NAC June 2008 Theme 2: Beijing Olympic 2008

May peace be upon you! After a brief interlude, we bring you the compiled entries for the June Nagfa Ambigram Challenge (NAC). More of that here. The theme was Beijing Olympic Games. In this post, we'll try to highlight features and details from each design entry which we find aesthetically pleasant and outstanding. We will also reveal our favourite design, and the artist who will be invited as a Guest Challenger for a future NAC.

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Firstly, our own solution:

nagfa (singapore)

This lake-reflection design (supposed to) read(s) beijing-peace 08 with the rings formed by the 'g' and the '08' also forming the unmistakable iconic five rings representing the Olympic Games. The 'peace' is a general and holistic sentiment for a united world through sports rather than any political comment on any particular conflict.

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Now, we reveal the wonderful submitted entries, arranged according to countries of the artists:

fraga (brazil)

Fraga's entry is among some which uses totem-reflection; though the usage of a rotational ambigram for the word 'olympic' exudes a witty aloofness (disregard? anarchy?) of doing away with conventionality. The effort (and considerable success) of potraying three words - '2008', 'Beijing' and 'Olympic' - is appreciated.

txescu (catalunia)

Txescu's entry proves that the solution for the word 'Beijing' could be interpreted in many ways. In his design, he opted for an astonishing - and prominent - J-G reflective solution. This choice thus brought two segments: the BEI (which works very well) and IN (which is slightly difficult to read). The double-thickness is necessary due to the 'IJ' in 'BEIJ'.

dave (england)

Dave's design entry incorporates several visual plays. We see three different rotational ambigrams for 'Beijing', '2008' and 'olympics'. A point to note is that the chosen word 'olympics' (instead of 'olympic') provides a more challenging solution. The most striking feature of Dave's entry has got to be his very successful Escher-like figure-ground background of torch-carriers. That in itself is a masterpiece!

nastybasty (germany)

NastyBasty's pieces have always been about legibility and stylish solutions. This entry is no different: succinctly precise with minimal manipulation. This is one of our favourite for this NAC, simplicity wise. The B-S and G-G solutions are superb, with that subtle 'sharpened' end for B-S the cherry on the cake for distinguishing the B from the S.

alessandro (italy)

What else can we say? The most original entry we received, with an easy fuss-free font, good readability, and a very witty - sceptical / ironic - 'comeback'. This type of ambigram - the 'symbiotogram' - would always be more challenging to come up with, especially in conjuring up a phrase which is relevant, and with a similar length. Not only that, there are many wonderful solutions in this design: the dual-level B-Pe/8-et (!!!), n/r and g/fo. Other details include the j/T and the dots for 'iji' becoming the Olympic rings. As for the flip-phrase 'Peace for Tibet', it is as apt as could be, very relevant, poignant and with a not-so-subtle take on the B-Side - if you may - of this year's Games. Simply breath-taking. For this, we choose this design as the winner for this NAC theme. Alessandro will be invited as a Guest Challenger for a future NAC. Congratulations!

diego colombo (italy)

Diego's designs have always exude a sense of calmness and refined composure, the type which could only come from years of observations and practise. This design is a good example. It is masterly crafted with a very consistent style (notice the Ms). The Y-P, and (especially the awesome!) G-S solutions thrill us. But another solution which caught our imagination was the 'aME'. Notice how the extended line from the 'M' also acts as the topmost arm for the uppercase 'E'. Also, we see this design as something that could be used every leap year; as it does not refer to ANY particular Olympic Games!

ruel masacayan (philippines)

A tough phrase to tackle, playing with this year's Games slogan: OneWorld, OneDream, Ruel had managed to successfully come up with a competent solution. The shared line between O and N hints of in-depth knowledge in ambigram designing, while the smooth flow of ORLD-ONED reminds one of seeing a child runs at the edge of a cliff, always expecting him to slip and fall, but just at the moment he slips, he soars off into the proverbial sunset. The only awkward stroke would be the extra one between R and a (to accommodate the N). The colours used reflect those on the Olympic rings.

azahary arif (singapore)

A rather straightforward design, taking on the word 'Beijing'. This word provides almost a natural ambigram (b-g, i-i with j as the pivot). The e-n, on the other hand, when not correctly proportioned could be awkward to read. The incorporations of the map and the Olympic rings in this design help in the reading of the word.

azahary arif (singapore)

