 An animation of a rotationally symmetric ambigram for the word "ambigram" An ambigram, also sometimes known as an inversion, is a graphical figure that spells out a word not only in its form as presented, but also in another direction or orientation. The text can also consist of a few words, and the the text spelled out in the other direction or orientation is often the same, but can also be a different text. Douglas R. Hofstadter describes an ambigram as a "calligraphic design that manages to squeeze two different readings into the selfsame set of curves." Image File history File links Ambigram_rotating. ...
Image File history File links Ambigram_rotating. ...
Douglas Richard Hofstadter (born February 15, 1945) is an American academic. ...
According to practitioner John Langdon, ambigrams were independently invented by himself and by Scott Kim in the 1970s.[1] Kim used the name Inversions as the title of his first collection in 1981. The first published reference to "ambigram" was by Hofstadter, who attributes the origin of the word to conversations among a small group of friends during 1983–1984.[1] The 1999 edition of Hofstadter's Gödel, Escher, Bach features a 3-D ambigram on the cover. John Langdon is an American graphic artist. ...
Invertible GOES logo designed for Space Systems/Loral by Scott Kim Scott Kim is an American puzzle and computer game designer, artist, and author. ...
Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid: A metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis Carroll (commonly GEB) is a Pulitzer Prize (1980)-winning book by Douglas Hofstadter, published in 1979 by Basic Books. ...
Ambigrams became much more popular as a result of Dan Brown incorporating them into the plot of his bestseller, Angels & Demons; Langdon produced ambigrams that were used for the book cover, and a link to his website from Brown's meant he was "suddenly inundated" with commissions.[1] This article is about the writer. ...
This article is about the book. ...
Ambigram types
 A rotational ambigram for the word "Vegas"
 A mirror-image ambigram for the word "Wiki"
 A 3-Dimensional ambigram of the letters A, B and C.
 Gödel, Escher, Bach cover Ambigrams usually fall into one of several categories: Image File history File links Vegas_ambigram. ...
Image File history File links Vegas_ambigram. ...
Image File history File links Ambigram-wiki. ...
Image File history File links Ambigram-wiki. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (640x640, 60 KB)A 3-dimensional ambigram of the letters A, B and C. The form in the middle will appear to read each letter seperately when viewed from different angles. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (640x640, 60 KB)A 3-dimensional ambigram of the letters A, B and C. The form in the middle will appear to read each letter seperately when viewed from different angles. ...
Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
- Rotational
- A design that presents several instances of words when rotated through a fixed angle. This is usually 180 degrees, but rotational ambigrams of other angles exist, for example 90 or 45 degrees. The word spelled out from the alternative direction(s) is often the same, but may be a different word to the initially presented form. A simple example is the lower-case abbreviation for "Down", dn, which looks like the lower-case word up when rotated 180 degrees.
- Mirror
- A design that can be read when reflected in a mirror, usually as the same word or phrase both ways. Ambigrams that form different words when viewed in the mirror are also known as glass door ambigrams, because they can be printed on a glass door to be read differently when entering or exiting.
- Figure-ground
- A design in which the spaces between the letters of one word form another word.
- Chain
- A design where a word (or sometimes words) are interlinked, forming a repeating chain. Letters are usually overlapped meaning that a word will start partway through another word. Sometimes chain ambigrams are presented in the form of a circle.
- Space-filling
- Similar to chain ambigrams, but tile to fill the 2-dimensional plane.
- Fractal
- A version of space-filling ambigrams where the tiled word branches from itself and then shrinks in a self-similar manner, forming a fractal. See Scott Kim's fractal of the word TREE for an animated example.
- 3-dimensional
- 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 using constructive solid geometry.
- Perceptual shift
- A design with no symmetry but can be read as two different words depending on how the curves of the letters are interpreted.
- Natural
- A natural ambigram is a word that possesses one or more of the above symmetries when written in its natural state, requiring no typographic styling. For example, the words "dollop" and "suns" are natural rotational ambigrams. The word "bud" forms a natural mirror ambigram when reflected over a vertical axis. The words "CHOICE" and "OXIDE", in all capitals, form a natural mirror ambigram when reflected over a horizontal axis. The word "TOOTH", in all capitals, forms a natural mirror ambigram when its letters are stacked vertically and reflected over a vertical axis.
Ambigrams are exercises in graphic design that play with optical illusions, symmetry and visual perception. Ambigram lovers value especially those with a relation between form and content. A self-similar object is exactly or approximately similar to a part of itself. ...
The boundary of the Mandelbrot set is a famous example of a fractal. ...
Invertible GOES logo designed for Space Systems/Loral by Scott Kim Scott Kim is an American puzzle and computer game designer, artist, and author. ...
Constructive solid geometry (CSG) is a technique used in solid modeling. ...
Graphics are often utilitarian and anonymous,[1] as these pictographs from the US National Park Service illustrate. ...
An optical illusion. ...
Sphere symmetry group o. ...
In psychology, visual perception is the ability to interpret visible light information reaching the eyes which is then made available for planning and action. ...
It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ...
Look up content in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Examples Graphic artists use ambigrams because of their unique symmetry. Ambigrams thus appear in commercial logos, covers of books and music albums, and tattoo designs.
Ambigrams feature prominently in Dan Brown's novel, Angels and Demons, of which the first UK release featured an ambigram of the title on the cover. The ambigrams in the novel were designed by graphic artist John Langdon. Since the release of the bestseller sequel The Da Vinci Code, there has been a marked increase in the popularity and awareness of ambigrams, leading to a reprint of John Langdon's book on ambigrams entitled Wordplay. This article is about the writer. ...
