Ambigrams by nagfa

2012-02-01T16:36:00.005+08:00

A sketch-and-smudge done in 15 minutes - a luxury these days..
.. Maria Hertogh rotating into Nadra Maarof:

The names of a little girl which invoke memories of turbulent times on our small island city. Another lesson learnt.

2012-01-03T22:41:00.000+08:00

ICT ambigram.

2012-01-03T22:30:00.003+08:00

ICT ambigram. For a buddy.

These are the fastest drawn ambigrams to date. Materials: Pen and two pieces of white papers. Methods: 1.Get the formulae 2.Sketch half of it on one piece of white paper 3.Overlay the other piece over the draft and sketch that 4.Flip and sketch the other half of the design 5.Add details.

2012-01-03T22:28:00.000+08:00

Something done during ICT.

2011-11-30T11:27:00.001+08:00

Sketched during one of the seminars attended. Shhhh.. don't tell anyone..

2011-11-11T11:18:00.000+08:00

Another version. Hand drawn, coloured and laminated.

2011-10-23T10:53:00.007+08:00

A design created for Nag's graduating students. Reads 'Semoga.Sukses' (May [comes] Success). ... in your examinations / ... in your life's journeys.

2011-09-30T18:51:00.001+08:00

Another presentation for the Ambigram Magazine ambigram. Hand-sketched.

Ambigram Magazine

2011-09-27T22:16:00.004+08:00

Was clearing out old documents when we chanced upon a draft solution for an Ambigram-Magazine ambigram. Managed to find some time to sketch this:

2011-09-25T22:55:00.002+08:00

Experimenting with a new concept: Kufic Square (Arabic) + Jawi (Malay) + Mandarin (Chinese). The phrase should read 'Wa Ai Ni' (Wah-Eye-Knee), Mandarin for 'I love you'.

2011-09-12T22:06:00.001+08:00

Classique.

2011-09-12T11:48:00.001+08:00

A reflection piece designed 5 years ago. 10 years on..

2011-09-03T20:53:00.001+08:00

Were there Generations A-W, prior?

2011-08-29T08:14:00.003+08:00

nagfa wishes all Muslims Eid Mubarak. Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!

2011-08-29T08:04:00.006+08:00

Our biggest project to date.
A kufi design (of our names) in carbon fibre.

And Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Rahim on the rear window.

Thanks to the guys at De Calprit, who did a fine job.

2011-08-29T07:50:00.005+08:00

Stick 'em up.

kufi and khat

2011-08-06T07:35:00.002+08:00

A sharing of two designs proudly displayed in our house:

A square kufic reading 'Allah' in Arabic: Acrylic on canvas. Our own design.

A calligraphic piece - a khat - reading 'nagfa' and our names, designed by Malaysia's awangpurba, one of the best we've known in the fields of Islamic art. His website: here.

2011-08-06T06:47:00.003+08:00

It's the month of Ramadan, the fasting month. A mere three weeks from now, Muslims all over the world will be celebrating Eid Mubarak, or Hari Raya as it is known here in these parts. For most of the young ones, celebrating Hari Raya is not complete without visiting relatives and friends, and of course, the receiving of 'the green packets', where a token sum of money is usually slipped in.

One 'green packet' we came across recently made us look twice:

The letterings used to adorn the packet was a design we made a few years back:

Though, a part of us does feel a sense of accomplishment having a design used, of course the other part is of disappointment. The proper permission was not sought, no credits were given. At the same time, a small (perfectionist) part feels that that design can be improved. We had always noticed that the height of the letters in 'Aidilfitri' is taller than those in the first two lines. Which makes the piece seem incomplete.

Nevertheless, another lesson to be learnt.

2011-08-03T00:26:00.002+08:00

Square kufi designs (Romanized):

Logo: Chembridge

2011-08-02T23:56:00.005+08:00

This post has nothing to do with ambigrams, and we foresee more of such posts in the near future. Early this year, we were given the task to design a logo for a joint exercise between Singapore's National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Malaysian counterparts. The name for this exercise was ChemBridge, and it involved the emergency evacuation and containment of hazardous chemicals spilled along the bridge linking the two countries.

Below is the screen shot taken from the news, of the CEO of NEA:

The cap which he wore, similar to the one we received:

After several rounds and drafts of logo designs, the chosen design depicts a stylised chemical drop onto a bridge:

Walking through Memory Lane: Racial Harmony Ambigrams

2011-07-24T20:25:00.010+08:00

The following designs provide for an interesting comparison of how our designs had evolved throughout the years. As mentioned in the post prior to this, we had previously designed three other Racial Harmony ambigrams (+ one design depicting the phrase in Malay). The first design was done way back in 2006, clearly inspired by John Langdon's Angels & Demons' swirls and flourishes:

The following design was from 2007, when we experimented more with font types. The formulae stayed very much the same, while the flourishes became more subtle, but still distracting.
In 2008, we tried solving the same phrase and theme from another angle, in another language (reads in Malay: 'Keharmonian Kaum'). Using MS PowerPoint, the lines were more uniformed, and sharper. The formulae stayed true. Too uniformed, hence: bland.
2009. It was simple structure and minimalism over intricate embelishment then. Again using MS PowerPoint, the result this time was cleaner, without distractions:

And finally, this year's design:

It's been a meaningful journey spanning over 5 years now. We hope to continue learning the art.