Nice configuration here. The one-level-per-word arrangement makes this totem reflection very easy to read. The placement of the rings in the centre adds to the Olympic theme. The e-n provides the least cooperation (the B-G was dealt with stunningly!) while that three dots above 'iji' could be depicted as flame from the torch.

ed xander (uk)

An ingenius entry: a perceptual shift! The design could be read both as 'Beijing' or '(Olympic rings) 2008'. It takes a good eye (or two!) for coming up with perceptual shifts. The decision of using two rings as the 'B' is clever one indeed, as a '2-e' works easily as a 'starting point'. The '8-g' cooperates well, too. The 'iJ-0' works better than the 'in-0' but concept-wise, this a clever idea to even attempt, so hats off to you, Ed!

jen hill (usa)

One of the most complex designs we have witnessed thus far: the interlocking rings must have taken tries to get such precision. The rings represent land mass which read 'americas', 'africa', 'europe', 'oceanea' and 'asia'. Not only that, Jen had also included ambigrams for 'Beijing' and '2008' to complete the design. Really like the 'B-g' with the smooth tail.

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Our sincerest thank you to all designers wh0 had contributed a big part to this NAC. And congratulations again to Alessandro. We'll be contacting you soon.
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Salam,

nagfa: naguib & fadilah (singapore)

Salam to all! Just a quick update: for this month's nagfa's ambigram challenge (NAC) - more information: here - we have proposed two themes, surrounding 'Beijing Olympic 2008' and 'Superman'. Visitors and artists alike are encouraged to vote for their favourite designs for each theme. The artist(s) with the most popular designs will be invited as Guest Challengers in future instalments of NAC. The reason for this 'multi-challengers' format - not forgetting Daniel Dostal's upcoming one, too! - is so that instead of only one design proposal, concurrently-run NACs will allow artists with diversed opportunities to hone their ambigram designing skills.

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In the meantime, let us leave you with a quick ambigram depicting the two themes for this month's NAC:

A previous ambigram design depicting Batman and Superman:

s.t.u.c.k.

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Superman's stuck in the phone-booth
The Batmobile's stuck, refusing to move

Spiderman's stuck in the World Wide Web

While the Hulk's still stuck in his chilli crab

Catwoman's stuck cleaning a milk stain

Daredevil's stuck searching for his cane
Wonder Woman's stuck with the Great Sale wives

While Wolverine's stuck selling Ginsu knives

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We're all stuck in mediocrity

Muzzled Lions in this concrete city

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Or circus Lions in iron cages;

Superheroes in comic book pages.

The comic books out of print ages

ago, dog-eared and yellowed images

of sanctioned sedated silenced sages.

nagfa's ambigram challenge (NAC) June 2008

Hi and salam to all,
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Firstly, the not-so-good news:

We understand that most viewers would have been wondering what happened on Saturday, when details of the promised 'special NAC' were not posted. We want to apologize to all who had been waiting patiently that that collaboration fell through. In a nutshell, we - the proposer and nagfa - had discussed how a special NAC could be organized to search for a worthy design logo for his ambigram-related webpage. The winning design would receive a token sum of cash. Nothing was set in concrete, though, as a better, more financialy-sound offer came by and that edition of NAC had to be cancelled. But, let's keep our fingers crossed; it could still happen in future.

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To accommodate for the lull time (we are still waiting for Daniel Dostal's NAC proposal), we would like to post two challenges:

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1) theme: Beijing Olympic 2008

As the Olympic torch only burns only once per leap year, and the ongoing media hype surrounding this controversial instalment of the Olympic reaches fever pitch, we would like to see designs commemorating the event. Designs could be simple ambigrams or reflections. Concept pieces would be nice, too. Or for the more adventurous ones, maybe a symbiotogram with words relating to the Olympic rotating into a witty protest, pessimistic/cynical sentiment... anything.

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2) theme: Superman

The second theme revolves around the superhero with the red speedo. We would love to see symbiotograms relating to him: Clarke Kent, Kryptonite, Lex Luther, Bizarro, red speedo, your own name, perhaps... anything.

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Please submit designs to:

nagfa_ambigram@hotmail.com

hopefully before 25th of July (for allowance for us to compile them before August). Please also include the chosen word for the design, your name (pseudonym allowed), country of origin, and website/blog (if any). *Designers are allowed to send in more than one design/entry...All the best,

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Salam,

Nagfa: Naguib & Fadilah

Singapore

ambigram: Beijing08