From a young age, I have been fascinated by puzzles, language, puns and word games. Later in life, this crafty combination morphed into a compulsion to create ambigrams, which are words that can be read from different perspectives — reflected, upside-down, chain links and more.

My first design evolved while studying design at Griffith University. Looking at the logo one day, I could see that the lowercase h could be manipulated to look like the upside-down capital G. From there, I went on to create a colourful, animated collection of words, but I didn’t stop there. With each concept, I dreamt up a unique way to make the intangible designs tangible, which is the part I most enjoy.

Fast forward to 2024 when the Association Typographique Internationale Conference was held at the Meanjin/Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre. They asked for contributors to speak, exhibit and present workshops. They accepted my applications to speak about colour fonts and host my Type Down Under exhibition.

“Tania is hosting her Type Down Under exhibition at Southbank Brisbane during the ATypI conference and invites letter lovers and puzzle pundits to come along and enjoy her colourful collection of brain-benders that challenge you to look at words in new ways.”

The videos above and below show the four sections of exhibits that greeted 250 delegates upon entry. Some swing music on my record player added a little auditory entertainment.