As designers/artists, we have always had a favorite artist, masterpiece or art period. Many times we’ve tried to imitate that artist or create art that mimics a certain art period. Since imitation is the greatest form of flattery…now is your chance to show the rest of us just how well you can imitate your favorite artist or art period. The next theme is…Art and Artists!

Rules

1. The ambigram has to be the name of an artist (Dali, Bosch, Beardsley, etc), the name of an art period (Dada, Surrealism, Renaissance, etc.), or the name of a specific artists’ masterpiece (Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, The Thinker, etc.) If you are unsure whether your word choice is eligible or not, please email us with the question and we’ll get back to you with an answer as soon as possible.

2. For this challenge, your ambigram will also be judged on how closely it reflects the style of the artist/art period. Of course, if your ambigram is ‘SalvadorDali’, it would still need to be as ‘surrealist’ as possible while still remaining legible and reflecting Dali’s style. This is the biggest challenge of this ACAC!

3. Please submit no more than your 1 or 2 best entries, and make sure that they are “finalized” before emailing them.  We are getting swamped with some participants sending entire collections of designs, or they make frequent revisions and expect us to keep track of it all. The ambigram(s) have to be created from scratch specifically for this challenge.

4. To better track the designs, please name your submissions as follows:[NAME]-[DESIGN].jpg

For example, “JohnDoe-Ambigram1.jpg“

Otherwise, it can be easy to lose track of which design belongs to which artist, especially if we get a lot of submissions.

Deadline

All artwork will need to be submitted by midnight on Sunday, September 12th, 2010 to qualify. Email your designs to challenge@ambigram.com . The contest is open to everyone, whether or not you have participated in the past, so give it a shot.

The results will be published on Sunday, September 26th, 2010, and the next challenge will be announced at that time.

Please be sure to include a web site URL that we can link to if your design makes it into the top 5 list.

And I leave you with this question: are ambigrams considered fine art, graphic design, a combination of  both, or a completely different classification? Email us with your answers, and we are looking forward to some unique submissions!

The winning design says “Wilfred” upright and “Cynthia” upside-down.  Wilfred and Cynthia are the winning artist’s cousin and his wife, and they still don’t have wedding rings after several years of marriage.  Well, they will now!

The back story had nothing to do with the judging, but its great to know that the rings will be used for a very good cause.  No married couple should go without wedding rings, and these ambigram rings will be a couple of the coolest wedding rings around!

The Results

[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. Rebecca May – http://sites.google.com/site/ambigramgreetings/nameart

Cynthia Wilfred - Ambigram Ring Winner!

This is a classy, highly readable and apparently simple ambigram, but anyone who creates ambigrams knows that creating one that appears simple is anything but!   The ‘nt’ to ‘fr’ combination must have been particularly tricky, but within the context of this design, it comes together quite nicely.  Congratulations, Rebecca!  Please wish your cousin and his wife our best.  Your rings (one of which is shown here in an actual photo) are on their way.

2. Alessandro Pocaterra – http://picasaweb.google.it/alepoc69/Ambigrams?feat=directlink

Emily Frida Ambigram

This ambigram placed highly in the contest probably due to its simplicity and ease of turning into a reproduced design on an ambigram ring (Cascadia Design Studio, the manufacturer of the winning ambigram ring was one of the judges for this round).  This is one of the few submissions we received that had no tapering of the lines to form the design.  It is possible that with more traditional typographic elements, this could have claimed first place, as the solution itself of the artist’s daughter’s name is quite good.

3. Clayton Mabey – www.CustomAmbigrams.com

Libby Clayton Ambigram

Clayton Mabey submitted this design of himself (Clayton) and his wife (Libby) of 15 years.  He claims to have married her before he knew that he could create an ambigram of their names, but if you ask me, ambigram name compatibility should be one of the primary considerations of matrimony.

4. Ihsan Ekaputra – http://aikambigram18.blogspot.com

eik nia ambigram

This design uses a great deal of typographic acrobatics to pull off this EIK / NIA ambigram, which is the nickname of the author flipping over to become his wife’s name.  The Yin/Yang symbol at the point where the dots on the i’s meet is a nice touch.

