Term: Fall

Prerequisites: None

This course is an introduction to the fundamentals of typography as a critical skill for communication design practice. Students critically analyze the historical and technological development of type, investigating the contribution of typography {role and function} as a professional discipline with in the Graphic Arts. Topics include: history of writing systems and typography; anatomy of type; classification; basic type measurements; copy-fitting; type arrangement and grids; typeface design; typography for optimal readability; and typography as interpretation. The aims are to: (1) enable students to understand the historical and theoretical role typography has played in design; (2) enable students to develop an understanding of the impact of technology on typography design (traditional & digital); (3) introduce students to using grid structures in a flexible and creative way utilizing relevant design software; (4) develop students’ abilities to progress visual concepts and approaches through to material outcomes by exploring alternative possibilities for communicating with type; (5) enable students to understand underpinning theories of “Voice, Empathy, and Hierarchy” when working with typography; and (6) afford students the possibility of creating a range of typographical outcomes demonstrating the theories and practice of type as a communication tool.

(See syllabus below. An updated syllabus will be posted at the beginning of each term.)

Syllabus & Faculty

• Fall 2016 (Dusko Stojanovic)