Wikibooks has a book on the topic of Angels and Demons Angels and Demons (Angels & Demons) is a bestselling mystery novel by Dan Brown. ...
John Langdon is an American graphic artist. ...
The Da Vinci Code is a mystery/detective novel by American author Dan Brown, published in 2003 by Doubleday. ...
The following ambigram examples all have rotational symmetry, unless otherwise noted.
Books Abarat is a fantasy book both written and illustrated by Clive Barker aimed primarily at young adults. ...
For the South African football (soccer) coach, see Clive Barker (soccer). ...
Wikibooks has a book on the topic of Angels and Demons Angels and Demons (Angels & Demons) is a bestselling mystery novel by Dan Brown. ...
This article is about the writer. ...
For other uses, see Illuminati (disambiguation). ...
Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid: A metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis Carroll (commonly GEB) is a Pulitzer Prize (1980)-winning book by Douglas Hofstadter, published in 1979 by Basic Books. ...
Douglas Richard Hofstadter (born February 15, 1945 in New York, New York) is an American academic. ...
John Langdon is an American graphic artist. ...
Music Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
For other uses, see Logo (disambiguation). ...
Abba redirects here. ...
Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
This article is about Casablanca, the record label. ...
5th PROJEKT is a Cinematic Rock band based in Toronto, Canada noted for their ambititous genre bending compositions with experimental leanings, philosophical lyrics, DIY independence and unique conceptual album packaging & artwork. ...
CiRCADiAN is a concept album and the first full length studio album by 5th PROJEKT. It was released on August 29, 2006 on 5th PROJEKTs Organik Rekords. ...
NIN redirects here. ...
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942) is an Academy Award-winning English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who first gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles. ...
Alternate cover Special Edition paper sleeve (CD with DVD). ...
Other logos - doop, the logo for D.O.O.P., the Democratic Order Of Planets, from the television series Futurama
- GOES, the logo for NASA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite satellite, designed by Scott Kim
- Mosuki, the logo for the online calendar sharing site
- Newman, the logo for the French clothes manufacturer, designed in 1969 by Raymond Loewy
- New X-Men, the logo for the comic book series
- РИa, the logo for Novosti, the Russian News and Information Agency
- The logo for StudioHunty
- The 4S sun (rotationally symmetric chain ambigram), the logo for Sun Microsystems, designed by Vaughan Pratt
- The trick or treat cards used in Derren Brown's "Trick or Treat" TV series.
- Tyrian, the logo for the arcade-style shooter game
- WEM, the logo for the West Edmonton Mall
- The logo for Xpedx
The Democratic Order Of Planets (D.O.O.P.) logo, a rotational ambigram. ...
A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ...
This article is about the television series. ...
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (IPA [ˈnæsə]) is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nations public space program. ...
The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) program is a key element in United States National Weather Service (NWS) operations. ...
Invertible GOES logo designed for Space Systems/Loral by Scott Kim Scott Kim is an American puzzle and computer game designer, artist, and author. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
X-Men is a Marvel Comics series featuring the homonymous group of mutant superheroes. ...
To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
Sun Microsystems, Inc. ...
Vaughan Pratt is Professor Emeritus of Computer Science at Stanford University. ...
Derren Victor Brown (born 27 February 1971) is an English psychological illusionist, mentalist, and skeptic of paranormal phenomena. ...
Tyrian 2000 main menu Tyrian is a video game which was developed by Eclipse Productions (later World Tree Games) and published in 1995 by Epic Megagames. ...
West Edmonton Mall (WEM), located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada is the largest shopping mall in North America and the third largest in the world. ...
See also Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid: A metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis Carroll (commonly GEB) is a Pulitzer Prize (1980)-winning book by Douglas Hofstadter, published in 1979 by Basic Books. ...
Douglas Richard Hofstadter (born February 15, 1945 in New York, New York) is an American academic. ...
Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ...
Image File history File links Commons-logo. ...
References - Kim, Scott, Inversions, Byte Books (1981)
- Hofstadter, Douglas R., "Metafont, Metamathematics, and Metaphysics: Comments on Donald Knuth's Article 'The Concept of a Meta-Font'" Scientific American (August 1982) (republished in the book Metamagical Themas)
- Langdon, John, Wordplay: Ambigrams and Reflections on the Art of Ambigrams, Harcourt Brace (1992, republished 2005)
- Hofstadter, Douglas R., Ambigrammi, Hopefulmonster Editore Firenze (1987) (in Italian)
- Polster, Burkard, Les Ambigrammes l'art de symétriser les mots, Editions Ecritextes (2003) (in French)
- Polster, Burkard, Eye Twisters: Ambigrams, Escher, and Illusions, web-based book available at http://www.maths.monash.edu.au/~bpolster/ambigram.html (date unknown)
Invertible GOES logo designed for Space Systems/Loral by Scott Kim Scott Kim is an American puzzle and computer game designer, artist, and author. ...
Metamagical Themas is an eclectic collection of articles written for Scientific American during the early 1980s by Douglas Hofstadter, and published together as a book in 1985 by Basic Books (ISBN 0465045669) . The subject matter of the articles is loosely woven about themes in philosophy, creativity, artificial intelligence and important...
John Langdon is an American graphic artist. ...
This article deals with The Daily Telegraph in Britain, see The Daily Telegraph (Australia) for the Australian publication The Daily Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper founded in 1855. ...
is the 101st day of the year (102nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...
is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
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