5. Michael Irving – http://michaelirvingambigrams.blogspot.com/

Robert Emily Katie James

One of the most consistent top-5 finishers in the ambigram challenges is Michael Irving, and this challenge is no exception.  I’m not exactly sure how we would have put this design onto a ring if Michael would have won, but it looks like putting an ambigram on the front, and another on the back would have done the job.  The artist didn’t mention who the people are in the ambigram, but since there are 4 of them, I assume that they are someone’s kids (Robert, feel free to comment below to let us know).

The Results

Some other designs that we thought were excellent:

Cleber Faria – Cleber/Dayane Ambigram

Cleber Dayane Ambigram

Imriaylde – Jacob/Jen Ambigram

Jacob&Jen Ambigram

Kai Hammond – Multilingual Kai/家进 ambigram (Kai in Chinese)

Kai - 家进 Ambigram

Thanks to everyone who submitted a design for this challenge.  Keep up the good work!

We will be announcing the next challenge shortly…

You are going to love this challenge!

For this challenge, you get to create an ambigram of a couple you know (perhaps you and your partner, the names of your kids or some friends of yours), and if your design is the contest winner, you will get an actual aerospace-grade titanium ring created with your design deep-engraved and anodized directly into the metal (a $229 value!).  This is our most valuable prize yet.

Ed Ferguson of Cascadia Design Studio, a maker of titanium rings, has generously offered to create a ring containing the winning design for the next contest and to ship it to the winner!  All costs are paid.

Since this is a really nice prize, we want to make sure that the ground rules for the contest are clear.

Rules:

1. The ambigram needs to be a different name in each orientation (a “symbiotogram”).  It could be you and your partner, two of your kids, the names of a special bride and groom to be (wow, what a great gift!), etc.
2. Please don’t waste the prize: Make sure that you actually know 2 people with these names so the ring will have a good home (OK, we can’t actually verify this, so you will be on the honor system here)
3. Please submit no more than your 1 or 2 best entries, and make sure that they are “finalized” before emailing them.  We are getting swamped with some participants sending entire collections of designs, or they make frequent revisions and expect us to keep track of it all.
4. In fact, to better track the designs, please name your submissions as follows:[NAME]-[DESIGN].jpg

   For example, “Worhol-CampbellsSoup.jpg“

   Otherwise, it can be easy to lose track of which design belongs to which artist, especially if we get a lot of submissions.

5. Please submit a ring size with your submission, in case you win.  This should be the ring size for the intended recipient, of course.  So, think about who would be getting the ring if you win, and send us their gender and ring size with your submission.  Yes, we will ideally need this up front.  If that is absolutely not possible for you, you MUST get the ring size to us on the very day the contest ends.
6. For this particular challenge, stick to good old black-and-white.  There is no benefit to having a background, decorations or other embellishments.  The design will be going on a ring, so it’s only the design that matters.

Design Guidelines

Your artwork will be cut with a tiny rotary ring cutter directly into a solid piece of high quality titanium.  This is not some cheap surface etching, but a deep engraving, so you need to think about the intended use as you create your design.  The rotary cutter can not produce thin lines, textures, double-lines, etc. so when you create your design think “marker pen” and not “fine lead pencil”.  Designs with small loops, fine script or closely spaced lines won’t reproduce well.

This graphic of an ambigram that says “Sheri / Tony” illustrates the “widening effect” that the cutting process adds to the design in the finished ambigram ring:

Think "Marker Pen", not "Fine Lead Pencil"

Judging

We will have a guest judge on the panel for this contest: Ed Ferguson from Cascadia Design Studio (the donor of the ambigram ring prize).  Ed will be scoring and ranking the design not just for artistic appeal, but also for how well the design will reproduce on a ring.

Deadline

All artwork will need to be submitted by midnight on July 16th, 2010 to qualify. Email your designs to challenge@ambigram.com, and please name your attachment according to the rules above. The contest is open to everyone, whether or not you have participated in the past, so give it a shot.

The results will be published on August 6th, 2010 (along with an actual photo of the finished prize before it is shipped), and the next challenge will be announced at that time.

Please be sure to include a web site URL that we can link to if your design makes it into the top 5 list.  We will contact you for a shipping address if you are selected as the winner.

