Ambigram.com Hello Michael, and thank you for speaking with ambigram.com. Let me start off with a predictable, albeit relevant question. Have you heard of ambigrams, and if you have, what was your first encounter with them?

Michael Bierut An early one I remember is the NEW MAN logo designed by Herb Lubalin, and the VISTA logo designed by Paul Davis. A good one is like magic.

Ambigram.com At its core, ambigram design is still pure typographic manipulation that adheres to some traditional typographic principles. If a project you’re working on calls for a non-standard typeface, would you rather use an existing typeface and manipulate it, or would you call on a type designer to create a custom typeface?

Michael Bierut I have done both. I actually have a bit of an aversion to inventing or changing things for no reason when there’s a perfectly good alternative already available, so I probably (slightly) favor the former.

Ambigram.com In your mind, is there a difference between the term ‘typographer’ and ‘type designer’, or are those terms use interchangeably in an erroneous manner, much like ‘font’ and ‘typeface’? If there is a difference between a ‘typographer’ and a ‘type designer’, what would you say it is?

Michael Bierut Typographers, in my mind, do design work using typography as an element. Type designers actually, you know, design typefaces.

Ambigram.com You’re known as a very hands-on designer who works closely with his designers. Have you taken on the task of designing your own typeface or hand-lettering type, or ever ask any of your designers to perform that task?

Michael Bierut’s sketches for the MAD face. Image is property of Pentagram.com

Michael Bierut Yes, I’ve asked designers to do handlettered or custom-designed type. Like other designers, I’ve also used my own handwriting on occasion.

Ambigram.com Speaking of hand-lettered typography, I’d like to discuss a specific project. The “Want It!” campaign from 2007 is one of my favorite advertising campaigns for its design as much as for its typography, which was created by Marian Bantjes. What was the reasoning behind using an altered typeface rather than use an existing script typeface?

Michael Bierut There were three reasons. First, the script is based on the Saks handlettered logo invented originally by Tom Carnese and then redrawn for us by Joe Finocchiaro. We wanted the basic Want It! logo that year to go with the Saks logo. Second, I had this vision of obsessiveness and imagined an overelaborate graphic language with almost too many curlicues and flourishes, as if the artist almost couldn’t help herself.

This is Marian’s specialty, so we brought her in. Finally, Saks’s creative director Terron Schaefer had an additional idea to have the script flourishes turn into illustrations of product. Marian and I both thought this would be impossible to do, but she pulled it off!

Ambigram.com Let’s continue the Saks theme and touch base on the new “Think about…” campaign. The typography for that campaign is more traditional, while highlighted by the black/white illustrations of the various products from the Saks line. In contrast with the previous campaign, why was the typographic element of this campaign relatively subtle?

Images property of Pentagram.com

Michael Bierut Each campaign at Saks is different, with a few things connecting them. The “Think About…” campaign started with our discovery that it had to unite 10 different catalogues, and that there happened to be ten letters in the theme “Think About.” We assigned each catalogue a letter. The logo is basically the catalogues all put together. Although it is very simple, it’s still very typographic.

Ambigram.com The identity for the Museum of Arts and Design uses a beautiful custom typeface that was created specifically for this project. After seeing it in person and applied to various mediums, it’s hard to imagine another typeface working just as well in its place. How often do you find yourself in a position where an existing typeface just won’t do and you have to create an original typeface for a client?

Images property of Pentagram.com

Michael Bierut With MAD, we started with the three-letter logo and then Joe Marianek drew out an entire alphabet based on those three letters.  Because the Museum had a new name and a new location, we wanted something pretty aggressive to make sure they’d get the attention they deserve. In other cases we custom design a typeface because we want to blend in. For the restoration of Lever House, a 1952 skyscaper office building on Park Avenue by SOM’s Gordon Bunshaft, we wanted to match the building and the mid-century era perfectly. Typefaces like Futura and Neutra would not do. So we commissioned Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones to do one based on the original signs.

Ambigram.com Choosing a typeface for an identity project is one of the most difficult parts of a project, and it’s something I see students and new designers struggle with. Does that process become easier with time and experience, and what advice would you give to designers that are struggling with this problem?

Michael Bierut I wrote a piece for Design Observer called something like “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Typeface” that pretty much sums up my advice.

Ambigram.com What is your favorite project you’ve worked on that was focused on typography? (if you can tell me which project you would like to use for this answer, I will find images of it and include them with the final interview.)

Images property of Pentagram.com

Michael Bierut I would say the ten-year-old poster series we’ve been doing for the Yale School of Architiecture. It is a highly visual subject and a highly visual audience, but I would say that most of the posters are all type.

Ambigram.com There are several current typefaces that have achieved a negative cult status because they are so misused and overused: Papyrus and Comic Sans are the first two that come to mind. Do you feel that they are poorly designed typefaces from the get go, or is that only our perception of them since they’re so overused, and they’re actually well-designed typefaces?

Michael Bierut I think they are badly designed, not misused or overused. Sorry, Comic Sans and Papyrus!

