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Course Description

Students 18 and up encouraged to enroll.

Typography is the art of manipulating the visual form of language to enrich and control its meaning. It's an essential area of skill and knowledge for graphic designers. Typography predates modern graphic design by around 500 years; it is rich in rules, conventions, and esoteric terminology- but it remains an exciting space for invention and expression.

In this rigorous introductory course, we will study, name, and measure the characteristics of letterforms. We will consider the pragmatic concerns involved in selecting and combining type. We'll peek into the rich historical, cultural, and aesthetic histories of familiar typefaces. We'll discuss time-tested conventions and best practices in setting type, as governed by principles of hierarchy and spatial organization. And we'll explore the expressive, meaning-making potential of type. Informative lectures will culminate in the opportunity to design a cookbook recipe layout. Please note that this is not a software course; a basic working knowledge of Adobe InDesign or other page layout software will be assumed. You will need access to a computer and page layout software, such as InDesign to complete the assignments.

Assignment videos, resources, and instructions are fully available at the start of this course. The modules are organized week by week, leading up to the final assignment. If you would like feedback from your instructor or have questions prior to the assignment due date, please reach out via email.

Learner Outcomes

In this course you will:     

  • be introduced to the language and terms of contemporary typography

  • classify and compare typefaces

  • evaluate the difference between letterforms

  • gain the skills to choose suitable typefaces for a variety of graphic design projects

Prerequisites

A beginner's level knowledge of Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe InDesign is required.

Additional Information

You may also be interested in:

XDES-901: Fundamentals of Graphic Design

XDES-903: Introduction to Imagemaking

Students who enroll in an Extended Studies course may purchase a one-year Adobe Creative Cloud subscription at the reduced price of $250.00.

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