GRPH 223 / Typography
This studio course will introduce students to the practice, history, and theory of typography. Through design research, independent project work, and collaborative exercises; students will produce typographic solutions to applied and experimental problems using typography as their primary, if not exclusive, design element.
Course work will include independent student research, sustained project work, and critiques, emphasizing the perceptual and contextual properties of typographic design. Lectures, readings, and guided discussions will supplement project work, introducing students to the topics of letter form design, printing history, typographic classification, and textual representations.
L’Atlas – Be what You Are
To successfully complete this course, students will be expected to understand and emulate the principles of typographic practice that began in the early Renaissance and continue with contemporary digital design. Students will also be expected to demonstrate both leadership and collaboration skills while working with their fellow students towards the completion of project work.
After the Bauhaus, Before the Internet:
A History of Graphic Design Pedagogy
{M / January 07}
Introduction / Type as Identity
Course Syllabus
Course Deliverables
Canvas
Typographic Design: Form and Communication, 7th edition,
by Rob Carter, Ben Day, Phillip B. Meggs, The Evolution of Typography
[required]
Visual Grammar, Christian Leborg
Typographic Design: Form and Communication [web site]
Typography (Graphic Design in Context), by Denise Gonzales Crisp,
William F. Temple
Thinking with Type, by Ellen Lupton [web site]
The Elements of Typographic Style, by Robert Bringhurst,
Foreword, Historical Synopsis
Adobe’s Creative Cloud Software Update~
GRPH223_Typography_OutcomesDeliverables_UNL_Spring_2017
Link to UNL Box Folder / GRPH 223 / Typography Spring 2019
*See Canvas for additional resources related to Typography. You will find an extensive list of suggested readings and resources, links to design organizations, and type foundries.
Introductory Readings~
Who becomes a graphic designer?
What a graphic designer needs to know?
Write 5 questions you have from the readings. Be prepared to turn this in.
Eric Gill’s Process Book
{W / January 09}
Review readings.
Work in groups of 3 to outline the readings and discuss the questions that you have. Present your reponse to the readings as a group.
[.pdf presentation due in Canvas]
Exercise 01 - [On-going]
Type / Typology / Type Awareness
In class activity: Walking tour of Love Library / Special Collections / Nebraska History Museum / Children's Museum / Sheldon Art Museum to gather
typographic specimens.
Gather your type specimens in a folder on BOX or in Google Drive. Have them ready to share on Tuesday. [100 minimum samples]
{M / January 14}
Present process for Exercise 01
Review found typography / type collected. Review found typography / type collected from the walking tour and your personal hunt.
Discuss what you have gathered and prepare to organize type specimens into categories of type classification. Demonstration on how to go forward and classify your type specimens. This will be an exercise that you participate in all semester. Look at this as an opportunity to create an archive of your typography finds.
Platform: Google Collections, Pinerest, Behance, Tumblr, Google Drive??
Type Activity:
Assign Exercise 02
Reference Readings:
Typographic Design: Form and Communication, 7th edition,
by Rob Carter, Ben Day, Phillip B. Meggs, The Evolution of Typography,
pages 1–32, The Anatomy of Typography, pages 33–52
Review
Thinking with Type
Ellen Lupton's Classification System
Read the following on Thinking with Type:
Anatomy of Type Presentation
Anatomy of Type / Ask Lynda
Anatomy of Type Animation
Letter Fountain / Names + Classifications
Anatomy of Letterforms
Evolution of Typography Animated Short
{W / January 16}
Present process for Exercise 02
Discuss what you have accomplished and how to go forward.
Review creative direction and what will be turned in for Exercise 02
Discuss readings / Integrate readings into process review.
Typographic Design: Form and Communication, 7th edition,
by Rob Carter, Ben Day, Phillip B. Meggs, The Evolution of Typography,
The Anatomy of Typography
Tour of Woods Art Building Digital Lab.
Orientation of printing details for Exercise 02.
{M / January 21}
No class in observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day
“I have decided to stick with love—
hate is too great a burden to bear.”