Ambigram.com Michael, I have one last question for you. I’ve heard you and other designers discuss their feelings about this typeface…but how do you truly feel about Helvetica?

Michael Bierut I think Helvetica is a truly beautiful typeface. Along the lines of your last question, it’s been so overused through the years that it seems to be about everything and about nothing. I seem to find it really hard to use now.

———–

Michael, thank you for the interview, advice and insight!

We all have our favorite movie characters, personalities, and actors/actresses. Some movies stars are inseparable from the characters they play: Clint Eastwood and Dirty Harry, Audrey Hepburn and Eliza Doolittle, George Peppard and Hannibal Smith, Jim Carrey and Ace Ventura, Christopher Reeves and Superman…the list can go on and on. In honor of those, and many other movie stars and their roles…the next theme is…Movies and Television!

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!

One of the earliest published ambigrams (June, 1908)

Here are the known milestones in ambigram creation history:

• 1893 First known ambigram published by Peter Newell (THE END / PUZZLE)
• 1902 Second known ambigram published by Peter Newell (THE END / PUZZLE2)
• 1908 The Strand publishes 10 custom ambigrams by four different artists
• 1964 Peter Jones and Douglas Hofstadter start creating ambigrams
• 1965 Dmitri Borgmann reprints ambigrams from The Strand, calling them “vertical palindromes”
• 1969 Raymond Loewy creates NEW MAN logo
• 1972 Tom Carnase creates 72
• 1974 John Langdon creates STARSHIP ambigram logo
• 1974 Robert Petrick creates Canned Heat and Non Sense logos (receiving a Philadelphia Art Directors’ award in 1975)
• 1975-1976 U&lc magazine publishes ambigrams by Petrick and Langdon, starting with SANTA/ELVES by Petrick in June, 1975 issue
• 1975 DMC, the logo for the De Lorean Motor Company, first used
• 1975 Robert Petrick creates the ANGEL ambigram logo
• 1976 Angel (the band) starts using Angel ambigram (through 1992)
• 1976 Jefferson Starship uses Starship ambigram
• 1979 OMNI publishes ambigrams by Scott Kim in Scot Morris’s “Games” column
• 1979 Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter, published, with 3-D ambigrams on the cover
• 1980 OMNI publishes ambigrams by Langdon and Petrick
• 1981 Scientific American publishes ambigrams by Scott Kim in Martin Gardner’s Mathematical Games column
• 1981 “Inversions: A Catalog of Calligraphic Cartwheels” by Kim is published
• 1984 Douglas Hofstadter coins the term “ambigram”
• 1987 The book “Ambigrammi” is published (in Italian) by Hofstadter
• 1992 Wordplay: Ambigrams and Reflections on the Art of Ambigrams by Langdon is published
• 2000 Angels & Demons by Dan Brown is published
• 2008 Development of the Ambigram Generator from Glyphusion is complete, enabling anyone to create ambigrams using a web browser.
• 2009 The movie adaptation of “Angels & Demons” is released, directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks

(milestones in ambigram history originally assembled by Roy Leban)

Ambigram generator image sample

Welcome to the ambigram generator comparison page.  Here we will compare all of the paid and free methods of creating an ambigram that exist today, look at their output, and consider the pros and cons of each.

Creating an ambigram generator is a huge task, which explains why not many organizations are jumping at the chance to build one. Doing the job “right” literally requires years and years of work to develop the logic to assemble the letter sequences, create the design and save the output.  The instant output from an ambigram generator makes it look easy, but it is much more difficult than it seems.

In fact, there have only been two attempts at building a computerized tool to create ambigrams: the “Ambimatic” and the “Ambigram Generator” offered from Glyphusion.  Any other software (especially a download) that claims to be able to create ambigrams is a scam, and is most likely a virus, a trojan or some other form of malware.  Do not download any ambigram creator software, or programs that claim to be a download of an “ambigram generator”.  We can assure you that if any new free ambigram creation software becomes available, Ambigram.com will know about it very quickly (and we will update this page if legitimate ambigram creation software becomes available).

To be safe, only trust an ambigram generator that works “on-line”, over the Internet, with no software download required.

Ambigram Creator Comparison

This article will take a detailed look at the two ambigram creation tools that exist today, compare how they work, go into the pros and cons of each, and perform a test ambigram using the words “dream” and “magic” to see how well they perform.

The “Ambimatic”

Also called the “Ambigram-matic”, the Ambimatic was the first ambigram generator, and was released here at ambigram.com in 1996.  It can still be found (and used) here: www.ambigram.com/matic.

How it works.

The Ambimatic relies on inverting one letter of the alphabet to another, so the two input words must be the same length (or be the same word).  There are (26*27)/2 = 351 letter combinations available, so there are no holes or gaps in the letter set.  In other words, every two words of the same length can always be made into an ambigram, and by extension, every word can be made into an ambigram of itself.

