To answer the obvious question, ambigrams are words which can be read the same way even when flipped upside down. Or when reflected in a mirror. Basically, words with unusual symmetries. Naturally, most words don't work like this naturally, so some artistry is needed to make them flip without changing. I would be doing a disservice if I didn't provide a link to Scott Kim's homepage; he's the undisputed master of this art. I've made some of my own ambigrams, which you can look at below. Click on any of the images for a larger view.
Here are the ambigrams I've made of my name:
This was the first ambigram I made, and by many accounts, the best. Personally, I find it too simple, and so I've made some more complicated versions of my name.
This one reads RDWald forwards and backwards. A little better, though it's reflection-based symmetry, not rotation-based.
My next attempt. Here, I wanted to use RWald, since I often go by the name rwald at various web forums. Sadly, the W didn't come out very well. I later made a better version of this, to whit:
Hopefully, this one is easier to read. I still needed to resort to the extra-floating-line trick with the R and the A, but I think it looks more natural here than it does above.
Finally, it occurred to me that since I usually don't capitalize any of the letters in "rwald" when using it in message boards, I shouldn't feel compelled to capitalize it here. So, I created this ambigram of "rwald." I ended up capitalizing the W anyway, but I like how the a and l merge too well to really mind.
This one is my full name, Randy Wald. I avoided using the floating-line trick in the R by making the tail of the Y the downward line of the R. This also helped the Y from turning into a G when flipped. Personally, this is my favorite.
I also did one ambigram apiece for my siblings, Ben and Kim.
My ambigram for my brother. It's supposed to read Benjamin Wald, for the record. This one came out rather badly, with the JA to W transition being especially bad. One day, I may revisit this one...
For my sister, Kimberly. Personally, I like this one much better than the previous; I especially like my K to LY transition.
Here are some ambigrams representing people and concepts other than my family.
Well, I couldn't make ambigrams without making "ambigram." I like my m to ra transition, but the A to m is kinda messy. Well, it's better than the "standard" transition from A to m.
I'd seen some other people do "mathematics," but I figured that since I really like math, I should do an ambigram for it. I like how my m to cs transition came out, as well as my he to m, but I'm still unhappy about the last a. Oh well.
Stephen Hawking is a world-famous physicist who wrote the book A Brief History of Time, as well as many others. He's helped expand the frontiers of theoretical physics. I have a great deal of respect for him. So, as a show of this respect, I made an ambigram of his name.