Results

The results for this challenge have been posted, and are available here

The ‘Where In The World‘ ACAC challenge has been one of the best we’ve seen! We received more than 30 entries, and almost half of them were new participants!  This can only be attributed to the success of the previous challenges and all the fantastic work that has been submitted by the artists.

For this challenge, we don’t know what to be more ecstatic about more: the number of entries, the wonderful quality of the work, or all of the above! It is quite challenging to select the top ambigram, because every single submission has some quality that isn’t found in any of the other entries, and each ambigram has its own unique style.

The Results

[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 - http://www.johnlangdon.net/

This ambigram is beautiful, and probably one of the finest ambigrams ever created. Not only is the ambigram formed from the city and its description, but the complexity is mind-boggling.  One can only imagine the time involved in creating such a design.  Not only is the solution impressive, but the lettering strokes have been tweaked to perfection, with nothing noticeably out of place.  John made all the right decision in terms of design & aesthetics, and has shown us once again how a master practices his craft.

2. Elwin Gill –  http://elwin-gill-designs.com/

The hand-rendering here is exquisite, and that is part of the charm and appeal of this ambigram. Too often artists & designers forget to step away from the computer, stop relying on technology, and pick up a pencil & paper. Elwin does just that, and this is the first completely hand-rendered submission to place in the top 5 list.  Fantastic job Elwin!

3. Bastian Pinnenberg – http://unterart.wordpress.com/

Another spot-on submission from Bastian. Smooth & consistent lettering, and a great mini-ambigram “City by the Bay”, which San Francisco’s nickname.

4. Scott Kim - http://www.scottkim.com/

San Francisco seemed to be a popular pick for this challenge, with another artist making it into the top 5 with the same city choice.  This is another beautiful submission from Scott Kim, another well-known name in the ambigram world. This ambigram is a perfect example of how well-executed lettering can make an ambigram stand on its own, without depending on additional elements or decorations.

5. Michael Irving – http://michaelirvingambigrams.blogspot.com/

The top 5 is rounded off by Michael Irving.  It wasn’t necessarily the quality of the ambigram that put this one into the top 5, but the challenge that Michael took on in attempting it.  New York City is a challenging city name to turn into an ambigram, and Michael does it quite well using his signature style. He has become a consistent contributor throughout the ambigram challenges, and his style has developed quite nicely over the course of his submissions.

With the top 5 ambigrams selected above, here are 5 more “honorable mention” ambigrams without comments to round off the top 10.

6. Renzo Bongocan – http://www.behance.net/Zoner

7. Johan Skylling

8. Daniel Dostal – http://daneel75.wordpress.com/

9. Daan Juttmann – http://dahtamnay.blogspot.com/

10. Dave Bailey – http://www.davebailey.us/

We would like to thank all the participants in this challenge. It proved to be another great round of ambgirams!

Next Challenge: Ambigram Couples Ring

Design an ambigram couples ring, and if your design is the contest winner, you will receive an actual aerospace grade titanium ring deep-engraved with your design!  This is our best contest prize yet, so don’t miss your chance to win this beauty.

Just be sure to read the instructions, as the judging is partially based on your ability to follow directions.

Check out the Ambigram Couples Ring Challenge.

This has the potential to be the most international challenge yet! Keeping this in mind, the staff at Ambigram.com would like to ask all the artists to stick to several ‘rules’…

1. Please create your ambigram in English We love seeing ambigrams in different languages, however, without knowing the language, it will be difficult to judge the the work. BUT…if you would like to create an ambigram of your chosen city in the native language, send it to us, and we will try to feature it when we announce the winner of this challenge.
2. Please stick to relatively major cities Here at Ambigram.com, we pride ourselves on our knowledge of world geography. However, we might not know the name of some small town or village in your country…which, once again, would make judging somewhat difficult.

Other then the above, there are no other rules. Remember to have fun with this challenge, and we offer the following hint: While you’re asked to design the ambigram in English, think about using color/symbols that allude to your culture.

Deadline

All artwork will need to be submitted by midnight on June 5th, 2010 to qualify. Email your designs to challenge@ambigram.com . The contest is open to everyone, whether or not you have participated in the past, so give it a shot.

