams are regularly used bycommunication agenciessuch asPublicisto engage the reader or the consumer through two-way messages.[106] Thus, in 2021, male first names transformed into female first names are included in a Swissadvertising campaignaimed at raising awareness aboutgender equality.An intriguingcatchphrasetypography upside down invites the reader to rotate the magazine, in which the first names "Michael" or "Peter" are transformed into "Nathalie" or "Alice".[107][108]

In 2015 iSmart's logo on one of its travelchargerswentviralbecause the brand's name turned out to be a natural ambigram that read "+Jews!"upside down. The company noted that"...we learned a powerful lesson of what not to do when creating alogo." [109]

Cinema posterssometimes seduce observers with ambigram titles, such as that ofTenetbyChristopher Nolan,by central symmetry.[27] orAnnabyLuc Bessonaround a vertical axis,[110][111]

Comics[edit]

Ambigrams incomicsbyGustave Verbeekin 1904.
Ambigrams incomicsThe Upside Downs of Little Lady Lovekins and Old Man MuffaroobyGustave Verbeekcontaining ambigramsentencesin 1904.
Another frame.

The American artist and writerPeter Newellpublished arotationalambigram in 1893 saying "Puzzle / The end" in the book containingreversible illustrationsTopsys & Turvys.[31]

In March 1904 the Dutch-AmericancomicartistGustave Verbeekused ambigrams in three consecutive strips ofThe UpsideDowns of old man Muffaroo and little lady Lovekins.[33]His comics wereambiguous images,made in such a way that one could read the six-panel comic, flip the book and keep reading. InThe Wonderful Cure of the Waterfall(13 March 1904) an Indian medicine man says 'Big waters would make her very sound', while when flipped the medicine man turns into an Indian woman who says 'punos dery, ery apew poom, serlem big'. Which is explained as, 'poor deary' several foreign words that meant that she would call the 'Serlem Big'. The next comic calledAt the House of the Writing Pig(20 March 1904), where two ambigram wordballoonsare featured. The first features an angry pig trying to make the main protagonist leave by showing a sign that says; 'big boy go away, dis am home of mr h hog', up side down it reads 'Boy yew go away. We sip. Home of hog pig.' The protagonist asks the pig if it wants a big bun, upon which it replies 'Why big buns? Am mad u!', which flips into 'In pew we sang big hym'. Finally inThe Bad Snake and the Good Wizard(1904 Mar 27) there are two more ambigrams. The first turns 'How do you do' into the name of a wizard called 'Opnohop Moy', the second features a squirrel telling the protagonist 'Yes further on' only to inform it that there are 'No serpents here' on his way back. In a 2012 Swedish remake of the book,[112]the artist Marcus Ivarsson redrawsThe Bad Snake and the Good Wizardin his own style. He removes the squirrel, but keeps the other ambigram. 'How do you do' is replaced by 'Nejnej' (Swedish for no) and the wizard is now called 'Laulau'.

Media related toAmbigrams by Gustave Verbeekat Wikimedia Commons.

Oubapo,workshop of potentialcomic book art,is acomicsmovement which believes in the use offormalconstraintsto push the boundaries of the medium.Étienne Lécroart,cartoonist,is a founder and key member of Oubapo association, and has composed cartoons that could be read either horizontally, vertically, or in diagonal, and vice versa, sometimes including appropriate ambigrams.[113]

Drawings and paintings[edit]

Ambigram "¡OHO!" published byRex Whistlerin 1946.
Ambigram "¡OHO!" withreversible facesbyRex Whistlercreated before 1944. A young woman transforms into a grandmother.
Ambigram paintingMe / We,horizontal axis mirror type (2007).

