DESIGNING AN AMBIGRAM

ambigram: a word or design that retains meaning when viewed from a different direction or perspective

This is one of those projects that I never saw coming and that low-key became an obsession for a while. 

My friend had a baby named Ellie who was born on September 11, 2019. 9.11.19. 

Around the same time, a wedding program that is an ambigram of the bride and groom’s names came across my Instagram feed. The names read the same right side up and upside down, which I thought was the coolest thing ever. 

Somehow my brain went back to newborn Ellie and I found myself thinking, “an E could totally be a 9. I’m going to make an ambigram of her name and birthday and put it on a pillow.”

Next thing you know, I’m doodling all sorts of Es and 9s and figuring out how to make the name Ellie look like the date 9.11.19. I had little formal graphic design training but a whole lot of blind optimism. I downloaded a free version of Illustrator, imported some photos of my sketches, and managed to figure it out. 

Ellie seemed to like it.