The idea & launching of AmperArt.
Hello & thanks for stopping by. I’m Chaz DeSimone, founder of AmperArt, featuring “the ampersand as fun & fabulous art.”
Lettering & typography have been my lifelong passion & career. As a kid I was fascinated by the squiggly, quirky, fun & fabulous symbol that stood for “and.” I’ve collected ampersand art & sculptures & sign letters & amper-anything all my life. (Unfortunately, it’s all gone due to a devastating loss February 8, 2014.)
In 2011, as a marketing campaign for my graphic design business, I created a series of “ampersand art” posters. After positive feedback, I turned it into an ongoing series & named it AmperArt, planning to release one piece per month as long as I can push a pencil & a pixel. So far I’ve created over 100. Those first several campaign pieces & all the others are in the AmperArt gallery.
See the AmperArt gallery here.
See the latest releases here.
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& never miss an AmperArt release.
It’s fun & fabulous & free.
National Ampersand Day (Sept. 8)
A year or two after creating AmperArt, I discovered NationalDayCalendar.com & got the idea to “acknowledge & applaud the ampersand” with its own special day. I designed the official logo & designated September 8 as National Ampersand Day.
Why this exact date? It was apparent several of the characters in “September 8” can be cleverly disguised as ampersands, when the right fonts are used, like this:
For you typophiles, here are the fonts used for the ampersands:
National Ampersand Day Logo:
large ampersand: Garamond (Monotype), modified
national ampersand day: Garamond (Adobe)
fun fabulous functional: Helvetica
ampersand following fun: Caslon 540
ampersand following fabulous: Vivaldi
ampersand following functional: Baskerville
September 8:
S: Edwardian Script
E: akaHoggle
P: Optima*
T: Mistral
E: Sabon
M: Optima*
B: Poppl-Laudatio
E: Caslon 540
R: Optima*
8: Banco
*actual character glyph; not an ampersand. If you find an ampersand that resembles a P, M or R, let me know. —Chaz
Did You Know…
& The ampersand used to be the last letter of the alphabet?
& The ampersand is a ligature of “e” & “t”? That’s “et” in Latin, meaning “and.”
& The word “ampersand” is a slurring of “real words” run together over time?
& The plus sign is actually an ampersand?
Read about these & other fun facts here.
ENJOY THE FUN & FABULOUS AMPERSAND
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Applaud the Ampersand
Celebrate National Ampersand Day by having fun with it:
& Use lots & lots of ampersands!
& Substitute “&” for “and” in everything you write.
& Think of syllable replacements such as &roid, c&elabra, b&.
& Send friends whose names contain “and” a special note — &y, &rea, Alex&er, Gr&ma.
& Design new styles of ampersands. (Remember, the ampersand represents the letters “et.”)
& Use #AmpersandDay & #AmperArt on social media.
& Tell your friends to visit AmperArt.com.
Every Day Is Special
Visit National Day Calendar to see all the observed days of the year. Which one falls on your birthday?
There are celebrations for:
- National Cream Puff Day
- National Rubber Ducky Day
- National Hat Day
- National Shower with a Friend Day
- National Homemade Soup Day
- National Bagel Day
- National Hug a G.I. Day
- Naitonal Proofreading Day
- National Barbie Day
- World Autism Awareness Day
- National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day
- National Tweed Day
- National Star Wars Day
- National Cartoonists Day
- National Bike to School Day
- National Olive Day
- National Go Barefoot Day
- National Weed Your Garden Day
- National Beans ‘N’ Franks Day
- National Country Music Day
- National Nude Day
- National Root Beer Float Day
- National Coloring Book Day
- National Coast Guard Day
- National Beer Lovers Day
- National Hug Your Boss Day
- National Swap Ideas Day
- National Homemade Cookies Day
- National Techies Day
- National Mad Hatter Day
- National Parents as Teachers Day
- National Cappuccino Day
- National Cook For Your Pets Day
- National Violin Day
- National Card Playing Day
- National Champagne Day
…and hundreds more.
Order a National Day Wall Calendar or subscribe to their free announcement emails & never miss one of your favorite National Days again. Find your favorite days to celebrate at NationalDayCalendar.com.
Subscribe to AmperArt here & now!
Receive a free & fabulous ampersand art print download, suitable for gallery-quality printing & framing, each month!