The Britishpainter,designer and illustratorRex Whistler,published in 1946 a rotational ambigram "¡OHO!" for the cover of a book gatheringreversible drawings.[114]

The artistJohn Langdon,specialist of ambigrams,[75]designed many colorpaintingsfeaturing ambigrams of all kinds, figure-ground, rotational, mirror or totem. Among other influences, he particularly admiresM. C. Escher'sdrawings.[115]

The Canadian artist Kelly Klages painted severalacrylicsoncanvaswith ambigram words and sentences referring to famous writers' novels written byWilliam ShakespeareorAgatha Christie,such asThird Girl,The Tempest,After the Funeral,The Hollow,Reformation,Sherlock Holmes,andElephants Can Remember.[116]

Sculptures[edit]

AmbigramOUI / NON(Yes / No,in French), by sculptorMarkus Raetz,installed at the top of a pole on the Place du Rhöne inGeneva,Switzerland,observed from two angles.
Mia Florentine Weiss
"Love Hate" sculpture inMunich,Germany, in 2020.
"Now / Won" installation in front of theReichstag building,Berlin,Germany, 2017.

The GermanconceptualartistMia Florentine Weissbuilt a sculptural ambigramLove Hate[de],[117]that has traveled Europe as a symbol of peace and change of perspective.[118]Depending on which side the viewer looks at it, the sculpture says "Love" or "Hate". A similar concept was installed in front of theReichstag buildinginBerlinwith the words "Now / Won". Both sculptures are mirror type ambigrams, symmetrical around a vertical axis.[119]

The Swiss sculptorMarkus Raetzmade several three-dimensional ambigram works, featuring words generally with related meanings, such as YES-NO (2003),[120] ME-WE (2004, 2010),[121] OUI-NON (2000–2002) in French,[122][123] SI–NO (1996)[124] and TODO-NADA (1998) in Spanish[125][126] These areanamorphicworks, which change in appearance depending on the angle of view of the observer. The OUI–NON ambigram is installed on the Place du Rhône, inGeneva,Switzerland,at the top of a metal pole. Physically, the letters have the appearance of iron twists. With the perspective, this work demonstrates that reality can beambiguous.[123]

Some ambigram sculptures by the French conjurerFrancis Tabary[fr]are reversible by a half-turn rotation, and can therefore be exhibited on a support in two different ways.[127][128]

Literature[edit]

Palindromes[edit]

Famouspalindromesentence "DogmaI am God "turned into a mirror ambigram. ThecapitalD at the left was changed into a lowercase d, and thetypographic spacesadjusted.
Georges Perec's "verticalpalindrome"(rotational ambigram), in French.

Ambigrams are sorts ofvisualpalindromes.[129]Some words turn upside down, others are symmetrical through a mirror. Natural ambigram palindromes exist, like the words "wow", "malayalam"[130](Dravidian language), or the biotechnology companyNoxxonthat possesses apalindromicname associated to a rotational ambigram logo. But some words are natural ambigrams, though not palindromes in the literary acception, like "bud" for example, because b and d are different letters. As a result, some words and sentences are good candidates for ambigrammists, but not for palindromists, and reciprocally, since theconstraintslightly differ. Authors of ambigrams also benefit from a certain flexibility by playing on thetypefaceandgraphicaladjustments to influence the reading of their visual palindromes.

Oulipo,workshop of potential literature,seeks to create works usingconstrained writingtechniques.[13]Georges Perec,French novelist and member of the Oulipo group, designed a rotational ambigram, that he called "vertical palindrome".[15]Sibylline, the sentence "Andin Basnoda a une épouse qui pue" in French means "Andin Basnoda has a smelly wife". Perec did not care about punctuation spaces, but hiscreationflips easily with a classical font likeArial.

Visual palindromes sometimes perfectly illustrate literary contents. The American authorDan BrownincorporatedJohn Langdon's designs into the plot of his bestsellerAngels & Demons,and his fictional characterRobert Langdon's surname was a homage to theambigram artist.[131]

The fantasy novelAbarat,written and illustrated byClive Barker,features an ambigram of the title on its cover.[132]

Calligrams[edit]

Calligram"Good ambigrams" representing afaceand mirrorself-referentialambigram.
Reflectivecalligramhat inAlevismforming a humanfacewithArabicletters.
OsloClimbing Club official logo[133]"OK[no]"(acronymforOslo Klatreklubb) 90° rotational ambigram showing a humansilhouettevertically.