The results

Although the Ambimatic will always always produce some result if a word is inverted to itself, the fact that most letters do not naturally invert well to other letters makes the output inconsistent at best.  Picture inverting an “x” to an “o” (totally different shapes), or an “i” to an “m” (totally different lengths) and you get the idea.  You may get lucky and happen to choose a word that is close to a natural ambigram (like “suns”), but most of the time the output from this ambigram generator will be difficult to read.

Test Case

We put the Ambimatic through the “dream / magic” test case, and scaled the output to exactly 200 pixels wide.

Here is the result.

Ambimatic ambigram (dream / magic)

Ambimatic Pros and Cons

Pros

• Will always produce some sort of output from any two words of the same length (including the same word to itself)
• The only free ambigram generator

Cons

• Can not create ambigrams of two words of differing lengths
• In the best case scenario, the words may be readable, but not necessarily pleasing.  In the worst case scenario, the output is completely illegible

The Ambigram Generator from Glyphusion

The ambigram generator offered through Glyphusion was released more than 12 years after the Ambimatic.  This ambigram generator was developed over a span of two years in 2007 and 2008 (and revised in 2009 and 2010) by programmer Mark Hunter and licensed to Glyphusion, and uses artwork licensed from ambigram artist Mark Palmer.

How it Works

The ambigram generator offered through Glyphusion uses software logic to create ambigrams of words that differ in length, and creates ambigrams as vector designs, which allows them to scale perfectly and position much more cleanly than the Ambimatic.  Interestingly, it will not always be able to create an ambigram of two words, even if they have the same length.  Even if two words have the same length and an ambigram is produced, they will not necessarily line up letter-by-letter (as our test case shows)

The Results

Since the ambigram generator offered through Glyphusion is very sophisticated about ambigram creation, it will not be able to produce an ambigram of any two arbitrary words (even if they have the same length).  However, its success rate is very high, and the algorithms that it uses ensures that the ambigrams that it does create are usually vastly superior to the results obtained from the Ambimatic.

Test Case

We put the ambigram generator offered through Glyphusion through the “dream / magic” test case, and scaled the output to exactly 200 pixels wide.

Here is the result.

Ambigram from Glyphusion (dream / magic)

As you can see, letters are combined where the ambigram generator offered through Glyphusion feels necessary to produce the most aesthetically pleasing output, which is far more complicated than a simple letter inversion tool.

Glyphusion Pros and Cons

Pros

• Can create ambigrams of differing lengths (like “better” and “man”)
• The results are aesthetically pleasing, and in many cases so legible that you may not know that the design is an ambigram at first.

Cons

• May not produce a design if the generator does not feel that the output would be up to its quality standards
• Not a free ambigram generator (but well worth the money for a polished design that would take a day to do by hand)

Many people come to this page looking for a high-quality and free ambigram generator.  Unfortunately, there is no such thing due to the amount of work involved to create high-quality ambigram generator software.

You can learn more about these two tools at their respective web sites:

• Ambimatic – www.ambigram.com/matic
• Glyphusion – www.glyphusion.com

Want to share your own experiences with either (or both) of these tools?  Feel free to comment below.

Ambigram tattoo (on Fuel lead singer Toryn Green)

Ambigram artist Mark Palmer holds the unofficial title of “World’s Most Tattooed Artist”. At least, no one else has stepped forward to challenge that claim. It’s also hard to imagine that any other tattoo artist has had his designs inked as many times as Mark.

Palmers’ invertible typographical designs can be found on tens of thousands of people from all over the world, have been featured in magazines and on TV shows like LA Ink and have been spotted on celebrities such as Toryn Green (‘Fuel’) and Levar Burton (‘Roots’).

Still, just like measuring the circulation of magazines that get “passed around”, it’s difficult to accurately measure a statistic like the “World’s Most Tattooed Artist” without some kind of “body ink census”.

Whether the title is true or not, his work record is impressive.

Mark Palmer's ambigram of his name

Founder of his own on-line ambigram tattoo design company called WowTattoos, Palmer has been selling his designs to the public for over 5 years. He sells a line of Flash books that can be found in tattoo shops around the world, and even started an ambigram clothing line to dovetail with his tattoo design offering (which worked out pretty nicely for Ed Hardy).

Palmer is also the artist behind the Glyphusion ambigram generator, the world’s most sophisticated ambigram software, and is part owner of Glyphusion, Inc.

We’re pleased to feature Mark Palmer as the first artist in Ambigram Magazine’s “Meet the Artist” series.

Glyphusion ambigram service

Would you like to create your own ambigram designs, products or clothing?

The Glyphusion ambigram generator allows you to create ambigrams in seconds that would take a human artist hours, and can deliver the ambigrams directly to your web site’s users.

The downside is that Glyphusion, Inc. (the company) has been very particular about who they accept as customers, and setting up the service may take some knowledge of HTML and possible script code (depending on options).  On the positive side, the engine is highly configurable so you can present the ambigrams just the way you wish.

For more information, visit Glyphusion’s web site at: www.Glyphusion.com