“Always use the best ampersand”

Ever wonder where we get the ampersand character from?

Via Daring Fireball, a link to a lovely article from the typographical masters at Hoefler & Frere-Jones.

Such info appeals to my type-nerd sensibilities, and reminds me of the sterling advice from Robert Bringhurst’s The Elements of Typographic Style, notably quoted in Ellen Lupton’s outstanding Thinking with Type, and parsed in detail in a session with Mark Boulton at the 2007 SXSW conference. That is, “In heads and titles always use the best ampersand available.”

Seriously, open up a word processor and type some ampersands in different fonts. Check out the bold and italic versions. It isn’t all that tricky to create a CSS class that will ensure that the most attractive symbol on your visitor’s system gets used.

Why be so finicky about a character that essentially arose out of shorthand? Because that is what design is all about, sweating the details and caring about things like ampersands. The statement itself could become a shorthand for a broader philosophy about taking pains to do the best work we can.