– Martin Luther King Jr.
{W / January 23}
Exercise 02 is due.
Prepare to upload your final solutions as a .pdf
to Canvas and the packaged Illustrator file to the designated BOX.UNL folder.
Present your printed solutions in class. Ready to pin up at 11:30 a.m.
Have them ready to pin up and discuss. Reference your written statement for the conversation.
Prepare what you want to say. Listen carefully to each presentation and ask thoughtful questions.
How do you talk about or critique graphic design work?
Activity:
Due Monday, January 28
Watch this film, “Helvetica”, the Documentary, and then design a map of its contents. 11" X 17" portrait format. Black and white only, using Helvetica typeface and all its glorious variations. Explore each version of Helvetica that has been released by various foundries. ie. Adobe, ITC, etc.
Outline the highlights of the film and what people, concepts and thoughts you were inspired by.
Be thorough. Give attention to details. Make notes of what you learned and then make a map or diagram of the contents of the film.
Present your map or diagram in 11" X 17" portrait format to the class for review on Monday, January 28. Print out in BW only.
Map of the film by Ceyenna Barnhill.
Exercise 03
We will complete Exercise 03 on Monday, January 28.
Bring your tools with you to class, x-acto, straight edge, glue stick, pencils, eraser. The in class activity is intended to assist you with your explorations for Project 01 that we will launch on Wednesday, January 30.
Have a large variety of quality printed material of type speciments for you to cut and paste with. Spend time looking at and collecting typographic specimens with various styles, point sizes, weights and alignments. This gathering will help you prepare for Project 01.
Find a way to make really great photocopies of type specimens. Gather a large variety of point sizes and styles. This will give you a wonderful assortment of typographic forms to design with.
A demonstration of how to make the best type specimens will be made in class on Wednesday, January 23.
Nomenclature for naming files:
Lastname_GRPH223_Ex03_SP2019.pdf
{M / January 28}
Review your Helvetica Maps/Diagrams. Have them printed out in BW, 11" X 17", portrait, and pinned up ready to go at 11:30 a.m.
Design a conversation and what you learned around the contents of the documentary. What can you learn from reviewing the contents of the film in this manner?
Reflect on what you know about the history of Helvetica. How do you think about the tyeface now?
Launch Exercise 03
Things to think about:
What is a type foundry?
What is the ITC in a font's name all about?
Assigned Readings~ Typographic Design: Form and Communication,
7th edition,
by Rob Carter, Ben Day, Phillip B. Meggs
Chapter 03: Syntax and Communication
Chapter 04: Legibility
Chapter 05: The Typographic Grid
Grid Examples / Square Format~
{W / January 30}
Review intensely the assigned readings.
Continue to work on Exercise 03.
Review Exercise 03 as a pin up presentation. Be prepared to talk about your work on a level that Exercise 01, 02 and the assigned readings have prepared you for.
Launch Project 01: The Grid + Typographic Space
Grid + Typographic Space Presentation
Review Visual Grammar
Foundations Faculty Search:
What do graphic design students need to learn in ARTP 151 and ARTP 152? Foundations… 2D and 3D.
Where does the 4D, time, space, motion etc. come into play?
Ulm School of Design
Why does the Ulm School has Prominance in Design History
{M / February 04}
Work on Project 01
Prepare Project 01 / Process 01 for turn in on Wednesday, 02.06 by 11:30 a.m.
Naming of files:
Lastname_GRPH223_Proj01_Proc01_SP2019.pdf
Prepare for a quiz over the following readings and content of Exercises 01, 02, 03.
Assigned Readings~ Typographic Design: Form and Communication (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.,
7th edition,
by Rob Carter, Ben Day, Phillip B. Meggs
Chapter 03: Syntax and Communication
Chapter 04: Legibility
Chapter 05: The Typographic Grid
A typeface comprises a family of fonts such as Garamond Regular, Garamond Italic, Garamond Bold, etc. A font is a specific weight or style within a typeface family, such as Garamond Italic.
