Based on the system by Lynne Kelly from Memory Craft
Name Decoder
Type any name and see the full creature chain — every letter pair becomes a creature
Type a name above to decode it
How does this work?
Every name starts with one or two letters. This bestiary assigns a vivid creature or image to each combination. When you need to remember a name, you picture that creature interacting with the person or concept — and the creature leads you back to the name.
The Visual Alphabet covers single letters (useful for a quick first-letter anchor). The Bestiary covers two-letter combinations — far more precise, and usually all you need to recall the full name.
Fibonacci → Fi = Fish
The first two letters are Fi → Fish
Picture a fish swimming through a spiral of golden numbers...
Otlet → Ot = Otter
The first two letters are Ot → Otter
An otter organising index cards with its paws at a telegraph machine...
Dunbar → Du = Duck
The first two letters are Du → Duck
A duck trying to keep track of 150 friends around a fire pit...
Living Example — Mark's Gospel in a Room
Imagine a quiet stone room — perhaps a first-century house in Galilee. Four walls, four diorama boxes on each wall, sixteen boxes in all — one for each chapter of Mark's Gospel. You walk in through the door and turn left. Each box is sealed with a small glass window. Click a box to open it and see the bestiary creature inside, acting out the chapter's key event. The creature's first two letters lead you back to the keyword — and the keyword unlocks the whole chapter.
North Wall — Chapters 1–4
East Wall — Chapters 5–8
South Wall — Chapters 9–12
West Wall — Chapters 13–16
0 of 16 boxes opened — click any box to begin
Reveal All Boxes
Visual Alphabet
26 single-letter anchors — one creature per letter of the alphabet
The Bestiary
Two-letter combinations — the precise system for encoding names