The results will be published on June 19th, 2010, and the next challenge will be announced at that time.

Please be sure to include a web site URL that we can link to if your design makes it into the top 5 list.

So…good luck and have fun! Let’s make this the best Ambigram Challenge yet!

Ambigram Challenge: Music

Everyone is a musician at heart. Whether you’re a karaoke regular every Friday night, a professional performer, or just sing in the shower for your own enjoyment, music has a therapeutic effect. Of course, if you’re singing an AC/DC song & doing a horrible impersonation of Brian Johnson, there’s nothing calming about that! But…music puts everyone in their own little world and allows them to escape the daily stress.

So the next theme is simply…Music! Could be lyrics from a song, your favorite band’s name, your favorite instrument, or any other element having to do with music.

If you’ve already created an ambigram in the past that fits into the theme, feel free to submit it (it does not have to be new for 2010 unless it contains the year as part of the design).

Deadline

All artwork will need to be submitted by midnight on April 4th, 2010 to qualify. Email your designs to challenge@ambigram.com . The contest is open to everyone, whether or not you have participated in the past, so give it a shot.

The results will be published on April 18th, 2010, and the next challenge will be announced at that time.

Please be sure to include a web site URL that we can link to if your design makes it into the top 5 list.

Let’s make beautiful music….err….ambigrams together! Good luck to all future participants!

The results are finally in! The writers at Ambigram.com are proud to start of the year with some fantastic ambigram work from artists all around the world. Once again, the submissions did not only meet, but most certainly exceeded expectations. For the first time in ACAC’s short history, we have a tie for first place. Once again, determining the winner of this Ambigram Challenge was even more challenging then before. I truly think that the artists are trying to make our lives difficult by submitting ambigrams that are close to perfection!

The Results

[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.]

1a. John Langdon – http://www.johnlangdon.net/

1b. Daniel Dostal – http://daneel75.wordpress.com/

It was impossible to choose between those two ambigrams, so they both earned top honors. Regardless from which direction we looked at them, they remained equal in our eyes.

John Langdon’s ambigram is intricate yet simple, and that’s what makes it beautiful. It is 100% legible, the type matches the holiday theme, and the flourishes are well done, yet not overdone. It’s a perfect example of an ambigram that is simple at a glance, but complex on so many levels.

Daniel Dostal’s trademark style (for most of his ambigram work) is including a background or a visual element which does not only convey the meaning of, but is also seamlessly integrated with the ambigram. When you look at his work, you notice the hierarchy of the different elements, how well they work individually, but most of all, how well they work together. Just as John’s ambigram, it is beautiful on many levels, yet easy to read and understand.

2. Michael Irving – http://home.comcast.net/~mirving/site/

In this ambigram, Michael uses the (almost) lack of color & the added graphics to subtly convey the meaning behind the phrase which he has chosen. Nice job Michael!

3. Daan Juttman – http://dahtamnay.blogspot.com/

Another beautiful mirror ambigram, which seemed to have been a trend in this ACAC. The background element and the mistletoe leaves seemed a bit mechanical in appearance, distracting us from the ambigram itself. However, the lettering was very well done, with a very consistent style and great readability.

4. Bastian Pinnenberg – http://unterart.wordpress.com/

Bastian came up with another unique solution. The only issue that we saw is aesthetically, it did not say ‘happy holidays’, as the blackletter-esque typography was somewhat heavy. But that aside, wonderful solution to cover both holidays!

5. Daniel Sanches – http://elkiosco2.blogspot.com/

This is one of the several non-English ambigrams we received this time around, and it was a good solution. The only trouble with it was legibility, as the transition from letter to letter was a bit unclear, especially V/I & A/D.

Other submissions

Scott Kim

Tomás_Castañeda

Rebecca May

Deden_Rohman

Björn Wichmann

A word on backgrounds
Backgrounds are not a requirement when designing an ambigram; in fact, they sometimes distract from the beauty and simplicity of it. But should you decide to use an background, try to integrate it with the ambigram well and not just have just a visual element that takes away from unique appearance & individuality of each ambigram. It helps to focus on the ambigram first; once you have a working solution, think about the meaning of the ambigram and what you can use to further convey it’s meaning. It could be a subtle use of color (See Michael Irving’s ambigram) or a visual element that enhances the definition of the ambigram (See Daniel Dostal’s ambigram.) Remember that an ambigram is judged not only for its legibility/readability, but also for the overall design, use of color, typographic consistency, etc.

