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Interrobang Revolution‽

Intro

The interrobang is an interesting and underused punctuation mark that very few people know about. As you can see it is a combination of the “?” and the “!” giving typesetters the ability to excitedly ask questions, make a statement of disbelief or ask rhetorical questions without using two punctuation marks. In my typesetting experiences, I have had a few hang-ups on punctuation. I often ponder the proper use of an ellipses …, a semi colon ; (which I doubt I have ever used correctly) or multiple marks such as ?! or !!!. Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia that describes the birth of this mark.

“American Martin K. Speckter invented the interrobang in 1962. As the head of an advertising agency, Speckter believed that advertisements would look better if copywriters conveyed surprised rhetorical questions using a single mark. He proposed the concept of a single punctuation mark in an article in the magazine TYPEtalks. Speckter solicited possible names for the new character from readers. Contenders included rhet, exclarotive, and exclamaquest, but he settled on interrobang. He chose the name to reference the punctuation marks that inspired it: interrogatio is Latin for “a rhetorical question” or “cross-examination”; bang is printers’ slang for the exclamation point.”

P.S. Fuck you guys that misuse Wikipedia. It would be a credible source if you would let it.

Problems

  • Readability: The counter can be lost when shrunk to body text size.
  • Confusion: It is a mark that is not used in major publications and has not been properly introduced to the public.
  • Availability: The majority of fonts do not offer the interrobang so customization will be necessary.

Your Duty

It is your mission to bring the interrobang to the general public. Make this forgotten mark prevalent in your work. We have let our letter forms get boring and standardized. Befriend the Underdogs of Typography and help them gain a place among the periodicals and text books of the future. Explore and research the interrobang and other lost glyphs. Knowledge is power‽

  1. Original TIME article on the introduction of the interrobang June 21, 1967.
  2. www.interrobang-mks.com/
  3. In depth and informative musing on the interrobang at Suresha.com.
  4. The key commands shown in the image above were found on The Write Bailiwick where the author also discusses the pilcrow or “new paragraph symbol.” They are very similar looking, but I will leave the pilcrow for another day.
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Blog Guidelines

I have decided to give my blog some posting guidelines so that I will be able to better pace myself. I don’t want to post a bunch of really similar things back to back and bore everyone. The conclusion I have came to is obvious, lazy and revolves around my fondness for alliterations. It is as follows:

Memo Monday: consists of a text oriented post where I ramble on about the various aspects of art and design, weather it be my work or something that has crossed my path. Being right after the weekend hopefully I will have experienced something of great interest and have plenty to discuss.

Typography Tuesday: I will post an image of typography that has caught my eye. It can by found type, hand type, my type, or logo types that move me in any way. I enjoy taking photos of old hand painted signage and I am sure that will be obvious as the Tuesdays pile up. I will try to post a bit of text with any image I post describing where it is, what it is and why I find it interesting.

Wednesday & Thursday: Miscellaneous discussions, musings and general whatnot. I want to start a generic interview/survey with artists and designers that interest me, maybe I will post those on these days. Maybe not. Stay tuned and find out.

Found Friday: Fridays will be restricted to photos that I have taken or the work of another. I originally called this Photo Friday, but decided to change it so that I could post info on sites, creatives and work I find in my daily adventures. Photo Friday was just to narrow for me.

Sloppy Saturday & Sexy Sunday: Hopefully I will be away from my computer over the weekend, having an adventure. I probably won’t, but I don’t want to promise that I will post something and not do it, so deal with it. I try to step away from the computer and create with my hands a bit more on the weekends. I have to sit so much between my 9to5 and freelance that I try to spend as little time possible hunched over my keyboard when I don’t have to. If I do post something it will probably be centered around an event or project that I am working on.

P.S. If you start to find my blog boring check out some of the sites in the side bar. They are young, local or semi-local artists that I respect and admire. I am sure that many of my posts will refer to their work and any upcoming shows or hangings they will be featured in.

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3

I found this number 3 on a dismantled dump truck bed in Jamestown, CA.

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Graffiti

This is some script on the side of a mail box in San Francisco, CA. I have a great fascination with graffiti, but not the stones, nor the disrespect for public property to participate. Or course I live in a small, rural town which still holds some natural beauty, rather than a concrete jungle where most graffiti is found. And, of course, the possibility for anoninimity drops incredibly as the population does. I will post more graffiti as I capture it.

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Paralyzed

To whom it may concern,

The only thing I really want to do is study and design typography. Is that too much to ask for? I could live life happily if I were chained to a letterpress with plenty of materials. Fuck food & water! Give me ink & paper… and of course movable type, but come on, that goes without saying. I crave to study letter forms and kerning, ligatures and punctuation. If anyone knows of a printing press open to the public, a great class, a degree program, another person with the same ridiculous obsession, please let me know. I don’t care where in the world this may be, just let me know and I will take it into consideration.

~Thank you for your time~

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OXO Can Opener


(Push Button Release)

(Hardened Steel Blades)

These are two spreads I created in an advertising class at CSU, Long Beach. They are for an OXO can opener with a locking handle. We had to choose either an iron or a can opener to advertise, it was a pretty tough assignment and as a class we went through 100s of comps. I went for a clean look that mimics the product line and a little bit of humor.

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West of Next

This is the cover from CD packaging I recently finish for David Shapireau & West of Next. They will be playing this Saturday, October 4th, at the Oktoberfest in Twain Harte, CA. The music is beautifully composed and awesomely executed. The central image was manipulated from an old Harper’s Weekly newspaper cover. I felt that the image fit the band’s name, West of Next. The man in the image has just killed the last buffalo and will be traveling west, as is the way of Manifest Destiny, to find the next creature to slaughter. I will post photos of the packaging when I get it.

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Mission

We have all seen the art that comes out of small towns, art that is saturated with the local land marks, history and landscapes. Art that appeals to the tourist, the nostalgic and the local-centric. The art of Tuolumne County is and forever will be full of images of Yosemite National Park, farmlands, historic buildings and rolling foothills. Images of classic beauty and natural aesthetics overwhelmingly portrayed with traditional styles. This art is beautiful and prosperous, it brings the sure dollar without creating a stir, a question or a message. While I live here in Tuolumne County I am taking it upon myself to bring out the unseen art of the foothills; the artists who have not followed the gilded path laid before them. I must digress though, this is not my only wish.

There are also a number of young artists, giving new life to our local beauty, who need their art seen. I do not wish to ostracize or denounce any one artist, medium or style of art. I simply want to create a venue for those who are not yet accepted or acknowledged. Weather they create the traditional or the contemporary, I will do my best to make sure they are seen.