Tattoos Designed to Degrade

I’ve been thinking about getting a tatoo lately so I’ve been doing some informal research and asking friends what they like and don’t like about their tattoos, and I’ve been thinking about one idea in particular.

What would a tattoo that was designed to get better with time be like?

Sounds like over time tattoos bleed, get fuzzy and fade from a crisp graphic image to something more “worn in”. How would you design a tatto that was made to age well and degrade gracefully? In the same way that good vintage clothes are more beautiful over time (think a worn in leather jacket) how could we design a tattoo that wears well?

Considerations:

1. The way skin changes and ages, sags and wrinkles
2. The nature of ink under skin bleeding
3. The natural fading of tattoo ink
4. The way a design shifts with body movement

Sketches to follow…*