Serif and sans serif are the two most common typeface classifications. Serif typefaces have a more traditional look. Sans serf typefaces became popularly in the late 19th century and are considered to be more modern.
{W / February 06}
Work on Project 01
Various Activities
References for Project 01
Quiz over readings
Assign:
Complete 15 iterations for Layout 02
05 for layout 03
05 for layout 04
Discuss sketching process and how it is useful to your planning and coordinating your designs.
Demonstration of how to rapidly prototype your layouts so that you can engage in a more in-depth study of page layout. Enjoy the process. Learn how to use system-thinking to help you make decisions.
The Grid and The Golden Section, by Ellen Lupton
The Designer's Guide to the Golden Ratio
Don't forget that the grid is just one tool alongside many basic principles you can use to enhance your layouts. Don't get caught up in using a grid too rigidly – some of the best designs break all the rules of grid layout and are all the more successful for doing so.
{M / February 11}
Evaluating Exercise 03
Present 15 iterations for Layout 02
05 for layout 03
05 for layout 04
Work on Project 01
Review Quiz 01
Grade in Class
Looking Ahead
Defining Character and Paragraph Styles Tutorial
Responsive Typography
CSS and the Grid
[W] February 13
Work on Project 01
Present iterations for Layout 03 and for Layout 04
[M] February 18
Work on Project 01
Review printing specifications. See Canvas announcement for setting your document to print bleeds.
Demonstration on trimming to crop marks.
Reviewing what to turn in to Canvas and to BOX UNL.
[W] February 20
[M] February 25
Project 01 Due
Critique and Formal Review of Work
Turn in .pdf's to Canvas and Packaged InDesign Files to Box.
Launch Research for Project 02
Referencing the first two chapters from the required textbook
Typographic Design: Form and Communication, 7th edition,
by Rob Carter, Ben Day, Phillip B. Meggs, The Evolution of Typography,
pages 1–32, The Anatomy of Typography, pages 33–52
Research:
1. Content
Look more intently at the timeline of the evolution of typography in the western alphabet in Chapter 01. In a word doc. write about 1 - 2 type design or development of typefaces, or notable developments in type history, finding points of interest in each decade. [10 total that span across the history represented. one from the first section, one from the next, etc] Record these in the word document.
2. Methods
Using repurposed 11" X 17" and OR 8 1/2" X 11" paper, and your straight edge as a guide to measure. Fold down a mock up for each of the following folding options. You may need to trim the paper to make longer strips for the Roll, Double Parallel, Accordian folds.
Project 02 will require you to be skilled at folding, measuring and constructing a printed publication with folds that are to be crisp and professional.
Practice using care and the tools to make the folds as perfect as possible. I will demonstrate how to
Required Tools
X-acto, Straight edge, Bone Folder, 11" X 17" and OR 8 1/2" X 11" paper
[W] February 27
Quiz 02: Skill /Knowldege Assessment
Revisit Project 01 with more effective use of the grid and interlacing.
Example of a successful case study.
Review Details for Project 02
Assign
1. Sketches, studies, iterations for layout possibilities for timeline design for Project 02. Look at your inspiration and begin to design layouts and studies for typographic systems, use of the grid to give structure to the panels.
2. Consider the accoridan fold and how each panel represents a story chronologically. How can the folds move the viewer through the experience?
What do you want to include in our story that isn't in the required list or already in the timeline in the text book?
3. Further develop your design research and add to the document that you started for the project. Make an outline of the contents you will include in the timespan you have been assigned.
4. Read about the history and culture of the times that you are exploring. Think about what the zeitgeist and what you can reveal about the architecture, culture, fashion, music, socio-economic conditions, world politics etc. Also consider the technologies that influeneced the way typography was created, displayed and read.
[M] March 04
Work on Project 02 [Canvas]
Present progress and what was assigned.
[W] March 06
Work on Project 02
Jeffrey Keedy
Steven Heller
Ellen Lupton
Reminder: Letterpress Workship with Professor Katie Krcmarik and
Danley Wilkington, printmaker, artist and letterpress instructor.
