Earlier today I wrote about ambigrams, a type of writing that is designed to be read in more than one way. Typically, an ambigram is a word or phrase that has left-right mirror symmetry, or reads the same upside down. (To read the article click here.)
I set the following challenge – scroll down to see designs by ambigram author (and public intellectual) Douglas Hofstadter and by readers of this column.
Flipping words
Design an ambigram for the following words:
1. DAVE
2. OHIO
3. UTAH
4. RED
5. Your own name
First, here are Hofstadter’s designs, taken from his latest book, Ambigrammia.
1.
Illustration: Douglas Hofstadter
And another Dave:
Illustration: Douglas Hofstadter
2.
Illustration: Douglas Hofstadter
3.
Illustration: Douglas Hofstadter
4.is above the headline, and here is his name:
Illustration: Douglas Hofstadter
Thanks to all the readers who sent it examples. Here are my favourites:
Mark Eaden saw that you can represent Ohio as a binary number!Nakul Bhalla made a particularly pretty UtahCongrats to Mateo, a 14-year-old student at Chatswood High School, Sydney.Hats off to Harry Jenkins!And thanks to Gabriela Grise for sharing this ambigram she made for her wedding ring. It reads ‘Kai liebt Gra’ one way, and ‘Gra ama Kai’ the other. Gabriela is German, and Kai Brazilian – and the sentences contain the word ‘loves’ in German and Portuguese.
Ambigrammia by Douglas Hofstadter, with an introduction by Scott Kim, is out now on Yale University Press.
I’ve been setting a puzzle here on alternate Mondays since 2015. I’m always on the look-out for great puzzles. If you would like to suggest one, email me.