Acalligramis text arranged in such a way that it forms a thematically related image. It can be a poem, a phrase, a portion ofscripture,or a single word. The visual arrangement can rely on certain use of thetypeface,calligraphyorhandwriting.The image created by the words illustrates the text by expressing visually what it says, or something closely associated.

InIslamic calligraphy,symmetrical calligrams appear in ancient and modern periods, forming mirror ambigrams inArabiclanguage.[30]

The word "OK"turned 90°counterclockwiseevokes a human icon, with the letter O forming the head and the letter K the arms and the legs. The Norwegian Climbing ClubOslo Klatreklubb[no](acronym"OK" ) borrowed the concept of this naturalcalligramfor their official logo.[133]

Semantics[edit]

Bilingualmirror ambigram playing on thetranslationof the word "Lapin"(rabbit,in French).
Self-referentialcomposition"here / away" displayed in a spiral to express distance, thus enhancing themeaning.

As described byDouglas Hofstadter,ambigrams arevisual punshaving two or more (clear)interpretationsaswritten words.[4]

Multilingualambigrams can be read one way in alanguage,and another way in a different language orAlpha bet.[42] Multi-lingual ambigrams can occur in all of the various types of ambigrams, with multi-lingual perceptual shift ambigrams being particularly striking.

Like certainanagramswith providential meanings such as "Listen / Silent" or "The eyes / They see", ambigrams also sometimes take on a timely sense, for example "up" becomes the abbreviation "dn", very naturally by rotation of 180°.[134] But on the other hand, it happens that the luck of the letters makes things bad. This is the case with the weird anagram "Santa/ Satan ", as it is with a rotational ambigram that has goneviralbecause of theparadoxicaland unintentional message it expresses. Spotted in 2015 on a metal medal marketed without bad intention, the text "hope"displays upside down with a fairly obvious reading"Adolf",first name of the Nazi leader situated at the antipodes of optimism. This coincidence photographed by an Internet user was relayed by several media and constitutes anambiguous image.[135][136]

Mathematics[edit]

Ambigram of a reversiblearithmeticoperation.

Recreational mathematicsis carried out forentertainmentrather than as a strictly research and application-based professional activity.[62]An ambigrammagic squareexists, with the sums of the numbers in each row, each column, and both main diagonals the same right side up and upside down (180° rotational design). Numeral ambigrams also associate with Alpha bet letters. A "dissection" ambigram of "squaring the circle"was achieved in a puzzle where each piece of the word" circle "fits inside a perfect square.[4]

Burkard Polster,professor of mathematics inMelbourne[137]conducted researches on ambigrams and published several books dealing with the topic, includingEye Twisters, Ambigrams & Other Visual Puzzles to Amaze and Entertain.[138]In the abstractMathemagical Ambigrams,Polster performs several ambigrams closely related to his realm, like the words "algebra","geometry","math","maths",or" mathematics ".[4]

hELLO
Message written with thedigits"07734" upside down.

Calculator spellingis anunintended characteristicof theseven-segment displaytraditionally used bycalculators,in which, when read upside-down, the digits resemble letters of theLatin Alpha bet.Also,palindromic numbersandstrobogrammatic numberssometimes attract attention of mathematician ambigrammists.[55][54]

Ambigramtessellationsand3Dambigrams are two types particularly fun for the mathematician ingeometry.Wordpatternsin tessellations can start from 35 different fundamentalpolygons,such as therhombus,theisoscelesright triangle,or theparallelogram.[47]

Word puzzlesare used as a source ofentertainment,but can additionally serve aneducationalpurpose. The AmericanpuzzledesignerScott Kimpublished several ambigrams inScientific AmericaninMartin Gardner's "Mathematical Games"column, among them long sentences like"Martin Gardner's celebration ofmind"turning into "Physics, patterns andprestidigitation".[139]

Philosophy and cognition[edit]

Duality and analogy[edit]

Yin and yangsymbol, concept ofdualism.
"Two in one", half-turn ambigram.