T + TH from 6 - 8:50 in the Letterpress Studio, Woods Hall, 3rd Floor.
Workshop Group 1 – Tuesday, March 12 and March 26
Workshop Group 2 – Thursday, March 14 and March 28
[M] March 11
Work on Project 02
[W] March 13
Work on Project 02
[M] March 18 – [W] March 20
[M] March 25
Work on Project 02
Review BW Prints of your layouts. We will print them at reduced size for comping, pin them up, study them, mark them up, and then revise them.
Print, fold a black and white mock up for Wednesday.
Consider these Ultimate Google Font Pairings as you move forward with your timeline books.
[W] March 27
[M] April 01
Prepare files for printing.
Have final version of
printed timelines prepared for review on Wedensday.
At least 2 black and white mockups are required.
[W] April 03
Present Project 02
Project 03 Brief
Project 03 in Canvas
Trailer Motion Motion 2018 from nöbl on Vimeo.
Complete Adobe After Effects Tutorials for Monday.
Assigned Reading
Typographic Design: Form and Communication, 7th edition,
by Rob Carter, Ben Day, Phillip B. Meggs, The Evolution of Typography
Case Studies in Type in Motion
Chapter 09, Typography in Motion and Time
[M] April 08
Project 03: Type in Motion / Type in Space
Presentation on Typography / Logo Types
Final Exam Review
Study Topics from the Syllabus / pg. 31
[W] April 10
Project 03: Type in Motion / Type in Space
Submit Typography / Logo Types to Canvas
A new opening animation zooms into the N, revealing a spectrum of colours that are apparently based on the idea of show thumbnails turned sideways –
like books on a shelf.
[M] April 15
Work on Project 03: Type in Motion / Type in Space
Prepare for the Final Exam.
We will not meet formally.
After Effects Resources from Chris Irvin
christopherirvin.com
cirvin@unl.edu
Assigned Reading
Typographic Design: Form and Communication, 7th edition,
by Rob Carter, Ben Day, Phillip B. Meggs, The Evolution of Typography
Case Studies in Type in Motion
Chapter 09, Typography in Motion and Time
Become familiar with terminology and principles.
[W] April 17
Work on Project 03: Type in Motion / Type in Space
Vision Get Wild Award 2018 Promo | 放視大賞宣傳 from Whitelight Motion on Vimeo
Organize Process Books / Prepare for Final Exam
[M] April 22
Final Exam Review
Typographic Design: Form and Communication, 7th edition,
by Rob Carter, Ben Day, Phillip B. Meggs
Review the Study Topics from the Syllabus / pg. 31
Familarize yourself with the following:
Type History Timeline [thanks to Machala]
Letterform Anatomy from Ellen Lupton’s Thinking with Type
Units of Measure / Points / Picas / Inches
Humanist Serif / Humanist San Serif
Sabon / Garamond
Didot / Bodoni
Aksidenz Grotesk / Franklin Gothic
Visual Compensation
Tracking, leading, kerning
What is a lock up?
Logotype Terminology
Relative or adaptive grid structures
Typography on screen
Terminology in Chapter 09, Typography in Motion and Time
[Note that D is missing, 54 is missing some words. Adaptive grid systems are independent of specific browsers and screen sizes?]
Work on file export and preparing for Project 03 Review.
Submit Exercise 01 / Type Specimen Library
Documentation from the Class
Teaching Evaluations
[W] April 24
Present Project 03: Type in Motion / Type in Space
Last day of regularly scheduled classes.
[M] April 29
FINALS Week
No class.
[W] May 01
FINAL EXAM
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Woods 208
Turn in Process Books
Some good stuff you want to know.
How to see white space.
Remember to enjoy the white space.
The Art of the Movie Titling
Stacy Asher
Associate Professor of Art
209 Woods Art Building
School of Art, Art History + Design
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
stacyasher@unl.edu
stacyasher.com