Typographic Tattoos

MY INVOLVEMENT WITH THE WORLD OF TATTOOS began in the most unlikely of ways. I was traveling cross-town on the M86 bus when I spotted an interesting-looking young man with a large text-only tattoo on his right forearm; it spelled out “happy” in a typeface which I instantly recognized as Helvetica. The fact that it was in lower-case letters and so tightly kerned that the letters were touching was especially intriguing to me as a designer and a typophile. I had never seen a tattoo quite like this one—sans serif! Not being in the habit of talking to strangers in New York City, I debated mightily before approaching him…but my curiosity finally got the better of me. “Are you a graphic designer?” I asked. Why, yes, he was. “And would you mind if I took a photo of your tattoo to show my students? I teach typography at City College.” No problem. I whipped out my digital camera and managed to get one shot and to grab his proffered business card before I jumped off at my stop. That evening I uploaded the photo and went to the Web site on his business card to send him the image with a proper thank you message. Imagine my astonishment to find our entire conversation recounted on his blog! As often happens when encountering something new, having seen one typographic tattoo, I now started to see them everywhere (it was August and a lot of skin was visible). Always searching for interesting topics for my column in STEP Inside Design (a professional magazine for graphic designers), I seized upon the notion of documenting this new style of tattoo: unadorned words rather than images. Fortuitously, not far away, a huge tattoo convention was happening that very weekend. I called my editor, who arranged for a press pass.

