W1 - 9/12
In class
After class...
  • Project 1, Part 1
  • Pick an artist/designer for your presentation, and write their name in the g-doc next to yours.
  • Read Silas Munro’s Typography as a Radical Act and write a discusson question/comment in this g-doc
  • Read Ellen Lupton’s Whitespace
  • Rajiv, prepare your presentation
W2 - 9/19
  In class

After class...
  • Review this lecture. It gives a list of words to use when describing typographic and design choices
  • Complete Project 1, Part 2
  • Complete Exercise: Logotype, Part 1
  • There will be 2 student presentations next week: Rajiv's and Brian's.
W3 - 9/26
  In class After class...
  • Project 1, Part 3
  • Read Ellen Lupton’s Letter, sections Anatomy, Size, Scale, Type Classification and Type Families (there will be a quiz next week)
  • Molly and Patty, prepare your presentations
W4 - 10/03
  In class...
  • 10:20—10:50 - Molly and Patty Presentations
  • 10:50—11:10 - Ellen Lupton Quiz
  • 11:10—11:30 - Lecture: Measuring Type + Spacing and Alignments
  • 11:25—11:30 - *break*
  • 11:30—12:30 - Exercise: Expressive Typography
  • 12:30—1:15 - *lunch break*
  • 1:15—1:35 - Review Exercise: Expressive Typography
  • 1:35—1:55 - Small Group Review: Project Poster, Part 3
  • 1:55—2:00 - *break*
  • 2:00—4:30 - Ambient work time + 1:1s
After class...
  • Project 1, Part 4
  • Masha and Jean, prepare your presentations
W4 - 10/03
  After class...
  • Project 1, Part 4
  • Masha and Jean, prepare your presentations
W5 - 10/10
  In class...
  • Masha and Jean presentations
  • Group review: Project 1, Part 5
  • *lunch break*
  • More typographic posters...
  • Exercise: Collective Poster
  • Ambient work time + 1:1s
After class...
  • Brian, prepare your presentation
  • Project 1, Part 6
W6 - 10/17
  In class
  • 10:20-10:40 - Brian's presentation
  • 10:40-11:10 - Small Group reviews: Poster Part 5
  • 11:10-11:15 - *break*
  • Project 2: Booklet begins
  • 11:20-11:40 - Lecture: Publication Design 1
  • 11:40-12:10 - What is a book ?
  • 12:10-12:50 - *lunch break*
  • 12:50-2:50 - Ambient work time + 1:1s
After Class...
  • Project Poster: Part 6 (Finish your poster!)
  • Project Booklet: Part 1
  • Pooja and Angela, prepare your presentations
W7 - 10/24
  In class
  • Project 1: Poster ends
  • Group Crit: Project Poster
  • Exercise 6: Spreadsheet Publication
  • Demo: Indesign
After Class...
  • Project Booklet: Part 2
W8 - 10/31
    In class
  • Field trip! We meet at Printed Matter, 231 11th Ave, NY, at 12:00 (it is a 16 min walk from Penn Station).
  • From there, we will grab some lunch and go to the Center for Book Arts, situated at 28 West 27th St, on the 3rd floor.
  • Full itinerary and schedule here.
After class...
  • Complete the Field Trip Observation document and upload to g-drive.
  • Danielle and Jalen, prepare your presentations.
W9 - 11/07
    In class...
  • Danielle and Jalen's presentations
  • Lectures: Page layout + Body text
  • Watch: Working with Grids
  • *lunch break*
  • Demo: InDesign (again)
  • Ambient work time
After class...
  • Refer to Project 2: Poster Part 3 and 4
  • Brandon, Prepare your presentation.
W10 - 11/14
    In class...
  • Brandon's presentation
  • Lecture: Typesetting details
  • Small Group Reviews: Project Booklet, Part 3 and 4
  • Check: Page multiples
  • Ambient work time + 1:1s
  • Demo: Printing
After class...
  • Refer to Project 2: Poster Part 5
  • Zion, Prepare your presentation.
W11 - 11/21
    In class...
After class...
W12 - 11/28
    In class...
After class...
  • Dara and Sangathi, prepare your presentations
  • Exercise: Transitions (AE) PART 2
W13 - 12/05
    In class...
  • Dara and Sangati's presentation
  • Review: Transitions (AE)
  • Motion resources
  • Exercise: Animated Invitation
  • Ambient work time + 1:1s
After class...
  • Exercise: Transitions (AE) PART 3 + 4
W14 - 12/12
    In class...
After class...
  • You have until 11:59PM on December 19th to resubmit any assignment for review; if you decide to do so, send me an email with the link to your updated submission, and let me know which assignment it was.
  • Have a great holiday!
This site serves as the online portal for the course Design 1A: Type and Typography, from September 12 to December 19, 2022.

Typography is the core of graphic design. We are familiar with the use of written language to exchange ideas with other people. The practice of typography is to give this language a visual form, material, and method of distribution. In this course, we will learn the fundamentals of type such as typefaces, type sizes, leading, kerning, grids, guides, composition, space, color, etc.


For three studio projects, you will be given parameters with which to learn tools, historical and contemporary references, and formal vocabulary of typography. As Robin Kinross states in Modern Typography, “design is understood not as a noun but as a verb: an activity and a process.” We will continuously build upon the work of previous weeks in order to develop conceptual ideas, a strong understanding of typographic rule, and playful ways to address constraints. We encourage you to take risks, make mistakes, and be open to the critiques of your instructor and classmates. This is how we learn.


This studio course will also build technical and practical skills towards a fluency in setting and manipulating type within a contemporary digital environment. Students will use fonts and software to create and analyze typographic prototypes for both print and screen.


See full syllabus ⤻

Presentations


Each week, one–two people will present on one artist or designer. Presentation sign ups here ⤻