In the word "ambigram",the rootambi-means "both" and is a popular prefix in aworld of dualities,such as day/night, left/right, birth/death, good/evil.[140]InWordplay: The Philosophy, Art, and Science of Ambigrams,[141]John Langdonmentions theyin and yangsymbol as one of his major influences to create upside down words.

Ambigrams are mentioned inMetamagical Themas,an eclectic collection of articles thatDouglas Hofstadterwrote for thepopular sciencemagazineScientific Americanduring the early 1980s.[9]

Seeking the balance point ofanalogiesis anaestheticexercise closely related to the aesthetically pleasing activity of doing ambigrams, where shapes must be concocted that are poised exactly at the midpoint between twointerpretations.But seeking the balance point is far more than just aesthetic play; it probes the very core of how people perceiveabstractions,and it does so without their even knowing it. It is a crucial aspect ofCopycatresearch.[9]

— Douglas Hofstadter

Cognition and psychology[edit]

"Ambiguity", 180° rotational ambigram.

Legibilityis an important aspect in successful ambigrams. It concerns the ease with which a reader decodes symbols. If the message is lost or difficult to perceive, an ambigram does not work.[8]Readability is related toperception,or how our braininterpretsthe forms we see through our eyes.[142]

Symmetryin ambigrams generally improves the visual appearance of thecalligraphicwords.[38]Hermann Rorschach,inventor of theRorschach Testnotices that asymmetric figures are rejected by many subjects. Symmetry supplies part of the necessary artistic composition.[143]

For manyamateurs,designing ambigrams represents arecreational activity,whereserendipitycan play a fertile role, when the author makes an unplanned fortunate discovery.[4][34]

Magic[edit]

"Real world/PrankFake",ambigram expressingillusion.
Ambigram "Magic/Dream",with a handheld pattern giving a reversed shadow.
"incredible!"Magical ambigram.[144]

Inmagic,ambigrams work likevisual illusions,revealing an unexpected new message from a particular written word.[145]

In the first series of the British showTrick or Treat,the show's host and creatorDerren Brownuses cards with rotational ambigrams.[146][147]These cards can read either 'Trick' or 'Treat'.

Ambiguous images,of which ambigrams are a part, cause ambiguity in different ways. For example, by rotational symmetry, as in the Illusion ofThe CookbyGiuseppe Arcimboldo(1570);[148]sometimes by afigure-groundambivalence as inRubin vase;by perceptual shift as in therabbit–duck illusion,or throughpareidolias;or again, by the representation ofimpossible objects,such asNecker cubeorPenrose triangle.For all these types of images, certain ambigrams exist, and can be combined withvisualsof the same type.

John Langdondesigned afigure-groundambigram "optical illusion"with the two words" optical "and" illusion ", one forming the figure and the other the background." Optical "is easier to see initially but" illusion "emerges with longer observation.[149]

Tattooing[edit]

Mirror ambigramtattooson wrists "Love / Eros".
Handmade ambigram intattoo"New York / Rich Man",right side up and upside down.
180° rotational ambigramtattoo"No religion".
AmbigramtattooTexas/Sexy,180° rotational symmetry.

