Deceived by type.
See also: ambigrams.co.uk (April 2005).
Ambigrams are cunning little typographic gee-gaws, and a concept simultaneously ‘invented’ (if that’s the right word) by Scott Kim and John Langdon. I found Scott’s website a couple of years ago and loved the idea – my immediate repsonse was to turn my own hand to it and the result was a surprisingly ambitious ambigram of my full name: Brett James Gilbert. The idea, of course, is that ambigrams (also known by the more literal moniker ‘inversions’) are symmetric designs that read the same when turned upside down.
More recently my sister gave me a copy of Scott Kim’s book for Christmas 2002, a copy which she bought from the man himself in the US at the fifth Gathering for Gardner (an elite maths and puzzle convention). The author even inscribed the book for me with an individual, improvised inversion of my first name!
Scott’s book has been not only very inspirational, but also helpful and practical, since in it he discusses some of his own thought processes and explains a few tricks of the trade.
Of course, the ‘learn by doing’ ethos applies here, and since Christmas I have been busy doodling. Some of the inversions I have created so far can be seen here (I say ‘some of’ since there are others which I have ready for future birthdays, anniversaries and special occasions, but that I shan’t post online until after the event).
The easiest place to start is with people’s names, and so far Graham, Helen, Martin and Lydia have all received extra special birthday cards this year!