Hello, hi. Bienvenue!

I’m crafting this newsletter to create a space for noodling. I expect to write about ideas related to humans and design — which is really broad, I know! 

For me, “design” is stuff that is intentionally and thoughtfully created. Things we use, things in our environment. Ways of designing our own experiences, both extraordinary and everyday.

If that sounds interesting or fun to you, stick around?

today’s topic: what’s an interrobang?

It’s rare to learn something new about grammar in your native language. Most of us stick with whatever we’ve retained from high school English and keep it simple. Maybe we pick up a few things, like how to use a semicolon — or how to avoid them altogether with our forgivable friend, the em dash.

In grad school, like every social science student, I got the shit kicked out of my sentences and paragraphs for the benefit of strict APA formatting and academic best practices. Every piece of information provides specific context and references, concisely and robotically. Every word serves a purpose.

And I admit, learning how to write “well,” through Strunk and White platitudes (iykyk), is an incredible foundation that has actually served me well, even if I had to do A LOT of unlearning after academia to write more humanly.

I appreciate that grammar has rules, but I also believe in twisting grammar rules if it sounds more natural to our eyes and ears, or if it serves a creative purpose. And I think it’s okay for language and grammar to evolve in casual everyday use. (So feel free to use the word “literally” however you want.)

And that’s why I love interrobangs. 

You’ve probably at least used a long-form version of an interrobang: “?!” or “?!” or even “??!?!??!” Typographically speaking, an interrobang is a glyph combining a question mark and an exclamation point, originally overlaid on each other. Like many things, this symbol originated as a tool for capitalism: a way for 1960s ad designers to ask emphatic questions in copy. The interrobang denoted a loud, surprising, or rhetorical question. In 1962, TYPEtalks magazine editor Martin Speckter made quite a case for its visual usefulness.

A few typefaces have even included built-in interrobangs. Americana was one.

But the interrobang as a combined symbol didn’t really catch on, as you’ve likely noticed. As a signifier, it doesn’t add much efficiency or clarity beyond existing marks. You’d NEVER see it in academic writing because there aren’t clear rules for it. And at too-small print or digital sizes, it appears blobby.

But for something that barely exists, interrobangs show up all the time in casual communication. Usually it’s a combination of any number of !s and ?s for emphasis. But if you seek it out, the genuine interrobang shows up as a special symbol in Google Docs and Microsoft Word. It exists as an emoji as the traditional combined mark (as well as an inverted version for Spanish) as well as the red, cartoony version.

In iMessage, tapback reactions include one “emphasis” option (the two exclamation points) that serve a similar communicative purpose to an interrobang: one of incredulity or surprise. Was the original interrobang more of a decades-early emoji than a grammatically-distinct mark? Maybe!

I think it’s unlikely we’ll see widespread adoption of a novel or experimental punctuation mark now. Maybe the interrobang was the last shot at adding something nuanced to our standard set of marks. With modern messaging apps, we have hundreds of emoji (and the emoticons that predated them) as shorthand to express intent. A rolling-eyes face, skull, flame, or 100 add layers to casual written communication that words alone can easily miss.

Twitter (no, I won’t call it X) has become an absolutely unpleasant and hostile place, and recently added an interrobang to the Tweet prompt. I think they were going for some kind of personality, but they also fired writers when Elon stepped in. This example feels forced and unrefined — and also, the elongated “what is” instead of “what’s” feels so aggressive. Anyway, I hate it.

When it’s used tastefully, there are things I love about the interrobang. First, that word is fun to write and say. It’s a Latin-derived name (see also: octothorpe) that feels so extra. Second, assuming you understand the purpose of a question mark and an exclamation point, the interrobang is self-explanatory — the visual design tells its story. Third, there’s something very cool about a mark invented in the middle of the 20th century. We all love mid-century modern stuff, right? Timeless.

miscellany

• Like everyone, I’ve been playing A LOT of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It’s great to have a game that lets you decide how you want to play in that moment — whether that’s progressing in the story with an engaged and immersed headspace or riding a horse around and waiting for the korok mask to jiggle (yahaha!). If you wonder where the hours go once you enter The Depths, have you thought about how games like TOTK create an optimal flow state? With so many options for what to do in the game, players pick their level of challenge, so there’s always a flow to be found.

• How ‘bout Bare Minimum Mondays to ease into the workweek? This past Monday, I returned to my desk after a weekend spent visiting friends and lounging in a pool, and I thought “omg, I’m so glad I don’t have to think hard today.” (As a high-anxiety individual, I usually eat the frog and get stuff over with ASAP. But maybe it’s helpful to build mental transitions into and out of work mode!) You could probably think of Bare Minimum Mondays in one of two ways: a nice set of boundaries to control your energy (yes, this) or an aspect of this “Quiet Quitting” thing that terrifies employers (and, by the way, if you’re gritting through a crappy job until the moment you can call it quits, I respect it 🫡).

• Plant more trees. Wouldn’t we all love more shade on these hot afternoons, at the very least?

• My truly excellent Interrobang newsletter branding was done by my friend Casi Hall Creative! I highly recommend working with Casi if you have a small business or side project that you want to look legit and feel authentic to you!