People who get tattoos and other body modifications have always been the subject of controversy and stereotyping, but in recent years those old stereotypes have been changing for the better. One common misconception has been that it's just delinquents, sailors, bikers, and criminals who get tattoos. However, there are many other people from all walks of life, including professionals who are well educated and put a lot of thought into these images and words before putting them on their flesh permanently. No where close to being the stereotypical images of skulls and crossbones, hearts, pin-up girls, etc. many tattoo's are conceived with the idea of conveying something much more meaningful. There is a book by Ina Saltz, a renowned graphic designer and typographer titled Body Type, which is an eye-opening look into the truly unique and amazingly creative ways that many tattoo artists are utilizing typography, as opposed to the majority of tattoo art, which uses images to convey messages. This book is about the message actually being the image. From unique social commentaries to intricate logotypes the book covers many types of tattoos. There are commentaries from Ina as well as explanations of the tattoos from the tattooed themselves. It seems the age of just getting a tattoo to get a tattoo has slowly evolved into more of a unique form of human expression. The tattoo recipients and artists, whether knowingly or not, are actually creating their own original typefaces and helping to establish tattooing as an actual form of design.
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