2011-07-17T23:18:00.002+08:00

This is - if memory serves us right - our fourth Racial Harmony ambigram. For Racial Harmony Day celebrated in schools islandwide come 21st July. The theme for this year's RHD is 'HOME: joint HOpes, shared MEmories'.

square kufi: Nayla Najwa

2011-07-14T20:47:00.003+08:00

Returning to an old love, Square Kufi. A design for our daughter:

Pardon the gaps; done using the basic of tools: basic shapes in MS PowerPoint.

2011-07-06T09:42:00.002+08:00

Rediscovered ambigram (reflection) done some years back:

This concept was to be more sculptural than 2D, so that people were able to walk around it and yet read it correctly.

2011-06-26T19:50:00.002+08:00

Another design for the school, this time hand-drawn:

Rockstar rotating into Loyang (the school name), proposed design for the Rockclimbers.

2011-06-26T19:33:00.003+08:00

An updated design for nag's class T-shirt:

The initial design:

As an added bonus, the 1E4 class logo:

2011-06-26T18:49:00.006+08:00

Hi and Peace be upon you,

It had been a while, and as NastyBasty (here) summed it well on one of his most recent ambigrams, we are 'on hiatus', and looking at events both short and long term, maybe on a long one, too.

Though busy, we do from time to time, visit our much beloved art and world of Ambigrams. There are many good development in the ambigram front. Most notably, the awesome job done by Nikita and the guys over at ambigram.com (here). It is good to see many, many talented new artists trying out this art - and thriving as well! We see the regulars-pioneers mingle with the new, fresh talents. It's a healthy place to go to to have your ambigram fix, if you have yet to go there for a peek, that is.

Next, we have updated our sidebar with two more ambigram links. The first is a link to the only place to get your ambigram-related merchandises. They are the people with the flair to meet to your every gift requirement, from rings to mugs to basically anything else, really. Do visit them at FlipScript Ambigrams (here).

And, an artist whom we've found to have an extraordinary repertoire in doing something beyond just ambigrams - upside-down heads. We can't find the best words to describe this art, just visit the link and marvel for yourself. He's Sam Saxton (here).

We'll be popping here again once in a while. In the meantime, do leave us a message, take care, and continue to have fun creating ambigrams!

Yours, respectfully,

nagfa

2011-03-10T13:09:00.001+08:00

2011-03-08T12:41:00.000+08:00

Of swings. Straightforward design.

2011-02-16T10:20:00.004+08:00

A design for Chinese New Year reading 'Xin Nian Kuai Le' in Chinese characters. With the hidden 1E4, Nag's class. Written on the classroom's whiteboard.

2010-11-12T09:38:00.000+08:00

dn / up

2010-11-12T08:24:00.000+08:00

A by-product of a another design. 13x13 Square Kufic.

2010-11-11T08:25:00.003+08:00

A quick design (using lines in MS Powerpoint), our version of this:

(From B. Wichmann: here)

2010-11-04T11:13:00.006+08:00

Another school-based project for the Department.
.

Reads Mother Tongue Department:

which rotates into:

Preservers of Our Heritage.

2010-11-04T11:09:00.003+08:00

A project done in school with the pupils; a collection of short fear / mystery-themed narratives. Titled: Projek Seram (Fear Project).

Special Post: Wedding Ambigram Monogram

2010-10-31T01:23:00.004+08:00

A revisit of a past design we did for a couple for their wedding:

Kelvin-Parvin

We also did an ambigram monogram for them, which featured prominently during their wedding. More pictures (here).

2010-10-18T11:57:00.000+08:00

dumbbigguys.

2010-09-07T01:14:00.001+08:00

With the incorporated sweet manna drips.

2010-07-26T08:47:00.000+08:00

Flora + Flourishes

2010-07-20T16:29:00.001+08:00

Almost perfect, this.

Something different..

2010-07-01T21:53:00.004+08:00

As the World Cup takes a break, we bring you a movie poster which we find interesting. It plays with a familiar concept - of hiding a 'hidden' skull in the negative spaces, this time using heads of surgeons and a bust of a 'Pochong' (a supernatural entity of a wrapped human corpse, much like a mummy) with the surgery bulbs as the glowing background. From the Indonesian horror film, Mati Suri:

2010-06-30T20:43:00.001+08:00

The main man of the World Cup.

2010-06-30T12:04:00.001+08:00

3 days and counting.. (nag's a Germany fan).

2010-06-27T10:22:00.001+08:00

Awaiting tonight's match..

2010-06-10T21:02:00.002+08:00

After a long hiatus, an

for the upcoming
(hand-drawn)

2010-05-26T21:02:00.001+08:00

Location and juxtaposition.

