Inversions (Paperback)

~ (Author) "I IKE MOST BOOKS, this book is made of words..." (more)
Key Phrases: copying rule, reflective symmetry, one other letter, Basic Variations (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Scott Kim's Inversions ... is one of the most astonishing and delightful books ever printed."
- Martin Gardner, Scientific American --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Word Designs Demonstrate Symmetry Introduce your students to the basic concepts of symmetry with more than 60 mind-boggling lettering designs by Scott Kim, whom Isaac Asimov called "the Escher of the alphabet." Each word in Inversions exhibits striking geometrical symmetry. For instance, the word mirror is written with reflectional symmetry; symmetry reads the same upside down; and infinity spirals off to infinity. The accompanying essays connect mathematics and symmetry with art, psychology, and music. One of the sections shows students how to create their own inversions.

Product Details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: Key Curriculum; 1 edition (December 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559532807
• ISBN-13: 978-1559532808
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #507,327 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for unique typographical posibilities, August 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Inversions (Paperback)

I think that every graphitti artist should read this book before defacing a wall. It was written by the designer of the logo for Sun Microsystems and a few others. It is a really facinating book, it shows you how to think the same way as the author, and how to design text that can be read as one word right-side up, and as another up-side down. I highly recommend it.

Darius

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring letters, October 4, 2005

By	Bruce A. Dunn "Ebonic Plague" (Aurora, CO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Inversions: Catalogue of Calligraphic Cartwheels (Paperback)

I can't stop looking at this book. I already used his concepts to do the alphabetic origami that he does so well for friends and family. Then I actually read the text (side irony: I was too involved in looking at the words to read) and the ideas he gives are great food for thought. Delicious in fact.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Yes except for the Sun logo!, April 16, 2004

By	Stephen E. Witham "aka Mac-Guyver" (Somerville, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this book after reading Douglas Hofstadter's GEB. I liked it a lot; I'm the type who fiddles with logos and word- and letter-forms a lot.

The Sun Microsystems logo is a well-known "inversion" that Scott Kim didn't make. I even tried to congratulate him on it once. It's by Vaughn Pratt.

Kim, according to a comment on his web site, did the original Silicon Graphics (SGI) logo.