Logo/Ambigram Design: FLIPNY Clothing Corporation (Prospective Work)

Recently, I was contacted by FLIPNY Clothing Corporation regarding developing ambigrams for them which will be used as their logo and integrated as shirt designs. They have been doing some research about ambigrams/inversions and came across my work and designs. They were quite impressed with my concepts/designs and were interested in acquiring some commissioned work. Naturally, I was interested in this potential project, as this combines my current creative passions: making logos, ambigrams and t-shirt designs.

This is prospective work, so I have to submit proposals first before they can commit to the project. Prospection helps the client decide whether the work initially fits the requirements for their project. For freelance graphic designers, prospection by clients can be very risky. You turn in your work first or previews of it, and hope it gets the "go" signal. I have been scammed before by potential clients, who used my "good as final" work without paying for them (even used it as an example for other artists to reference to!). But that's part of freelance designing.

FLIPNY is a clothing company that truly embodies the heart and soul of New York City and distributes it to the rest of the world. I found their company concept intriguing: "New York is not a City. New York isn’t even a State. New York is a lifestyle. A lifestyle that can’t be experienced by walking through Times Square or by visiting Rockefeller Center to check out the tree. It can’t be felt by shopping on 5th Ave or wining and dining in Tribeca. Only those that are most intimate with the city can truly see, hear and feel New York...The New York that they can feel as the FLIPNY logo burns on their chest and echoes through their head." I love New York. My 2 weeks stay before in that lovely city somehow gave me an experience of that lifestyle. In fact, if I ever get the chance to reside in the United States in the future, New York will be my place.

The image above shows their original logo. I was also supplied with previews of their current designs. So far, I have 2 distinct concepts, each one investing on the main company name "FLIPNY". These are just pencil sketches of the ambigram logos, but I think they are legible enough to get the message across.

Concept 1: Classic Gothic Style

I like this concept as this design offers a huge number of possibilities for shirt designs. The style uses classic Old-school lettering, similar to the "Angel & Demons" ambigrams. I added a little twist to the font, making it reminiscent of old New York pub or baseball team slogans. The design forms one word but effectively separates the name into its basic word components mainly "FLIP" and "NY". Here's the scanned image of Concept 1:

This will look cool as a tag or embroidered/printed at the nape or lower part of the shirt. Also, this looks like a logical evolution of their present logo, as the style is not so different. It adds a new dimension to the name, as the design can actually be "flipped" being an ambigram. I think it will work well and stand noticeable among logos of established T-shirt companies. I made small sketches of possible T-shirt designs using this as base design (sorry for the lack of details, but these are fast sketches). In this concept, the NY city skyline can be placed on top of swirl of the "F" (or below the "Y" in the inversion). The Statue of Liberty torch can be superimposed on the stem of the "F" (or "Y" in the inversion). These graphics are integrated effectively as part of the main ambigram, so they will also be inverted along with the main text.

Of course, this is just a sample shirt design, as the graphic component of the design can be modified/replaced in unlimited ways. I am thinking of using other NY icons such as the Yellow Cab, Empire State, Rockefeller statue... images of daily NY life, such as hotdog stands, NY bystanders, speed bikers, office workers, skateboarders, etc. The potentials for design are endless, and can cater to almost any market.

Concept 2: Modern/Hip(Hop)/Hi-Tek

Using a more modern font for the "solution", this like the first version also offers numerous possibilities for shirt designs. As this is more modern in approach, I think this will cater more effectively to the younger, sophisticated market. Here's the scan of Concept 2:

Here's a treatment of Concept 2 as a t-shirt design, this time, framing the logo with stylized illustrations of the NY skyline, and then highlighted with the Rockefeller Center statue. Of course, potential graphic components used will be endless, but I think for this version, geometric and linear graphic designs are more appropriate.

I think I made very interesting concepts that will surely make the company name stand out, even among established T-shirt giants. These two designs are definitely eye-catching and memorable. Hopefully, these proposals get the "go signal" an see the next stage in development.

Images copyright 2007 Rev Creations