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The circus-like atmosphere of the tattoo convention was an eye-opening experience for me…a hundred or so people being simultaneously tattooed; electric needles buzzing, almost drowned out by blaring rock music; tattoo competitions on the big stage; and a very eclectic crowd. I had no trouble finding examples of typographic tattoos for my article; in fact, I started to realize that
this typographic tattoo thing was pretty widespread. Even after my article on typographic tattoos was published in the January 2004 issue of STEP Inside Design, I continued to see these tattoos everywhere: I seemed to have developed a “third eye” for these marks and an instinct for who might have one. If I saw any evidence of a tattoo, or I thought someone just might have one, I no longer hesitated to approach them: in fact, I became quite brazen! Almost all were eager to show me their tattoos, and lost no time in exposing various body parts to give me a close-up look (however inappropriate that might have been at the moment). Wherever I went (to a party, to the beach, to an opening or some other professional event) I discovered a typographic tattoo or someone who knew someone who had one. At the same time, there appeared to be a hyperactive public and media awareness of the tattoo world: two nationwide reality television series about tattoos debuted almost simultaneously; new upscale tattoo Web sites proliferated; and a glossy and luxe tattoo magazine, Inked, packed with high end advertising, launched its premiere issue. The timing seemed right for my very specialized look at typographic tattoos.
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As I began to attend other tattoo conventions and follow the tattoo subculture, I noticed certain patterns. Most of the people I photographed were young, had gotten their tattoos recently, were educated in or already practicing in the creative arts, and were quite well-informed about their choice of typestyle. This was a newly defined stratum of the tattooed. These affluent, culturally aware, sophisticated, and highly educated young people were choosing to adorn themselves with tattoos consisting of typographic messages rather than imagery. Increasingly, the typography of the tattoo became the image itself. The words serve as a literal text as well as figurative art, revealing intimate beliefs, life’s challenges, and value systems.
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The texts of the tattoos were not at all what I expected; there were literary passages, poetry—even Shakespeare and Dante. Words have power. Words are precise and specific. That is one reason why so many of the newly tattooed have chosen to express their most deeply felt beliefs in the form of text. Words of devotion, words of defiance, words of pain, words of love…all are expressions of inner emotions made visible (and readable) on skin. Whether borrowed from literature, poetry, song lyrics, prayers, motivational phrases, names of loved ones, or popular culture, words in all their glorious forms serve as inspiration for tattoos created out of letterforms. Adding fuel to this trend is the fact that many younger tattoo artists are often design school grads with a broad knowledge of  typographic choices. They have studied letterforms, and have been trained in the nuances of letter design. Both the tattooed and those tattooing them are responding to our visually driven culture. Patrons of tattoo parlors, sensitized to the differences amongst various typefaces by the availability of many fonts on their computers as well as by our highly graphic and typographic ubiquitous daily media experiences, often design their own messages. They understand the implications of their choice of lettering style—the forms of the letters themselves have the power to amplify the meaning of the text. The typographic tattoo trend described is also being driven in part by the new elite: celebrities in the world of sports, film, modeling, and music who have gotten “message” tattoos and made them even more socially acceptable. These boldface names include Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, David Beckham, Eminem, Christina Aguilera, Lindsay Lohan, Diddy, Jon Bon Jovi, Nelly, Charlie Sheen, Tommy Lee, Melanie Griffith, Pink, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kanye West, Sean Penn, Dennis Rodman, and almost every player in the NBA. It became clear that the people who were getting these typographic tattoos were quite different from those who were traditionally associated with tattooing. I was surprised to find that no one had yet documented this trend. Having a lifelong passion for and involvement in the design and use of letterforms, I thought that a lengthy exploration of this phenomenon would be a worthy undertaking. Perhaps a bit of background would now be in order.
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I WAS A VERY EARLY AND AVID READER. I remember being fascinated by the letter forms themselves as far back as second grade, where I often daydreamed while gazing above my teacher’s head at the lowercase and uppercase letters of the alphabet displayed atop the blackboard: aA bB cC, etc. I loved making up stories about each of these letters, which seemed to have distinct personalities and lives. For example, the capital B was a buxom lady carrying a bag of groceries. The capital letter I was a soldier, standing at attention. At age ten or eleven, somehow I acquired a broad-edged dip pen and some ink, and I loved to doodle with it, making shapes that had thick and thin strokes by holding the broad edge of the pen at different angles. I didn’t know until my first year of art school, at age sixteen, that the broad-edged pen was the classic tool used to create letterforms. Calligraphy (from the Greek, kalli graphos, or “beautiful writing”) was a required course at Cooper Union, where I was finally properly instructed in the techniques of letter-making…it was an art form that I hadn’t known existed, and it quickly became my favorite form of artistic expression. I loved letterforms as an artist because they were beautiful images in their own right. I loved letterforms as a reader because they made words and sentences, they conveyed meaning and they were the instruments which “embodied thought”…what could be better? Our letters had a grand and glorious history; without them, how could civilization progress? My calligraphy teacher, Don Kunz, only allowed us to write “important” texts, as our calligraphic efforts were worthy of nothing less. He taught us that by studying the interconnected shapes of the letterforms we could learn universal principles of art, principles that applied to every artistic field: balance, harmony, rhythm.
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So it is not surprising that I gravitated toward a career which allowed me to express my talents using letterforms (or typography) as a major creative tool: editorial design. For over twenty years, I worked in some pretty intellectually heady environments, as a “visual journalist,” that is, as a magazine design director, whose job it was to amplify and clarify the meaning of the written word for the reader, using type and image. Also, while still in my twenties, I was elected President of the Society of Scribes, a calligraphic organization whose members nationwide numbered more than two thousand at one point. From 1976 until 1996, I taught calligraphy to adults in Cooper Union’s Extended Studies evening program, and I continued to practice calligraphy, doing many personal and professional projects.
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FAST FORWARD to August, 2003, the time of my encounter on the cross-town bus. By now, I had become a full-time professor of design, a design writer, and a frequent speaker at design and publishing conferences. My interest in that Helvetica tattoo was purely academic at that point, but I could not have foreseen how this tattoo would alter the course of my life.
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What began as a simple act snowballed into a book, the first to exclusively document the phenomenon of typographic tattoos. Although I had initially planned to write about the history and appropriateness of the letterforms used to convey a particular message, (which is why I chose to include only Latin letterforms) I found myself drawn to the stories behind the tattoos, the individual and unique motivations for making such a permanent commitment. Ultimately these stories dictated the structure of the book, divided by the themes of the tattoos: love and self-love, religion and politics, homage, celebration or exorcism, memorialization, exhortation, and remembrance. I decided the stories behind the tattoos needed to be told in order to understand why people chose to put themselves through the pain and suffering that even the simplest tattoos require.
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Interviewing my subjects, I discovered that their reasons for getting tattooed ranged from whimsical and impulsive to profound and deeply considered. Some tattoos were motivated by personal tragedy; others by joy. Whether tattoos were obtained to excise personal demons or to mark a rite of passage, these personal revelations fascinated me, and so the book became a different journey from the one I had expected. These narratives aroused my sympathy and compassion, subsuming my original intention simply to analyze typographic forms. Certainly, the process of producing “Body Type: Intimate Messages Etched in Flesh,” (Abrams Image, 2006), transformed my sensibilities, dispelled many of my stereotypical notions, altered the ways in which I interacted with others, and sparked insights about the human condition.
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I brought these stories and body art to light so that readers might consider their own beliefs and power to transform their bodies, souls, and perhaps even the world around them. Interestingly, a number of my subjects, who often were the first in their families to get a tattoo, thanked me for legitimizing their choice of expression through my work, for making it more acceptable within their familial or societal circle. Tattoos may be more mainstream than ever before, but in some segments of society they still carry a stigma. I often find myself proselytizing (for lack of a better word), trying to convince people that, indeed, tattoos can be, and, increasingly, are, intellectual, literary and “highbrow.”
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“Body Type” is currently in its third printing and has turned out to be a cult hit, especially amongst designers and type aficionados worldwide, and keeps popping up in many design blogs. I regularly receive fan mail and photos sent to me from all corners of the globe (the latest is from Tasmania). I hear about “Body Type” sightings in far-flung international bookstores as well as all the major chains and specialty bookstores, and Urban Outfitters chose to feature it in their 100 stores nationwide. Since “Body Type” was published, I have been interviewed on Access Hollywood, Fox News and CBS News, among others. “Body Type” has been recognized by the New York Public Library and the American Library Association, which both recommend it for young adult readers. I have had two shows of my photography from “Body Type,” accompanied by a great deal of newspaper and magazine publicity. I have judged tattoo competitions, and Inked magazine has published a six page story on my continuing work on “Body Type,” Volume Two. So I have become inextricably linked to the tattoo world, and I am continuing to collect typographic tattoos for the second volume of “Body Type,” which will be published in 2009. It is amazing how many wonderful typographic tattoos continue to find their way to me!

