Class News

Nancy Upper: Understand the Ampersand — Secret Power at Your Command

Nancy Upper is the surviving spouse of Dennis Upper '64. She gave a talk on the ampersand on March 14, 2019 at the Type Directors Club in New York City. Below the image are the contents of the flyer advertising the talk. Nancy also gave a talk on the ampersand during the Kaleidoscope of Passions session at our 55th Reunion. See her talk here.

Nancy Upper will open your eyes to the ampersand’s seductive appeal and hidden depths. You will learn about ampersand case, variants, gender, triads, and the human needs that drive us to care about ampersands. You will see ampersands from around the world and from diverse fields including business, food and beverage, fashion, literature, music, nature, science, sports, and travel.

The lucky winner of the drawing at the end of Upper’s talk will take home an ampersand prize.

In 2010, Upper launched international research and interviews for her forthcoming book, Power of Ampersand — the first book to reveal the full story of the ampersand’s history, typography, and worldwide uses.

Upper’s fascination with the symbol began in her early job as sales support representative for Adobe. Later, she managed events and wrote program notes for Boston Ballet, wrote the book Ballet Dancers in Career Transition: Sixteen Success Stories (McFarland, 2004), and wrote corporate communications for MIT.

In 2010, an art project returned her to the Adobe ampersands that had stayed vivid in her memory. The first chapter of Power of Ampersand tells this art story.

These ampersands inspired her Power of Ampersand book and, in 2016, her Uppersand™ enterprise. Uppersand™’s business plan calls for an ampersand book series, podcasts, products, events, films, and an international ampersand exhibition.

Nancy Upper’s website is nancyupper.com.