ACAC Resurrection: Results

The Resurrection challenge results are in!

The theme for the first ACAC (Ambigram.Com Ambigram Challenge) was “resurrection”, and it was truly an appropriate theme as it was the resurrection of the Ambigram Challenge, formerly run by husband and wife team NAGFA and known as the NAC (Nagfa Ambigram Challenge).

The first ACAC also marked NAGFA’s partnership with Ambigram.com, as they agreed to join the team and contribute to the site, as well as run the new Ambigram Challenge. And finally, it marked the beginning of some phenomenal ambigram challenges: if the first challenge is any indication, there is some incredible work in store for the future ambigram challenges!

The results

Selecting the final ambigram was probably just as difficult as designing it, as we had some wonderful work to pick from. After much deliberation, the judges selected the top 5 ambigrams. Here they are in order!

[NOTE: All designs are copyrighted by the respective artists.  We have permission to post them here, but you must get permission from the artist for any other use of their design, or to post them elsewhere.]

1. John Langdon – Reincarnation/Reincarnate – First Place

Artist Website: http://www.johnlangdon.net

Artist’s Comments (Submitted with Design)

I’ve recently been involved in a conversation about life and death with one of my daughter’s friends, so that may have triggered the choice of words.  But I wanted to work on a word that others wouldn’t be working on, and although it’s an obvious choice, at least it wasn’t on the Nikita’s list of suggestions.

I started with REINCARNATE. It’s kind of the ideal ambigram challenge, I think, when a word offers some natural inversions (the Ns), some relatively easy combinations (the CAR) and some real challenges (the Ei = a). A whacky combination like that last one usually calls for more a more ornate style to help disguise the atrocities within the ornamentation. Getting the CAR comfortable kept pushing me to make it wider and wider. I’ve long enjoyed the aesthetics of a contour outline, and find that it often helps unify what the main body of the letter has pulled apart (R = tE and Ei = a).

Somewhere along the line I realized that REINCARNATION would work as a chain, allowing for the appropriate symbol of the circle. This word also has a nice combination of easy inversions (tion and rn = in)  and more challenging ones (rE = A).

Chains are inherently a little harder to read, so having it as the subordinate ambigram allows it to benefit from the readability of REINCARNATION and makes its degree of illegibility a little less frustrating.  Both words are long, so the circle had a pretty sizeable gap in the middle.  What better symbol for the regeneration of life than yin/yang? Besides, it’s the deep foundation of all my ambigrams, paintings, and life in general.  I have admired the aesthetics of much of Awangpurba’s work, and so I have become quite fond of using the Gaussian blur shadow effect.

Judges Comments

• Nikita: The complexity of this ambigram is mind-boggling. The design conveys the nature of the Resurrection theme not just through the two different ambigrams, but also through the symbolism. Easy to understand & easy to read.
• Mark: The central ambigram is signature John Langdon, and you could just about name the artist just from seeing the curves.  There are some tricky letter combinations there, but John makes them look easy.  I don’t believe that the background circle ambigram was necessary, but it does fit well with the resurrection theme.
• Nagfa: This work exudes intricacy in its sheer simplicity – a mark of a good designer. His choice word – Reincarnate – is succinct. The cleverness of that subtly-hidden ‘i’ speaks volume of how a master ambigrammist works, conjuring nothing from something and something from nothing.

2. Daniel Dostal – Born Again

Artist Website: http://daneel75.wordpress.com

Artist’s Comments (Submitted with Design)

I’m pleased that the challenge is continuing, because it is an unrestricted source of inspiration for me.

This design is inspired by the classic Black Sabbath album “Born Again”, with Ian Gillan on vocals.

Judges Comments

• Nikita: The letterforms in this ambigram are exquisite! Not a stroke nor a shape out of place, perfect legibility, and a beautiful job all around.
• Mark: The balance of the functional versus decorative elements in the initial B is excellent, and the choice of words is perfect.  Even after choosing the phrase, I’m not sure that many ambigram artists would have tackled it, but Daniel made it shine.  In fact, this design came very, very close to winning the whole competition, coming in second to the winning entry only by fractions of a point.
• Nagfa: Daniel Dostal: This is trademark Daniel Dostal. His mastery in the flourishes and swooshes is second to none. The interesting solution of the B-in is breath-taking. What makes this artwork so aesthetically pleasing is his ability to balance successfully the thick and thin strokes. Coming from the land of Metal and awesome band logos, perhaps it is in his innate nature?