Ideology Body Modification - Tattoo

This presentation will look at how this phenomenon has been addressed by individuals within the modded (i.e., modified) community. The explanations and justifications cited by members of this community to define, explain, defend, or laud their practices can be considered ideologies. An ideology is a worldview, a component of an individual or a group identity, a way of defining in-group and out-group, and a way of dealing with crises that confront matters of identity. Yet, an ideology also has the following components: it is articulated, conflictual, subjective, and public. In what follows, my intention is to explore how people with post-modified bodies1 strategically use their modifications in discourse; and to investigate how modification ideologies function. My intention is not to define a single and coherent ideology that can be applied to every modified person in the world, rather I will explore how some individuals within the on and off line community of www.bmezine.com (or the Body Modification ezine) use their modded identification in times of crisis. I say on and off line because although much of this community is virtual there is a good amount of these people that hang out together offline.

Much of this is evidenced on BME members’ IAM or personal membership pages and also in the proliferation of many local BME inspired events that range from ritual flesh-hook suspensions to bbqs and parties. It is also worth noting that the subjects of this presentation are either from the U.S. or Canada. I chose the examples used in this paper because they use themes that are common in the BME community and because I think they offer up interesting points of entry in considering the larger body-art modification community. For a thorough discussion of the post-modified body see Matthew C. Lodder’s web page to download a copy of his master’s thesis “The Post-Modified Body: Invasive Corporeal Transformation and its Effects on Subjective Identity: http://iam.bmezine.com/?volatile. In addition to the coining of the helpful phrase “post- modified body,” Lodder diligently and insightfully explores modification on its own terms as a personal choice, rather than as an indication of social malaise or personal pathology. This allows for an interesting analysis of the self, identity, and the body.


