Ambigrams—pieces of writing that can say two different things, depending on perspective—highlight the flexibility of human thought.
Consider the below ambigram of the word ambigram. Looked at one way, you see a b to the left of the i. Rotate the word 180 degrees, and suddenly that character is clearly a g. People can take a sensory input to mean two very different things depending on context. (This is how sarcasm works, too.) Other animals also use context when interpreting environment, but ambigrams are a special case of such thinking. Humans are prone to think symbolically, and the discreteness of symbols such as letters of the alphabet directs our perception into one of two or more bins. Ambiguity is clarified as one distinct meaning or another, creating a stark contrast between them. We see a b or a g, not some arbitrary squiggle.
Over the years, I’ve noticed several logos make use of ambigrams. Here are some of my favorites.
Delorean Motor Company, DC Shoes, Sun Microsystems, Eyewire, Under Armour. Feel free to send me your favorites.
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