It’s insane how vast the internet is and how much amazing design just simply goes unnoticed!

Check out the Ampersandampersand page, which is dedicated entirely to the most legendary ampersand designs. That’s the symbol for “and”….sigh, ok this one dudes “&”.

I stumbled across this really awesome Tumblr page  a few days ago & was really excited.
Firstly because I am an avid fan of all things typography and secondly because the ampersand has always been my favourite logogram!
Anybody who is type obsessed like me will know just how crazy we can seem to ‘normal people’.
I don’t even know how often I have ranted on about how a font should or shouldn’t be used to one of my hapless friends. The response I usually end up receiving is an exasperated head shake, or eye-roll!

This is truly such a beautiful symbol! The curves of the ampersand have amazing natural flow, which gives typography artists ample fertile ground to go wild & create awe-inspiring designs.
Sheesh, I make it sound like we are painting some curvaceous model here.

I have gone through the entire list on Ampersandampersand & have come up with my TOP 3 (left to right): Camera, Akzidenz Grotesk Condensed Light & Gill Sans Mt Bold Italic

Sadly the Ampersandampersand project of putting together 365 of the sexiest most super-uber ampersand designs has come to an end. Well actually, it ended in December 2010…so almost a year ago now. This is why I said that it was insane how much awesome design goes “unnoticed”. I feel like the rabbit from Alice in Wonderland..."I'm late I'm late I'm late".
Sorry ;)

The awesome ampersand was in danger of falling in to disuse in more recent times, because of changes in sentence structure it is rarely seen in written paragraphs. Honestly, these days, it’s primarily used for formal business names, eg: Duncs & Duncs.

The saving grace of the ampersand has actually come from increased global internet use!

Who would have thought that the digital environment would be the saviour for any form of traditional typography!
This is strangely ironic, considering that digital writing forms, such as, text messaging (SMS) for mobile phones and micro-messages on platforms like Twitter, are slowly leading to a degeneration of the written word.

Well, while I say “degeneration”, there are many new-age type gurus who think that the transformation of text into a minimal form is actually an evolution!
Sorry, but I am not completely sold on this idea. I think there is a place for shortened text, such as with the online world, but we must not become lazy & let this tact start to affect our day-to-day writing. There is often quite a mountain of info which is simply lost in translation when you begin to ‘cut corners’.

The ampersand is surely here to stay! When I’m writing blogs, creating online copy, or simply sending a text to a friend, the trusty ampersand comes in very handy when optimizing space. The Twitter users out there will probably nod in unison at this remark…or those who pay dearly per SMS.

Not enough Ampersand awesomeness for you? Here are a few more places you can check out to well and truly sate that thirst:

1. Ode to Ampersand - Design Shack
2. The Ampersand - Gosedesign
3. Ampersands With Attitude - Smashing Magazine
4. The Mesmerizing Curves of Ampersands - The Design Cubicle

What are your favourite ampersand designs? Choose one from the Ampersandampersand site or post your own one below!
Here is the Ampersandampersand archive.

& that’s a wrap.