Introduction
This course celebrates the rewards of using type to effectively communicate. Typographic principles combined with general history, both aesthetic and technical, will be presented. This class covers every aspect of Western Typography, from the single letter to layout on the page. The terminology of type use combined with all the essential principles of using type correctly will be explored through the study and application of historical examples and modern practice. This class provides a comprehensive foundation to what is at the core of all communication design: type.

Projects

• Type You Like
• A Deck of Types
• Type Comparisons
• Kerning Exercise
• A Set
• A Chapbook

Readings

• “This Typeface is Changing Your Life” by Leslie Savan [Looking Closer 3].
• “The History of Punctuation” by Nicholson Baker [The Size of Thoughts].
• “On Classifying Type” by Jonathan Hoefler [Emigre 42].
• “Laws of the Letter” by Ellen Lupton and J. Abbott Miller [Design Writing Research].
• “Typefaces are Rich with the Gesture and Spirit of Their Own Era” by Michael Rock [Looking Closer 3].
• “The Trouble with Type” by Rudy VanderLans [Emigre 43].
• “Development of Form through Writing and Printing Techniques” by Adrian Frutiger [Signs and Symbols]
• “Cult of the Ugly” by Steven Heller [Eye #9, article]
• Introduction to Compendium for Literates by Karl Gerstner.
• “My Typographies” by Paul Elliman [Eye 27].
• Chapters 1–4, and 8 of The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst.
• “Typography and the Traditional Title Page” by Jan Tschichold [The Form of the Book].
• “The Crystal Goblet, or Printing Should be Invisible” by Beatrice Warde [Looking Closer 3].
• “towards a universal type.” by Herbert Bayer [Looking Closer 3].
• “The Author’s and Book Enjoyer’s Bill of Rights, at Least insofar as the Book Jacket is Concerned” by Dave Eggers [McSweeney’s #4].

Schedule

• Class 1: Introductions. General Overview, Projects, etc. Intro: A Deck of Types, pt. 1. Intro: Type Comparisons. Policies & Grading.
• Class 2: Discussion: Savan. In-class: Type Comparison 1. Intro: A Set.
• Class 3: Discussion: Baker. In-class: A Set, pt. 1. Due: A Deck of Types, pt. 1. Intro: A Deck of Types, pt. 2.
• Class 4: Discussion: Hoefler, Lupton & Miller. Lecture: Typographic Classification. In-class: Type Comparison 2.
• Class 5: Discussion: Rock, VanderLans. Lecture: Period Styles. In-class: A Set, pt. 2.
• Class 6: Discussion: Frutiger, Heller. Lecture: Aesthetics & Typography, Legibility. In-class: Begin Type Comparison 3.
• Class 7: In-class: A Set, pt. 3.
• Class 8: Discussion: Elliman, Gerstner. In-class: Kerning Project. Due: Type Comparisons
• Class 9: Quiz: Bringhurst. Lecture: Space, Type, & Measurement (Bringhurst). Presentation: Books & Chapbooks. Intro: A Chapbook.
• Class 10: Discussion: Tschichold. Lecture: Readability. Critique: A Chapbook.
• Class 11: In-class: A Set, pt. 4.
• Class 12: Critique: A Chapbook. Discussion: Warde, Bayer.
• Class 13: Critique: A Set, pt. 5. Discussion: Eggers.
• Class 14: Critique: A Chapbook.
• Class 15: Due: A Set. Due: A Chapbook. Good-byes & Final Words

This class was first given in spring 2003 at Parsons School of Design in New York.