Ideology has several definitions and uses. This presentation relies heavily on sociologist Ann Swidler’s definition of ideology in her book Talk of Love: How Culture Matters, which explores how people use different cultural scripts or metaphors for their love relationships and how such usage alters in times of crisis. Swidler views ideology as a specific modality of culture in relation to empowerment (95). So before defining ideology, it will be necessary to briefly describe what she means by culture. Culture, for Swidler, is made up of the following: “[t]rained capacities to think and feel”; it helps to “internalize skills, styles, and habits”; it is used “to delineate group boundaries”; and “offers ideas and images that constitute a view of the world” (73-75). Most importantly is how culture works. The model she proposes is the “‘identity’ model. The fundamental notion is that people develop lines of action2 based on who they already 2 A line or strategy of action is best understood by reference to Swidler’s notion of culture as a repertoire or toolbox. In other words, it’s the culture one has internalized and uses in approaching everyday situations think they are” (87). This is of utmost importance in a discussion of body modification as an ideology. Especially, if we consider what has been said of postmodern identity as plastic and reflexive, no longer is identity ascribed, it is achieved or chosen. This makes for a more self-conscious sense of identity. The collective culture of body modification is loose and difficult to pin down, at times. Rather than offering up some systematic worldview, the general subculture revolves around identification. Since a self-identified and coherent culture of an explicitly named and self-referential “modified culture” is emerging (somewhere between parallel and collective behavior, see Bainbridge, p. 368-369), but not necessarily formalized and organized politically—in comparison to black, queer, or feminist culture, for example—the most obvious cultural marker is the modified body. Although, it can be argued that sub-groups within the larger modified body phenomena are clearly defined and self-aware: e.g., modern primitives. This lack of formalization—or status as an organized social movement—makes their subcultural identity of central importance, especially when that identity is put into question, or is used explicitly to pathologize one’s cultural or personal experience. Broadly speaking, Swidler likens ideology to a worldview. More specifically, she uses it in contrast to the terms of common sense and tradition. “An ideology is an articulated, self-conscious belief and ritual system, aspiring to offer a unified answer to problems of social action” (96). However, we must not be misled by the term system. It should not be understood so much as a logically consistent model—even Swidler admits Such as internalizing the concept of time, without such a cultural notion, how would one be able to navigate the corporate, 9-5 culture?; Lines of action are “ways actors routinely go about attaining their goals. … Culture affects action by shaping that repertoire of routine, natural styles, skills, and habits that together organize and sustain a strategy [i.e., line] of action” (82).

Instead, we might consider it to be a set or collection of cultural signs that become a “unified answer” when engaged. Ideologies (especially, subcultural ones) are less coherent in themselves than made coherent as a result of being engaged around specific identity issues or power struggles. In her essay “Culture in Action” Swidler notes of ideologies that “rather than providing the underlying assumptions of an entire way of life, they make explicit demands in a contested cultural arena” (279). Underlying assumptions are left primarily to common sense and tradition. Common sense is “unselfconscious as to seem a natural … part … of the world;” and tradition presents itself as “fixed” and an “expected [part] of life” that “establish[es] expected forms of conduct, even when people consciously feel quite disaffected from those traditions” (96). For Swidler, then, ideology is not only an articulated system of signs, but also a self-awareness that coheres around a specific social problem. Her definition also implies an oppositional nature because it is contrasted with common sense, which Swidler derives from hegemony or the “dominant conception of the world” (94-95). However, she does little to infuse an explicit notion of conflict within her definition of ideology. Conflict will be important to our discussion, however, because it fosters a sense of crisis, which is needed to in order to help create the social space necessary to engage ideology. In An Introduction to Ideology, Marxist and critical theorist Terry Eagleton examines the origins of the term ideology and how it has been used in various ways since its springing forth from the head of Enlightenment thinker and French revolutionary Antoine Destutt de Tracy while imprisoned during the Reign of Terror. Eagleton addresses such a lack of conflict in the sociological use of ideology. Although, he agrees with the sociological point of view that ideology “provides the ‘cement’ of a social formation … which orients its agents to action” he emphasizes that such a usage “too often [has a] depoliticizing … effect, voiding the concept of ideology of conflict and contradiction” (222). Eagleton’s insight and analysis of the many faces of ideology will be helpful here. In addition to emphasizing conflict, Eagleton notes other necessary characteristics of ideology: it is subject and action oriented, universalizing, and naturalizing. Subjective is not to be considered synonymous with private. Ideology is subjective in that it is “subject-centered” or identity-based. The utterances “are to be deciphered as expressive of a speaker’s attitudes or lived relations to the world” or the dominant culture (Eagleton, 19). This could be considered an engaged subjectivity.

