John’s creative passions all involve words and language. A freelance graphic designer from 1975 to the present, specializing in logo design, custom typography, and lettering art (including ambigram design), he began painting words in the mid-1990s. His genetic heritage yielded equal affinities for visual and verbal expression, so the visual treatment of words comes naturally to him. The late 60s provided him with several significant influences: the yin/yang symbol, M.C. Escher, psychedelic lettering, and Herb Lubalin’s highly creative use of conventional typography.

He has produced several series: figure/ground illusions, "rorschach" words, logo parodies, linguistic symmetries, and words made up of layered geometric letters. Symmetry, expressed both overtly and covertly and ambiguity are important sub-themes of most of John’s work.

Wordplay, John’s book of ambigrams and related philosophy was published in 1992. He has also written design criticism, book introductions, and poetry.

John graduated from Dickinson College with a degree in English. He is a self-taught artist. He taught typography courses at Drexel University for 27 years.