If you remember the shape of your spoon at lunch, it has to be the wrong shape.
The spoon and the letter are tools; one to take food from the bowl, the other to
take information off the page... When it is a good design, the reader has to feel comfortable because the letter is both banal and beautiful." —Adrian Frutiger
Typography is a triangular relationship between design idea, typographic elements, and printing technique. —Wolfgang Weingart
Typography
Welcome to Typography! The prerequisite for this course is MCM 252 (Graphic Design).
In this class we are going to look at typographers, past and present, both western and arabic. I am hoping to be able to obtain a special speaker about Arabic calligraphy. And we are going to look at the anatomy of type and learn some typographic terms.
We are going to use typography as we create a series of projects. At the end of the semester you will create a portfolio which includes your projects. And lastly, we will have a gallery show of your best designs.
Some of your projects will be:
- Typography as Art
- Typography in a book layout
- Typography in a magazine layout
- Typography in 3D
- Arabic Typography
- Arabic and English dual language document
Week 1
What is typography? What is its role in today’s visually saturated world? Typography’s re-emerging role in mobile Internet layouts.
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The evolution of written communication. What is language? We look at the origins of human communication from pictographs and ideographs. We then move to hand calligraphy and the emergence of moveable type. We study how this technological changed influence society and literacy, and how typography and page layout grew. We also look at the visual was incorporated in the page layouts and the restrictions/limitations/opportunities afforded illustrations due to available technology.
Assignment One: Environmental Lettering Assignment Students are given a printout of a word. They are to place their letters somewhere in the environment and create new relationships between the word and its environment. Students then photograph their designs.
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The evolution of typography. The industrial Revolution had a tremendous impact on human written communication. Advertising and branding developed as a result of mass production. Society changed as a result of World War I. The new century witnessed the birth of the automobile. Art and design was reinvented in a voice that spoke to the common people. Page layout moved from the classical model to the modern grid-based system. Students study the typefaces created during this time frame.
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The evolution of typography. In this third part, we witness the effects of the digital revolution on human communication. Topics include hyper-linked reading versus linear reading. We explore how the relationship between visual and the word to express knowledge modified. Motion, sound, and experience design are incorporated into this communication. Students study the typefaces created during this time frame.
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The physical attributes of typography. Students become fluent in the terminology of typography. Topics include identifying structural aspects of type, how type is classified, and making educated decisions when choosing typefaces for a design.
In Class Exercise: Five paragraphs on Ten Inch Squares
Students are provided a paragraph of text. Using different font sizes, weights, and different leadings, the students create arrangements within a ten-inch square. This teaches the visual texture of type and highlights the differences in typefaces.
Week 6
Visual Hierarchy and the column grid system
Readings and lecture discuss the terminology associated with newspapers.
Assignment Two: Newspaper Design.
The students are part of a design team creating a magazine. Each person will contribute a portion of the publication. These pages are gathered into a completed magazine, and distributed in a variety of formats: print and PDF.
Week 7
Midterm
In Class studio work
Readings and lecture explore information design. Topics include choosing images that complement the written word and image composition.
In Class Exercise: Cropping images in Adobe Photoshop
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In Class studio work
Readings and lecture explore information design. Topics include photojournalism and choosing images that complement the written word.
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In Class studio work
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In Class Studio Work
Students visit the printing facility and witness the physical publishing of their work. They interact with the printing staff and learn about publishing.
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Creative Strategies. Students explore how type becomes the visual. Topics include graphic resonance, visual correspondence, visual irony and exaggeration.
Assignment Three: Magazine Design.
The students are part of a design team creating a magazine. Each person will contribute a portion of the publication. These pages are gathered into a completed magazine, and distributed in a variety of formats: print and PDF.
Week 12
Creative Strategies. Exploration of the writing surfaces used for typography to create graphic resonance. Messages may be handwritten on cardboard, lipstick on a mirror, or even chalk on a sidewalk.
In Class Studio Work on the magazine assignment
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Expressive typography. Students explore how to express meaning through less conventional means. Ideas include hand lettering on photographs, projecting type on a subject and photographing their juxtaposition, even writing on hands to convey humanist qualities and emotion.
In Class Studio Work on the magazine assignment
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In Class Studio Work on the magazine assignment
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Typography and the Internet
Review for the final Exam
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