One of the most dynamic sectors that harbors ambigrams istattooing.Because they possess two ways of reading, ambigram tattoos inked on the skin benefit from a "mind-blowing" effect. On the arm,sleeve tattoosflip upside-down,on the back or jointly on two wrists they are more striking with amirror symmetry.A large range ofscriptsandfontsis available. Experienced ambigram artists can create anoptical illusionwith a complexvisual design.[150]

In 2015, an ambigramtattoowentviralfollowing anadvertising campaigndeveloped by thePublicisgroup two years earlier. TheSamaritans of Singaporeorganization, active in suicide prevention, has a 180° reversible "SOS" ambigram logo,acronymof its name andhomonymof the famousSOSdistress signal. In 2013, this center orders advertisements that could be inserted in magazines to make readers aware of the problem ofdepressionamong young people, and the communication agency notices the symmetrical aspect of the logo. As a result, it begins to produce several ambigrammatic visuals, staged in photographic contexts, where sentences such as "I'm fine", "I feel fantastic" or "Life is great" turn into "Save me", "I'm falling apart", and "I hate myself". Readers noticing this logo placed at the upper left corner of the page with an upside-down typographicalcatchphraserotate the newspaper and visualize the double calligraphed messages, which call out with theSOS.[106][151] These ads are so influential that Bekah Miles, an American student herself coming out of a severe depression, chooses to use the "I'm fine / Save me" ambigram to get a tattoo on her thigh. Posted on Facebook, the two-sided photography immediately appeals to many young people, impressed or sensitive to this difficulty.[152][153] To educate its students,George Fox Universityin the United States then relays the optical illusion in its official journal, through a video totaling more than three million views[154]and the information is also reproduced in several local media and international organizations, thus helping to popularize this famous two-way tattoo.[155][156] Less fortunate, another teenage girl, aged 16, committed suicide, with her also this ambigram found on a note in her room, "I'm fine / Save me", reversible calligraphy today printed on badges and bracelets, for educational purposes.[157]

Manufacturing[edit]

Clothing and fashion[edit]

Ambigram "Bounce", printed inside a pinkAdidasshoe.

Adidasmarketed a line ofsneakerscalled "Bounce", with an ambigramtypographyprinted inside the shoe.

Several clothing brands, such asHelly Hansen(HH),Under Armour(UA), orNew Man[fr],raise an ambigram logo as their visualidentity.[79]

Mirror ambigrams are also sometimes placed onT-shirts,towelsandhats,whilesocksare more adapted to rotational ambigrams. TheconceptualartistMia Florentine Weissmarketed T-shirts and other products with her mirror ambigramLove Hate[de].[158][118] Likewise, the city ofVenturain California sells sweatshirts, caps, jackets, and other fashion accessories printed with its rotational ambigram logo.[159]

  • Rotational and reflective ambigram "Ideal", printed on a T-shirt.
    Rotational and reflective ambigram "Ideal",printedon a T-shirt.
  • "Zen Yes" embroidered on a blue T-shirt with a meditation symmetrical pictogram.
    "ZenYes "embroidered on a blue T-shirt with a meditation symmetricalpictogram.
  • Helly Hansen, Norwegian manufacturer and retailer of clothing and sports equipment, has an ambigram logo.
    Helly Hansen,Norwegianmanufacturer and retailer ofclothingand sports equipment, has an ambigram logo.

Accessories[edit]

"Cognac/Danger",front and back, on a set of twoshot glasses.Humorous warning related toalcohol consumption.

TheCD coverof the thirteenth studio albumFuneralby American rapperLil Waynefeatures a 180° rotational ambigram reading "Funeral / Lil Wayne".[160]

Thespecial editionpaper sleeve (CD with DVD) of the solo albumChaos and Creation in the BackyardbyPaul McCartneyfeatures an ambigram of the singer's name.[161]

TheGrateful Deadhave used ambigrams several times, including on their albumsAoxomoxoa[162]andAmerican Beauty.[163]

Although the words spelled by most ambigrams are relatively short in length, oneDVDcover forThe Princess Bridemovie creates a rotational ambigram out of two words "Princess Bride", whether viewed right side up or upside down. [164]