Once again, thank you to all the artists that took their time to design & submit their ambigrams. Let’s make 2010 the best ambigram year yet, and happy ambigramming!

Next Challenge: Valentine’s Day

For the first time in ACAC’s short history, this challenge was sponsored by a reader of Ambigram.com, who wanted a unique ambigram. The word combination proved to be challenging for all of the artists involved, and even for some Ambigram.com writers, who secretly doodled the names Sadiq & Shana on various scraps of paper to see what combinations are possible.

Although the final decision was up to the sponsor of the challenge, the judges made comments on the top 5 ambigrams and provided their own scoring separate from the sponsor’s judgment. Interestingly, our blind internal scoring showed that the top 2 designs were only separated by 0.1 point! That just goes to show that with ambigrams, its the subtle details that can take a design to the top.

Comments from the Sponsor

Please express our deepest thanks and admiration for all the artists who participated, because although we can’t mention all the designs, each one got a reaction and was special in its own way. However, when selecting the winner, the thought was to choose a design that of course was aesthetically pleasing to the eye, but equally as important, one that captured both the masculine and feminine energy, and we think Bastian’s design did this and with a hint of mysticism in the design. This is because one of the top three could end up as matching tattoos! Maybe…

The choice was very difficult, and again, each design was awesome!

Thanks again to all the artists who participated.

The Results

[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. Bastian Pinnenberg – WINNER!
Website – http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasty_basty

ARTIST’S COMMENTS (SUBMITTED WITH DESIGN)

“…Here’s my contribution for the ongoing ACAC. I tried to achieve a clean, legible look and, since there was no information about how the ambigram would be used, passed on all visuals and filters (Except for a drop shadow. But hey, that’s no real filter… ). The original design was made in blackletter, but I wanted something cleaner and changed it to a curvy serif. The most tricky part was the “S/NA” inversion, the rest came pretty much automatically…”

JUDGE’S COMMENTS

Mark – Congratulations! I thought that the S/Q was really the big challenge here, but you did some unexpected things with that S/NA combination, and I believe that’s what set your design apart to take the top honor! We’ll be in contact with you shortly to get you the prize money, and you’ll need to send the original design to the contest sponsor.

Nagfa – A solid work, indeed. The weights of the lines were played to perfection here, and being smartly utilised in the S-NA combination. This work has details in each stroke, most noticeably in the similarly-rendered tails of the S and N; and the very thematically-correct little diamond-dots. The effectiveness of using the consistent uppercased A made the reading easier too. Congratulations, Bastian!

Nikita – The legibility here is impeccable. The S/NA inversion, which Bastian specified as the most ‘tricky part’, is beautifully done. The other part which really speaks for the consistency of this ambigram is the similarity between the three lowercase ‘a’ characters. This to me was the biggest challenge of this ambigram; to make the letters (that are otherwise similar in a standard alphabet) appear similar in a complex ambigram. Another great submission from a seasoned ambigram designer!

2.  Michael Irving
Website – http://michaelirvingambigrams.blogspot.com/

ARTIST’S COMMENTS (SUBMITTED WITH DESIGN)

“This was a tough one. Since both names shared an S as their initial letter my first priority was to work out their respective inversions to the Q and the A. Through much trial and error the other characters eventually fell into place. The trickiest part I found was creating the lightweight thread device I used to help delineate the H and complete the A in Shana, without compromising the readability of Sadiq.”

JUDGE’S COMMENTS

Mark – You make this look easy, like you just happened to doodle a complex ambigram. However, when you look close at the design, you see just that is is not easy at all.

Nagfa – A surprisingly whimsical ambigram, this. Light-hearted and casual, this piece has elegance all over it. The manner in which the strokes transition into another still pleases me. That extra stroke between A and D fits in so smoothly. Ditto too the extra line for the ‘h’. The strength of this piece is its refreshing new style.