This quality of engagement points to the universalizing or “making public” quality of ideology. Universalizing, Eagleton explains, is the processes of making “values and interests which are … specific to a certain place and time” and projecting these onto “the values and interests of all humanity” (Eagleton, 56). I would like to nuance this term a bit, especially the “all humanity” part. First and foremost it is the tendency to engage the public. The immediate public, at times, may also be the lived world or universe, so that it could be considered “all humanity” as far as the subject is concerned. Secondly, the scope of the engagement will necessarily expand past the specific place, time, and individual because it is engaging the values and interests of the dominant society. A consequence of engaging the lived world is the tendency for proponents of an ideology to naturalize their interests. Naturalizing is an attempt “to identify [beliefs and interests] with the ‘common sense’ of a society so that nobody could imagine how they might ever be different” (Eagleton, 58). For purposes of this presentation, naturalizing has less to do with completely supplanting existing notions of what is considered natural or God given, than a re-alignment or re-framing of pre-existing notions of what is natural. The most important consequence of all these characteristics is that they are necessarily action-oriented. In Eagleton’s words ideological discourses “must be translatable … into a ‘practical’ state, capable of furnishing their adherents with goals, motivations, prescriptions, imperatives, and so on” (47). This action oriented-ness is also implied in Swidler’s reference to culture as influencing a person’s line of action by providing certain cultural tools, which incidentally shape what kind or type of action is possible. Finally, it is important to return to one of the points Swidler has made about ideology: that it is “articulated” or uttered. Swidler studies how people talk or articulate their positions on love and marriage. Beyond this talk, though, she also has a lengthy section on semiotic codes.3 Her description mostly revolves around behavior. Her study, taken as a whole, then, would tend to look at articulation as something both verbal and non-verbal (i.e., bodily or behavioral)4. Eagleton describes the discourse aspect of ideology as follows: Ideology is a matter of ‘discourse’ rather than of [mere] ‘language’ … It represents the points where power impacts upon certain utterances and inscribes itself tacitly within them. … the concept of ideology aims to disclose something of the relation between an utterance and its material conditions of possibility, when those conditions of possibility are viewed in the light of certain power-struggles central to the reproduction … of a whole form of social life” (223).

3 “A semiotic code is a self-referential system of meanings in which each element in the system takes its meaning not from its inherent properties or from some external referent, but from the meanings created by the code itself” (Swidler, 162). [e.g. normative gender: people are assigned gender based on genitalia and expected to act as either male or female and all action is understood within this framework , as well.]

4 In the book Semiotics for Beginners published both online and in print Daniel Chandler, lecturer in Dept. of Theatre, Film, and Television Studies at University of Wales, Aberystwyth, breaks semiotic social codes into the following categories: verbal, bodily, commodity, and behavioral.

Eagleton’s description of the discourse or articulation of ideology gets to the center of the conflictual aspect of ideology: power-struggle. This points to the understanding that discourses and semiotic codes are social constructs that constrain and facilitate power by defining proper and improper action. Considering these characteristics: ideology (especially an emergent subcultural one) is an identity-based and centered, self consciously chosen use of culture that articulates an active and conflictual engagement of the dominant culture. Although, this definition is useful, it is seemingly static. In other words, it seems that ideology is somehow always “on” or always on the tip of a subject’s tongue. It is necessary, then, to return to Swidler in order to nuance the function of ideology and view it as something that is turned “on” or engaged at certain times while turned “off” or not engaged at others. Swidler talks of settled and unsettled lives (personal) and periods (social). Her point is that “we cannot look to the characteristics of the ideology alone for a full understanding of its causal significance” (103). Rather, she wants to draw our attention to the greater social context. She posits that ideologies tend to be engaged in times of crisis. I want to extend her argument to include that the reality of unsettled times and crises is grounded primarily in the perception of individuals or groups, rather than primarily in material reality (Smith, 1998; for subcultural perception of outside threat p. 152; for perceptions and beliefs being “real in their consequences” p. 173). For material reality always needs to be perceived or interpreted in order to be understood. Perception is the lived experience of material reality and cannot be thought of in terms of being unreal and thus degraded as false (Eagleton, 22). So, it is exactly with this understanding of unsettled times or unsettling experiences both perceived and material that ideologies as defined above become engaged. That ideologies are self-conscious and articulated points to the interdependence between one’s identity and ideology. It is exactly over issues of identity and the body that body modification is engaged as an ideology in the larger Western context.