3. Mark Palmer – Resurrection

Artist Website: http://www.wowtattoos.com

Artist’s Comments (Submitted with Design)

This Ambigram is a circular, chained, rotational Ambigram with the chosen word being “Resurrection” – selected for what hopefully is obvious reasons.  I found that the best solution (for me) came about by exploring the chained orientation, which seemed to yield the most naturally-occurring letter combinations.

My favorite way to display chained Ambigrams has always been in circular form; there’s just something so pleasing about the symmetry of the Ambigram when it’s repeated in the shape of a circle. The Ambigram itself is engulfed in flames and given a white-hot appearance, which symbolizes the first step in the resurrection process of the phoenix where the bird is reduced to ashes by fire.

Judges Comments

• Nikita: Chain ambigrams are very challenging, yet this ambigram is a testament to how beautiful one can be if done right. The only distraction here (for me) is the background, which is almost overpowering the ambigram.
• Mark: It could have been the theme relating to the “circle of life”, but we received several circular chain ambigrams in the Resurrection challenge, and this was the best in the field.  You start to realize the complexity of this design when you trace out the individual occurrences of the word “resurrection”.  I would have to agree with John and Nikita that the absence of white space clues in a circular chain can make them somewhat more difficult to read.
• Nagfa: A powerful image on its own, the background does somewhat engulf the classic clean letterforms. The choice of using the ‘t’ as the main pivot is clever, to say the least. We wonder if repeating ‘Resurrection’ three times instead of four would provide for an easier reading.

4. Bastian Pinnenberg – Lazarus

Artist Website: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasty_basty

Artist’s Comments

“Lazarus”, aka “Lazarus of Bethany”, aka “Saint Lazarus”, aka “Lazarus of the Four Days” was resurrected by Jesus after being buried for four days, according to the Gospel of John.

Judges Comments

• Nikita: The letters are beautiful. Not as complex as some of the previous ambigrams, but great legibility and readability.
• Mark: Both of Bastian’s submissions in this contest placed well, but this was his design that made it into the top 5.  Despite some very unique letter contortions, the design manages to finish with very good readability, especially at first glance (and I’m still trying to figure out why…)
• Nagfa: Unique, clean and easily readable. Bastian’s entries are outstanding in using the most whimsical of letterforms. He did well with his ‘Lazarus’ especially in accomplishing a consistent ‘A’. That L-S (always a bugbear): brilliant.

5. Michael Irving – Renaissance

Artist Website: http://home.comcast.net/~mirving

Artist’s Comments

The word “Renaissance” is defined as “a rebirth of interest or creativity in an area”…  My style of letterforms is intended to suggest the type of calligraphy associated with the “Renaissance” of the Middle Ages. I added flourish accents to the top and bottom in a lighter weight to complement the typography and give it a more finished look. The background also helps to further the concept of rebirth with it’s use of flames of orange transitioning to fields of green.

Judges Comments

• Nikita: Very legible and nicely done. The ’special effects’, which consist of the background image & the bevel/emboss effect on the letters really takes away from this ambigram.
• Mark: Great legibilility.  I’ve always maintained that a big part of creating a successful ambigram is excellent word choice, and you picked a word that leant itself to the task at hand.  Of course, after the word selection, you still need to deliver the goods, and you definitely did.
• Nagfa: Loving the flow of this artwork. The ‘r’ that metamorphs into the ‘N’ and later the ‘N’-'e’ is smooth. The usually troublesome E-C fits with the overall style. So too are the pivotal letters ‘ISS’. Good cohesion, easy readability. Nice.

Other Excellent Design Submissions

As we specified in the original Ambigram Challenge Rules, we would only be able to post comments for the top 5 submissions.  However, we did want to post a few other favorite submissions from a few artists that did well in the competition, but not make it into our top 5 list.  It was a crowded contest, and the bar was set high.

In no particular order, here are the some entries into the contest that placed well.

Words of wisdom from the judges

This is a place where the judges can post some general comments about the entire field.

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Comments (Nikita) – There are two difficult steps in ambigram design. The first step is the design process itself; the second step is deciding whether the ambigram needs any extra visuals & effects, or is it good enough to stand on its own. Some of the entries we received conveyed a perfect balance of ambigram & secondary elements.

Yet there were quite a few ambigrams that were ruined by overuse of filters, effects & extra design elements. For the next challenge, try the following; design the ambigram by itself & get it to the point of perfection. Then, take the same ambigram, and surround it with secondary design elements, images, etc. Finally, take the stand-alone ambigram and compare it to the same ambigram that has the extra design elements. That comparison will almost always indicate the better of the two solutions. Sometimes, it will even convince you that the ambigram by itself is good enough.

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Next Challenge: Sadiq / Shana