Nikita – What I love most about this ambigram are the subtle flourishes, which work great in both directions and really help define the letters well. There is a nice consistency and transition from character to character. The only part of the ambigram which stands out as inconsistent is the lowercase ‘h’, which strays from the thickness that is so apparent in the other letters. That being said, I understand the artists’ reasoning for doing it, and I think it’s a good solution.

3.  Ruel Masacaya
Website – http://www.flickr.com/photos/cruel_butcher/sets/72157620504015847/

ARTIST’S COMMENTS (SUBMITTED WITH DESIGN)

“…I like working on specific words or names as compared with themes because I learn more this way after seeing other artists´ solutions.  I also like working with couples´ names, as you could see on my gallery.   It maybe because by making this kind of ambigram, you make 2 people happy instead of just one.  The greatest challenge I encountered in making this ambigram is the IQ-SH combination.  It also took a lot of time for me to decide whether to show only one name or both….”

JUDGE’S COMMENTS

Mark – Our sponsor seemed to like the interconnected names, and there is a hint of an ampersand between them, but I think that the design suffers from just one letter out of place: The “h” in Shana. At first glance, the second word looks like “Slana” (or even “Slang”), and you have to hunt to see that little “h” tucked in there. Otherwise, a very good submission.

Nagfa – This is a stylish smooth piece, with minimal strokes. Though the fused letters confused the reading of the names. The initial ‘Sa’ and the end ’na’ suffered the most. Having said these, the central Q-S made for an interesting link for the two names.

Nikita – The flow & readability of this ambigram reminds me of a straight line connecting two points: easy to read, easy to follow & no obvious imperfections. I love the consistency of the line, even when it tapers off at the ends of the ‘a’ and the ‘S.’ The biggest issue with this execution is the lowercase ‘h’: it work great when disguised in ‘Sadiq’, yet looks out of place in ‘Shana.’ In ‘Shana’, the ‘h’ and the ‘S’ almost merge together to form a very complex and illegible character, which is the only drawback to this otherwise beautiful ambigram.

4. Tiffany Harvey
Website – http://www.tiffanyharvey.com/ambigrams/

ARTIST’S COMMENTS (SUBMITTED WITH DESIGN)

“…When I did my first rough sketch of these names, I accidentally used “Shauna” instead of “Shana”. I was so pleased to get them to pair together, until I looked at the page again and realized it was not quite so tricky! I think the SH/Q combination originated there, though for a long time I was trying to use mostly lowercase lettering for the design. To get the height for a lowercase “h”, the “Q” dropped even further beneath the other letters and was just too gigantic and distracting. Luckily I was able to switch to a capital “H” and reel in the “Q” and “S”s a little….”

JUDGE’S COMMENTS

Mark – Tiffany, the judges scored this one higher than the sponsor, and your design was easily at the top of the competition. The legibility is excellent, and the dedication to maintaining the proper line widths is clearly evident. The line through the center of the design to cross the “H”s and the “A”s without looking out of place was also a great move, and you made a great decision to hide the “H” within the initial “S” in Shana to help the other letters line up correctly.

Nagfa – Consistent letterings and easy flow of strokes. The end-swirls added a feminine touch to the solution. The most intricate detail would be that nicely-concealed H-part behind the S, which rotates beautifully into a Q.

Nikita – Tiffany has a signature to her work, which makes it incredibly easy to identify as her work; it’s consistent. Her characters, regardless of how complex the ambigram is, look like the came from a well designed typeface. That can be an advantage and a disadvantage; in this case, it’s a slight disadvantage, as the characters look a bit too similar at times and become hard to distinguish from one another. That being said, the consistency and the flow of the lines in this ambigram is beautiful.

5. Cleber Faria
Website – http://www.cleberfaria.com/

ARTIST’S COMMENTS (SUBMITTED WITH DESIGN)

“…I did several sketches while trying to find a solution to this ambigram. The most challenging was the ‘I’ and the ‘H’ combination. That took several days to develop, and the final solution was a result of turning the uppercase ‘H’ into a lowercase ‘h’ while shortening several of the legs…”

JUDGE’S COMMENTS

Mark – Once again, the idea that the big challenge was in the S/Q is proven incorrect. Cleber knocks that combination out of the park! Both of those letters look completely natural, like there isn’t even much special going on. However, the bigger challenge (again) lives next door: the “h” in Shana. Overall, this was one of my favorite submissions on this round.