2010-05-26T12:36:00.002+08:00

Nirmala (chaste, pure) - alam.Jin (Realm of the Djinns)

2010-05-19T21:08:00.000+08:00

Milk reflecting Wine.

2010-05-19T21:07:00.000+08:00

... nevermore.

2010-05-19T20:59:00.001+08:00

2010-04-14T21:44:00.000+08:00

2nd version.

2010-04-07T23:02:00.000+08:00

2010-03-23T14:51:00.000+08:00

Do you? We all do.

2010-03-12T23:08:00.000+08:00

Area sembi.nine..

2010-03-07T10:53:00.002+08:00

and his..

alleged mistresses.

2010-02-23T14:53:00.003+08:00

Recently went to a baby store, and saw a baby shoe brand:
Noticed how convenient it was to be turned into an ambigram, so:

2010-02-20T14:22:00.001+08:00

Smooth.

2010-02-14T21:23:00.002+08:00

A straightforward 45-degree reflection of the name 'Batam' (Island).

2010-02-08T20:24:00.001+08:00

Coldness.

2010-02-05T16:01:00.001+08:00

Malay for 'Teacher'.

2010-02-03T21:06:00.002+08:00

WM Jas coined it best: Chinese anagram (here). So here it is. Using the same glyphs, albeit in different orientations, we spelled the words 'open' and 'close'.

2010-02-02T22:26:00.001+08:00

A rather easy design to tame.

Edit: Thanks to cyrebjr. who pointed out the extra 'a' in spe(a)cial. Now, that is speacial indeed. Groggy late-night ambigram.

2010-02-02T22:11:00.002+08:00

Purr.. The impetus was the very cooperative central 'wom'. The chosen style (we had tried several but didn't have the mental stamina nor attention span to complete them) is the combination of sheer tiredness and succinctness.

2010-02-01T21:23:00.002+08:00

The 'om' makes for a very interesting paradox.

2010-01-19T16:08:00.000+08:00

Logo concept. Mothman.

2010-01-15T22:56:00.001+08:00

Emotions.

2010-01-14T12:43:00.001+08:00

Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it.. (Don't hold your breath..)

Juara Lagu logo: an ambigram

2010-01-10T22:22:00.003+08:00

An ambigram in action. The Juara Lagu (a popular song award presentation in Malaysia) logo is an ambigram, depicting the letters J and L.

2010-01-08T08:46:00.000+08:00

2010-01-08T08:44:00.000+08:00

Big cats.

2010-01-01T22:26:00.002+08:00

Two versions for this special bunch: Munchkin5 (here)

2010-01-01T19:30:00.000+08:00

A revised version.

2010-01-01T09:15:00.002+08:00

Year of the Tiger.

2009-12-29T16:03:00.000+08:00

Paradise lost-Singapore.

2009-12-28T22:34:00.000+08:00

Cork it in. Gulp it down.

2009-12-28T22:28:00.002+08:00

Pangea.

2009-12-27T22:48:00.002+08:00

No man is..

2009-12-27T13:15:00.000+08:00

It's Punday today!

2009-12-27T13:09:00.000+08:00

A straightforward solution.

2009-12-25T21:31:00.001+08:00

A rough draft done in 10 minutes, using PowerPoint. The letter combinations seem to

gel nicely.

2009-12-25T14:33:00.001+08:00

2009-12-25T14:13:00.000+08:00

A trailing fast plane (6).

2009-12-20T09:55:00.001+08:00

One of the most straightforward chain ambigrams.

2009-12-09T20:17:00.001+08:00

Holiday mood.

2009-12-09T20:16:00.000+08:00

2009-12-09T20:13:00.001+08:00

2009-12-08T10:34:00.000+08:00

2009-12-08T10:05:00.001+08:00

A sycophantic mmmuuwaaahh!

2009-12-06T22:43:00.000+08:00

Anonymous. Going cold turkey.

2009-11-27T10:29:00.004+08:00

ambigram: hari.raya-qurban

.
Another name for Aidil Adha. 'hari': day; 'raya': big; 'qurban': sacrifice (refering to that made by Prophets Ibrahim and Ismail, p.b.u.t).. which rotates into...

ambigram: naguib-&.fadilah

.
naguib & fadilah (nagfa) wishes all Muslims a Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha!

2009-11-26T11:53:00.001+08:00

Ambigram and cryptic wordplay: an-x-na.

2009-11-24T22:47:00.001+08:00

And..

2009-11-24T22:45:00.000+08:00

Split.

2009-11-21T13:33:00.001+08:00

Reacts.

2009-11-21T13:19:00.000+08:00

Out of the ordinary..

2009-11-16T22:41:00.000+08:00

Concept piece.

2009-11-16T22:40:00.000+08:00

50 / 50

2009-11-16T22:36:00.002+08:00

Two similar phrases with very cooperative formulae. The pivotal 'M' and 'H' prove very useful in distinguishing the separate words.

2009-11-13T21:23:00.001+08:00

Duh mejeeque uv phonetics.

2009-11-13T10:35:00.003+08:00

OUT of the box.