My Battle with the Ampersand

Most writers will tell you that the diminutive ampersand should never be used in business, formal or casual writing unless it is used as part of a company name. Both of the highly respected authorities The Associated Press Stylebook and The Chicago Manual of Style agree, and the direction is pretty clear that we're talking about ANY usage outside formal names.

Until recently, I was in this camp. Marching solidly with my protest sign held high,   I marked out every ampersand in every reference of every piece of anything that crossed my desk.

Until one day I marched right into website copy. And found myself arguing… with myself.

(Now don't go off and stick 'em everywhere 'til you've read the rest. I admit my eureka light bulb DID go off. But it was an energy-efficient CFL, so I'm using the ampersand to cut down on wasted space, rather than strewing it about like confetti.)

After a long battle, the outcome was: judicious use of the ampersand appears to be the best option when faced with ungainly navigation text. It doesn't matter where your nav buttons and menus are, or their visual orientation, either. Say you're dealing with tidy folder-tab style navigation buttons. Let's just see how much horizontal real estate you consume if you're working with department or service names that include the word "and." Like...cheese and milk, MRI and CT, paper and plastic…You get the idea. The word "and" is also harder to work with when you're stacking those word combinations.

I delegate use of the ampersand strictly to navigation tools and icons on a website. Not copy headers. Not subheads. And no, definitely not in body copy (unless, of course, it's part of that formal company name!). And I would mandate that its use be CONSISTENT across a website. Don't use it on one button, and not on another. I won't stand up for you if you do.

I may find in future the ampersand has worked its way into other nooks and crannies of what is considered acceptable use. If I do, I'll let you know about them.

But for now, go ahead and consider them a tool in web writing and design. And if you find yourself fighting for the right to use it, you can argue that the rapid evolution of personal communication technology and social media have led to changes in writing styles, primarily in the way we must now adapt to getting our messages across faster and in less space. If that doesn't work, you can always cite this article!

-Shaun Amanda Herrmann, Account Supervisor

Comments

[Tess Kissinger]

The ampersand is also the most beautiful symbol on the keyboard, and within most fonts.