Nagfa – A simple and efficient design which makes it look so easy on the eyes. The names read easily, thanks to the good use of line thickness. The ‘n’ could well do with a less curvy bowl of the ‘a’ for an easier reading, and like most other solutions, the ‘h’ suffers the most.

Nikita – Cleber continues his outstanding ambigram work with this submission. What I love about this ambigram (as well as several others in this ACAC) is the consistency of the letterforms. My favorite letter inversion is the ‘S/Q’ combination. Beautifully done! What makes it a bit challenging is once again ‘h/i’ combination, as well as the consistency of the three lowercase ‘a’ characters. Other than those slight drawbacks, a very nicely designed ambigram!

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 that deserve to be recognized.

Daniel Dostal:

Daan Juttman

Rebecca May

Next Challenge: Holidays 2009

Many thanks to all the fantastic artists that contributed to this ACAC.

The next challenge will be “Holidays 2009“, and of course, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Years Eve will all be great choices.

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.

Björn Wichmann - Birth/Death

Cleber Faria - Jesus Christ

Diego Columbo - Life is Born Again

Robert Maitland - Phoenix

Tom Banwell - Arise

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

One reason we created this page is that there is a lot of misinformation regarding ambigram fonts.  Some less-than-honest sites have advertised that they do have an “ambigram font” available, when in fact, the download they are offering contains a virus, spyware, malware, or other nasty stuff that you do NOT want on your computer. A real ambigram font is actually very rare.

Most downloads labeled as an "Ambigram Font" are really a virus or malware. Real ambigram fonts are very rare.

So, we put this page together to help you in your search for an actual ambigram font. Please visit the linked pages for licensing information and to find out if the fonts are free or not.

Ambigram Fonts

Name / Link	Type	Example	Notes
One Eighty	Character Rotation		This font only contains 13 glyphs to represent all 26 letters of the English alphabet. Each letter becomes another letter when turned upside down. The letters in the inverse orientation can not be specified, and they come out however they do. In other words, the words created with this font can NOT be read upside down as anything meaningful (only the characters can be rotated... the words can not).
One-Eighty	Character Rotation		Although similarly named, this is a completely different font from above. However, the concept is similar. This font has characters that can be rotated to become other characters. The letters in the inverse orientation are fixed, and can not be specified. Once again, this is a character rotation font, NOT a word rotation font. The words created with this font can NOT be read upside down.
Ambigram	Lake Reflection		This is not a rotational ambigram font, but a reflected one. This font contains characters that have horizontal mirror symmetry. In other words, they appear as though they are being reflected in a lake.
Flexion	Mixed Reflection		Flexion was derived from totem ambigrams that John Langdon designed for the DaVinci Code movie title sequences, although they were not used in the final production. Flexion was not designed as an ambigram font per se, but as a font that would harmonize well with the actual ambigrams. As such, it could be useful in creating a limited number of totem ambigrams. While not all of it's characters are horizontally symmetrical, those that are not find their symmetrical counterparts in other leters of the font.

That’s it! Only 4 ambigram fonts exist (free or commercial).

Surprised?

Word Rotational Ambigram Font

You’re probably familiar with ambigrams that say one thing when upright, and another thing when upside-down. You may be surprised to see that there is no font in the list above for creating those ambigrams.

Stated differently, no font exists that allows you to type in a word (or 2 words), and then turn the word upside-down and still read it. Yet, this is the type of ambigram that you are probably most familiar with.

So, why is there no word rotational ambigram font?

Well, it makes logical sense when you think about it. If such a thing existed, how would you ever “type” using a word rotational ambigram font?

Does your computer type upside-down and backwards (right to left)?

No? Well, then you couldn’t create that upside-down word using an ambigram font even if such a thing existed (and it doesn’t). How would you possibly specify the characters?

Since a word rotation ambigram font does not exist, you have two options if you would like to have an ambigram that you can rotate and read upside-down. You can either contact one of the excellent ambigram artists that practice the art (see our “artists” category for some of the best), or you can create an ambigram online.

The Ambigram generator creates word rotational ambigrams, but is not an ambigram font