By romeo Rodriguez
The tattooing industry has witnessed the rise and fall of many tattoo design trends since it boomed in popularity in the 20th century. Tattoo buffs’ preferences in designs depend largely on the prevailing public sentiment and cultural subtexts of their time and generation.
Recent years have given birth to a new but steady trend of widely preferred and sought after tattoo designs. This article attempts to narrow down the long list of popular designs into five, with the disclaimer that these are in no way official. This list has been made by virtue of reputation and buzz among tattoo buffs and pros in the industry. As such, they are listed in no particular order:
Tribal Tattoos �" The keywords "tribal tattoos" make up for almost a third of all online tattoo design search requests. The word "tribal" encompasses an extensive range of designs, from the traditional tattoos of indigenous and aboriginal origin, to the neo-tribal styling for the body. Of this genre, Maori tribal designs are all the rage these days.
Kanji �" Kanji is one of the three Japanese scripts for writing. Kanji as a tattoo has its own variety of tattoo designs. It accounts for nearly twenty percent of tattoo design searches. Kanji is a set of ideographic symbols (symbols that represent ideas) developed in China, and is extremely difficult to learn.
Wings �" Wing tattoos are frequently illustrated as angel wings, and as such are filled with inspirational or spiritual symbolism. Depending on the wearer, angel wing tattoo can stand for enlightenment, guidance, and protection. Aside from angel wings, wing tattoos can also use birds as a theme. Bird wing tattoos usually stand for freedom, speed, aspiration, flight, and elevation.
Cross or crosses �" A cross is inherently a religious symbol for the world Christian population. It is a tattoo design that best represents faith, hope, belief, and sacrifice. A cross tattoo design is favored by those who wish to immortalize a deceased family member or friend by inking it one their skin.
Crown �" A crown is essentially a royal insignia. It is an object that speaks powerfully of a ruling monarchy’s power and sovereign authority. As a tattoo design, a crown not only stands for the absolute right of one person to command another, but also a manifestation of an individual's sovereignty over his own life and destiny. Lotus Flower / Water Lily �" The lotus flower and water lily as tattoo designs are as significantly important in the East as the Rose is in the West. In fact, the Lotus and the Rose are the two most powerful of all the flower symbols. The lotus flower is actually a very important figure in the Creation Myths of Indian and China. Gautama Buddha is even told to have risen from the core of a Lotus Blossom. Like the lotus flower, the water lily plays as important a role in ancient Egyptian civilization as the lotus in many Asian cultures.