Ambigrams, Logos, Word Art: The Work of John Langdon

“If you love and respect letters enough, they'll let you have your way with them.”
“Words are like rocks. They can be used to build works of cultural significance but also to damage and destroy. They can be arranged into beautiful mosaics. Some words are crystals, naturally possessing an inherent beauty in their sound, their arrangement of letters, or their meanings. Others are like diamonds. Those are rough in immediate appearance, but can, in the hands of a craftsman, be wrought into works of art that sparkle and cast light in unpredictable directions. My mission is to discover and learn from the crystals and to shape the diamonds accordingly.”
“I came and went through the doors of perception so often that they just started leaving them open for me.”
“Someday, everyone in the world will have the same kind of pants.” Serge de Nimes, 1953
“Ambigrams are the hottest trend in typography since Helvetica.” Wired Magazine 4.20.09

10.30.11

This show at the Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, PA will feature paintings from my “mixed symmetries” series, and several of my "rorschach" paintings. In addition to representing my career-long focus on polarization and balance, these two groups are graphically Extreme Opposites.

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05.31.11

Niels "Shoe" Muelman, graffiti and calligraphy artist extraordinaire, opened his new gallery, "UNRULY" Friday night, May 27th, in Amsterdam. That's Niels, in the center of this picture, and right above his head is "WHY", one of several inkblot pieces I contributed to his first exhibition.

Reception: Friday, April 8, 5–8pm

03.30.11

AlwaysbyDesign presents Depth Perception. Paintings, drawings, and constructions by John Langdon. April 8 – May 14.

02.28.11

Tony diSpigna, whose fabulous lettering and type designs were greatly inspiring to me in the 1970s, did me the extreme honor of drawing this exquisite piece of script when my wife Lynn and I visited him in his home in Ischia, Italy last summer. Thank you once again, Tony!

12.12.10

Announcing the sale of John Langdon's first limited edition etching print. For pricing and further information, please contact Sam Heller at sampost@samhellerfineart.com or 773-761-0333. Details here.

12.08.10

Join The John Langdon Fan Page on Facebook for the latest updates.

11.11.10

I designed this totem ambigram for Greg Martellotto in late '09, and both the front and back labels for the bottle.

07.13.10

I recently created this ambigram for John Mayer. See it live and in action.

03.22.10

I’ve excerpted a minute’s worth of footage from Sony’s “This is an Ambigram” – one of the Special Features on the Angels and Demons DVD (and BluRay) – including a bit of my interview, and posted it on the Angels & Demons part of my ambigram page, and on YouTube as well. Check it out!

02.28.10

The Type Directors Club gallery opening on February 4th was well attended and a lot of fun. Here's a photo taken before anyone showed up. Click to enlarge.

Three weeks later I was back at TDC once again. I have admired Tony DiSpigna's incredible, and sometimes outrageous Spencerian script lettering for a very long time. I had the pleasure of meeting Tony at his talk at TDC on February 24th.

My paintings are still on display there through the end of March.

02.08.10

The Society of Typographic Aficionados recently sponsored Font Aid IV, a project uniting the typographic and design communities in raising funds to expedite relief efforts in Haiti. As my contribution to this effort, I created this ampersand as a hope for Haiti's future, when the current cloud of troubles has passed and the sun shines again for the Haitian people. The Society of Typographic Aficionados recently sponsored Font Aid IV, a project uniting the typographic and design communities in raising funds to expedite relief efforts in Haiti. Type designers, graphic designers and other artists from around the world were invited to contribute artwork to be included in a typeface created exclusively for the Font Aid IV effort. The theme of Font Aid IV is “Coming Together” which we will represented though a font consisting entirely of ampersands. Coming Together will be made available for sale through several type distributors, with all proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders. SOTA, a US-based non-profit, is acting as a non-partisan organizing body to help coordinate the effort and ensure all funds are distributed appropriately.

01.10.10

I’ll be showing some of my paintings through February and March at the Type Directors Club gallery (347 West 36 Street, Suite 603, New York City). Three will be from my logo manipulation series, the rest will be from my current series: Mixed Symmetries. There will be a reception on Thursday, February 4, from 6 - 8 pm, during which I’ll talk about my work.

TDC members free
Non-members $20
Student Non-members $15

Painted Words Tainted Logos

11.02.09

I'm introducing a new site, dedicated specifically to the aspect of my work now known, many thanks to Dan Brown, as Symbology. Please have a visit to www.ProfessorLangdon.com.
I hope you enjoy it.

10.16.09

On Thursday, October 29, Nolen Strals and Bruce Willen are hosting a launch party for for their new book, Lettering and Type (which will include a number of my ambigrams) at the Maryland Institute College of Art. “Fan Letters”: As part of the festivities, 26 artists and designers will each make a presentation about a letter of the alphabet. I'll be reading my dramatic poem, “A Brief History of the Letter X,” written especially for this occasion. The event is free and open to the public. Should be fun!

09.27.09

I’ll be one of the featured speakers at Will Shortz’ annual Wordplay Weekend at Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, NY, November 13–15. More information, download the event's program.

09.09.09

Delaware Valley residents: Don't miss this month's issue of ICON magazine!

08.31.09

Typedia is a community-driven website that classifies typefaces. I recently designed its logo and then wrote about the process.

Read the story behind it on Typedia.

Typedia Logotype

08.24.09

Maggie Macnab, Joel Nakamura and John Langdon present a half-day seminar that explores the fascinating relevance of symbolism to effective and engaging visual communications. The seminar takes place at the Santa Fe Complex in Santa Fe, NM, on Saturday, September 19th, 9:00am–12 noon. For more information go to the event's website.