The cover of the studio albumCreate/Destroy/Createby rock bandGoodnight, Sunriseis an ambigram composition constituted of two invariant words, "create" and "destroy", designed by Polish artist Daniel Dostal.[165]

The reversibleshot glasscontaining a changing message "Drink / Drunk", created by thetypographerMark Simonsonwas manufactured and sold in the market.[74]

The concept of reversible sign that some merchants use through their windows to indicate that the store is sometimes "open", sometimes "closed", was inaugurated at the beginning of the 2000s, by a rotational ambigram "Open / Closed" developed by David Holst.[43]

Creating ambigrams[edit]

Ambigram andtessellation"Escher", handmade design.

Different ambigramartists,sometimes calledambigrammists,[9][166]may create distinctive ambigrams from the same words, differing in bothstyleandform.

Handmade designs[edit]

There are no universal guidelines for creating ambigrams, and differentwaysof approaching problems coexist. A number of books suggestmethodsforcreation,includingWordPlay,[75]Eye Twisters,[138]andAmbigrams Revealed,[38]in English.

Ambigram generators[edit]

Computerizedmethods toautomaticallycreate ambigrams have been developed.[167][168]

Artists[edit]

John LangdonandScott Kimeach believed that they had invented ambigrams in the 1970s.[169]

Douglas Hofstadter[edit]

Douglas Hofstadter's mirror ambigrams featuring the names of the sevenrainbowcolors, followed by a complex perceptual shift ambigram "2006" / "Doug", fusion of his signature and the date.

Douglas Hofstadtercoined the term.[4]

To explain visually the numerous types of possible ambigrams, Hofstadter created many pieces with different constraints and symmetries.[170]Hofstadter has had several exhibitions of his artwork in various university galleries.[171][172]

According toScott Kim,Hofstadter once created a series of 50 ambigrams on the name of all the states in the US.[173]

In 1987 a book of 200 of his ambigrams, together with a long dialogue with his alter ego Egbert G. Gebstadter on ambigrams andcreativity,was published in Italy.[5][12]

John Langdon[edit]

John Langdonis aself-taughtartist,graphic designerandpainter,who started designing ambigrams in the late 1960s and early 70s.Letteringspecialist, Langdon is a professor oftypographyandcorporate identityatDrexel UniversityinPhiladelphia.[174]

John Langdon produced a mirror image logo "Starship" in 1972-1973,[175][176]that was sold to the rock bandJefferson Starship.

Langdon's ambigram bookWordplaywas published in 1992. It contains about 60 ambigrams. Each design is accompanied by a brief essay that explores the word's definition, its etymology, its relationship to philosophy and science, and its use in everyday life.[75]

Ambigrams became more popular as a result ofDan Brownincorporating John Langdon's designs into the plot of his bestseller,Angels & Demons,and the DVD release of theAngels & Demonsmovie contains a bonus chapter called "This is an Ambigram". Langdon also produced the ambigram that was used for some versions of the book's cover.[169]Brown used the nameRobert Langdonfor the hero in his novels as an homage to John Langdon.[131][177]

Blacksmith Records,the music management company andrecord label,possesses a rotational ambigram logo[178]designed by John Langdon.[179]

Scott Kim[edit]

Scott Kimis one of the best-known masters of the art of ambigrams.[78]He is an Americanpuzzledesigner andartistwho published in 1981 a book calledInversionswith ambigrams of many types.[18][177]

Other artists[edit]

Nikita Prokhorovis agraphic designer,lettering artistandambigram designer.His bookAmbigrams Revealedshowcases ambigram designs of all types, from all around the world.[38][180]

Born in 1946,Alain Nicolasis a specialist of figurative and ambigramtessellations.In his book, he performed many tilings with various words like "infinity", "Einstein"or" inversion "legible in many orientations.[47]According toThe Guardian,Nicolas has been called "the world's finest artist ofEscher-styletilings".[181]

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Bibliography[edit]

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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