Identity is a common theme in the articles on BMEzine. There are many reader editorials that discuss crises that develop when their modifications confront social norms or vice versa. In one posting, a soon-to-be-modded high school student is annoyed and perplexed by his school’s policy, which mandates that bandages be worn over all facial piercings if students wish to avoid expulsion: [E]verybody has the right to do what they wish to their body. A nose ring should not affect anybody’s rights to anything. A tattoo should not have an affect [sic] on your future. By suspending and expelling our children from school due to their modifications, we are telling them that … they must change their appearance and look more “normal” to satisfy others, and not themselves. We, the students, do have ONE weapon,. This is a new act passed by Congress regarding freedom of expression in the form of things such as clothing, piercings, etc. The second is the good old First Amendment [or freedom of speech]. There are many things that make this excerpt interesting. One is that the student is identifying with the modded community even though he is not yet modded. This quality, if isolated, speaks to the power of identity within the body modification community. Within the framework set forth in this paper, it is evident that this student responded ideologically toward this attack on modified students. The student clearly articulates, an oppositional, subjective-engagement of dominant culture and attempts to naturalize body modification with rights language. For example, he states that “[E]verybody has the right to do what they wish to their body,” as well as a direct reference to the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights.
Suddenly, this issue is not just about an individual or a group of students at a specific school, but about the rights of an entire populace organized or cohering around the issue of body modification. As an emergent ideology, body modification must still rely on the language of common sense and other traditions. The student borrows heavily from rights language and from the common-sense adage that people should be themselves. (Consider Carl Elliott’s references to scripts of authenticity yesterday.) This student’s articulation of a body modification ideology came about because the subject’s lived world (i.e., school) became hostile to his desire to become modified. This example represents how ideologies are engaged in unsettled times.

Why Get yourself a New Tattoo?

Everyone’s looked at tattoos of varied designs, types, colors, forms and patterns. Apart from the proven fact that tattoo designs are fairly easy to remove through laser treatment, medical procedures along with other techniques, they’re somewhat permanent. Many individuals have rather particular reasons behind these types of long term markings plus some have experiences and stories behind every one.

One particular reason behind a normal tattoo is merely for appearance. The tattoo design might be one which looks like one particular seen on some sort of celeb. It can also be a style that’s just satisfying on the eye.  Possibly the tattoo design features vibrant colours or even cool patterns which appeal to a person’s eye. Appearances are certainly one typical reason behind numerous tattoos.

One more reason why 1 may get a new tattoo can be as some sort of memorial. Close friends as well as loved ones who’ve passed on in many cases are memorialized via tattoos. These types of memorials will also be frequently made in the memory of your particular celeb.  These may be created with flowers, crosses or any other patterns and also dates of birth and also death. They could include specific phrases which were important to the departed.  They could also include complex tattoo designs which are replicated off a real picture.

Kids and also relationships really are a popular reason behind having a tat. Hundreds of thousands could have tattoo designs created incorporating a kid’s, partner’s or even lover’s name.  Typically a lot of these will likely be combined with additional designs like flowers, butterflies, patterns and also similarities.  Kisses, stars and also writing words tend to be found on partner or companion name tattoos.

Many individuals are going to have body art created in order to honor particular occasions experienced throughout their lives.  Achievements, trying times along with other special occasions in many cases are exhibited as a life time reminder of some important period in someone’s life.

Tattoos additionally symbolize religious status for a lot of societies.  They may additionally be considered a symbol regarding social position.  A few social organizations are notable for particular tattoo designs which may need a fellow member to obtain exactly the same.  Other people are notable for getting tattoos generally, no matter their particular styles.

Showing uniqueness and also individuality in many cases are the most typical reasons behind having a tattoo design.  If an individual likes butterflies, they may obtain a individual tattoo or even several tattoo designs showing off butterflies.  If one more likes a specific area by which they’re employed, they may have got body art symbolizing the things they’re doing as a living.

There are more methods to look at showing individuality by tattoo designs, however. A lot of tattoos are created to reveal traditions. Historic symbols which are linked to the history of a lot of civilizations in many cases are exhibited upon those people who are of a specific culture’s decent. For instance, somebody of Irish decent might select a tattoo design showing the Claddaugh design and style whilst another with Egyptian decent may well favor one just like ancient ancestors and forefathers. On another hand, many select styles similar to particular cultures exclusively for aesthetics.

No matter where you would like to have your own tattoo design applied on your body or even the place you have the treatment carried out, you need to realize the reason why you really would like this tattoo, tats are everlasting. Getting a new tattoo design designed for the appropriate reasons, and also good reasons which are genuinely important to you will certainly increase the satisfaction of the tatoo design for countless years.