Body Type Intimate Messages Etched in Flesh

Body Type is an eye-opening look into the amazingly creative ways that tattoo artists are utilizing typography. Whereas the majority of tattoo art uses images to convey messages, here the message actually is the image. Twenty-six alphabetical characters might not seem like much to work with, but a look through these photographs reveals the contrary. Here are truly unique social commentaries, expressions of love, hilarious examples of biting satire, plus some mottos, intricate logotypes, deeply personal song lyrics, and, of course, those tattoos that exist for one reason only: to shock the hell out of you. The crisp photographs are accompanied by an insightful commentary from renowned graphic designer and typographer Ina Saltz, plus consistently surprising and heartfelt explanations from the tattooed.

Ina Saltz is an art director, designer, writer, and professor whose areas of expertise are typography and magazine design. She’s a regular columnist for STEP Inside Design magazine and writes for other design magazines, including Graphis.