ABC tattoo letters

A tattoo lettering design, just like with any fad that has skyrocketed to worldwide frenzy, can turn into a tattoo disaster when done with haste and without any study.

Some people who are anxious to go with the flow of a popular trend might just jump the gun and get one done. Often times these tattoo rushers end up bursting with regret because the design is poorly researched, misspelled, taken out of context, or inked incorrectly.

3D tattoos Lettering

To avoid being stuck with a tattoo lettering design that makes you cringe whenever you see it, bear in mind the following crucial elements of a suitable tattoo lettering design. It wouldn't hurt to read and follow the criteria if the risk is ending up as the subject of a tattoo horror story.

The text of tattoo lettering must mean something to you

Tattoo lettering is all about identity symbolism and expression. As such, the design must serve as a manifestation of how you view yourself and what you value most in your life. Because of their very personal nature, tattoo lettering designs usually spell out a name, an important date, a belief, a cause, or some other meaningful phrase.

Images of lettering tattoos design 2013

The language of choice should be able to translate your intended meaning

Language barriers within the tattooing world have long since evaporated due to global aesthetic appreciation of the tattoo art in different cultures. One of the results is the worldwide practice of using foreign languages instead of your native tongue in a tattoo lettering design.

It might be because you appreciate the visual allure of a foreign calligraphy, or because the mythology and mysticism of a strange culture that is absent in your own appeals to you. It might also be a combination of both. Regardless of the reasons behind your choice of language, one thing is critical: the foreign language must be able to translate the context of your word or phrase correctly.

No two languages can be so alike that every concept can be worded the same way. There are even languages that are so incompatible that one word may not even have a remotely related equivalent translation into the other. For instance, a tattoo lettering design that should read "Big Daddy" is inked in Japanese characters, and ends up as "Large Father."

Ambigram Lettering FONT Tattoo design

The size and location of the tattoo should be suitable to the design

This applies to every tattoo design, but it is particularly important with tattoo lettering because the size and location of the tattoo affect the readability of the word / phrase. This is made more complicated by the inevitable bleeding of the tattoo ink over time.

So when choosing a tattoo lettering design, make sure that it is of readable size, the lines are somewhat thickly inked and well-spaced. This would make your tattoo lettering design understandable even after ten years when the skin unavoidably loosens and sags. You should get some professional advice from your artist on the size and location that best suit your tattoo lettering design.