Undergraduate · Studio · 4 credits
Typography
From the letterform to the page — type as meaning, structure, and voice.
PREREQUISITES
no prerequisites
OFFERED
even fall
LEVEL
300-level
An introductory studio course in typography covering the fundamentals of letterform design, the functional and expressive use of type, typographic history, and the development of typographic systems. Students draw letterforms by hand, photograph type in the environment, design typefaces, and build multi-page grid systems. Every project treats type as both a formal element and a carrier of meaning.
Syllabus
Key information — full syllabus available as PDF
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Understand letterform anatomy, type classification, and the historical development of typographic styles from the Renaissance through modernism and beyond
Draw letterforms by hand — developing sensitivity to proportion, weight, curve, and the formal relationships that distinguish typefaces
Design a display typeface that communicates the tone, time, and place of an assigned narrative
Use type as image — manipulate letterforms so that their placement, scale, and arrangement define meaning without illustrative imagery
Demonstrate knowledge of grid systems and typographic hierarchy across a nine-poster series and a bound type specimen booklet
Apply design principles — kerning, leading, alignment, visual weight, figure-ground — to typographic composition
Engage with the history of experimental typography: Futurist typography, the Bauhaus, the New Typography of Jan Tschichold, Swiss International Style, El Lissitzky's constructivist typographic experiments
Create concrete poetry in which letterforms, arranged spatially and sequentially, carry rhythmic, melodic, and emotional meaning
Work professionally in Adobe Illustrator and InDesign
STRUCTURE
4 major projects, sequencing from the letterform through the word, the grid, and poetic/experimental form
Opens with Found Letterforms — a photographic small assignment that trains the eye to see type in the built environment
All projects begin with hand drawing, sketching, or physical investigation before digital construction
Projects build from individual mark to word to page to sequence - Process book maintained throughout the semester
Small assignments and exercises accompany each project
Mid-project and final critiques
ASSESSMENT
Ungraded — students propose their own final grades - Self-reflections accompany each project
End-of-semester grade discussions with instructor
End-of-semester process book submitted as primary evidence of growth
TEEXTBOOKS
No required textbook.
Course draws on readings and references including: - Lupton, Ellen — Thinking with Type - Bringhurst, Robert — The Elements of Typographic Style - Spiekermann, Erik — Stop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Works - Tschichold, Jan — The New Typography - Historical references: Futurist typography (Marinetti), Bauhaus typography (Herbert Bayer, László Moholy-Nagy), El Lissitzky, Swiss International Style (Weingart, Müller-Brockmann), Jan Tschichold
Readings and visual references distributed via course management system.
Recommended typefaces drawn from Adobe Fonts — no fonts from dafont.com or similar free font sites.
Projects
Major projects per semester:
Typography Project 1: Type Prototype
Students design a display typeface inspired by an assigned short story. The typeface must communicate the tone, time, and place of the narrative — its formal qualities carrying the emotional and contextual content of the text. Students draw letterforms on graph paper before building vectors in Illustrator, then produce a type specimen sheet.
Typography Project 2: The Word
Each student is assigned an unusual word drawn from the dictionary and must visually communicate its definition through the arrangement, scale, and placement of type alone. Four 11"×17" panels progress from full-definition text to individual words, syllables, and finally individual letterforms. No images, no illustration. The word must define itself through typographic form.
Typography Project 3: The Grid
Students research a typeface designer and their typeface, then design nine typographic posters — one for each of nine named grid systems — using that typeface exclusively. The posters are assembled into a half-size type specimen booklet. The project teaches grid logic, typographic hierarchy, and the relationship between system and expression.
Typography Project 4: Order and Harmony
Students choose a song and extract a significant word or short phrase from its lyrics. Using that text, they create three concrete poems: one spatial and non-linear (graphic), one sequential and linear (rhythmic), and one sequential and linear (melodic/phonetic). Type selection, size, and placement carry the emotional, rhythmic, and musical experience of the song — without notation, without imagery.
Typography: Warm-up Assignment - Found Letterforms
Students photograph a single letterform — one of their own initials — in the built environment, gathering a minimum of 25 examples across typefaces, styles, materials, and scales. Nine selected images are arranged in a 3×3 matrix. The assignment trains the eye to see letterforms as formal objects before the semester's design work begins.
Course Overview
- Typography is the first course I taught, starting in 2005 at Rochester Community and Technical College and the Art Institute Online. Since then, I've taught it at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Buena Vista University, Bradley University, and now at Pacific University. Over twenty years and five institutions, the core idea has remained the same: type isn't just a vessel for words. It’s a visual element with its own logic, history, and capacity to convey meaning. The course aims to teach students to see type—really see it—as designers do.
The course structure mirrors the history of typography. It starts with the letterform: its anatomy, manual construction, and formal relationships. Then it moves to the word—how letterforms combine to create meaning and how arrangement, scale, and placement influence that meaning. Next, it explores the page—how grids organize information and how typographic hierarchy guides reading. Finally, it covers experimental and poetic forms—type liberated from conventional reading, arranged spatially to evoke rhythm, movement, and emotion.
Experimental typography isn’t a separate topic but the culmination of what comes before. The Futurists recognized that page layout itself made an argument—that form and content are intertwined. El Lissitzky's Bauhaus experiments showed that letterforms could be designed as visual elements with intent. Jan Tschichold's New Typography set out principles of asymmetric layouts and hierarchy still used today. Wolfgang Weingart's experimental Swiss typography proved the grid is a tool, not a constraint—its rules should be understood deeply before being intentionally broken. These aren’t just historical references; they form the intellectual foundation for every design decision students make in this course.
Course Reflection
- Typography exists at the intersection of language and form, where what is said and how it visually appears become inseparable. A student who learns to kern type precisely, set body text with appropriate leading to create a breathable page, and select typefaces that serve the content rather than personal preference, gains skills that go well beyond graphic design. They learn to perceive how form conveys meaning, which is fundamental to all visual communication.
I have taught this course since 2005—longer than any other in my teaching career. Over time, I have made numerous adjustments to the project sequence, typeface requirements, and brief details. However, the core requirements remain: students must draw letterforms by hand before digital type setting, photograph letterforms in the environment before designing typefaces, and sketch concepts on graph paper prior to creating vectors in Illustrator. These practices predate the widespread use of AI tools by nearly twenty years. They were grounded in the belief that hand drawing fosters an sensitivity to letterform proportions and weights that digital work alone cannot develop. Although this argument is more relevant now than ever, it was never about AI — it’s about the hand-eye-formed relationship.
Understanding typography’s history is crucial because it provides context for contemporary decision-making. The Futurists' experiments—Marinetti's use of varied typefaces, sizes, and orientations to create visual noise—reflected their social and technological context. El Lissitzky's Proun works and Bauhaus typography showed that letterforms could be abstract visual components without losing their communicative power. Tschichold's New Typography introduced asymmetric grids and hierarchy principles that still influence professional practice today. Weingart's experimental work at Basel demonstrated how a designer’s deep understanding of rules enables purposeful rule-breaking. Students familiar with this history make better decisions—not by copying but by understanding that every typographic choice relates to history.
Project 2, “The Word,” is the most challenging and revealing assignment in the course. Students are assigned an uncommon word from the dictionary—often unfamiliar—and must communicate its meaning solely through the arrangement, size, and placement of type. No images, illustrations, or decorations are allowed. The word must define itself solely through form. Many students find this project frustrating, but that frustration leads to growth. It compels them to see type as a visual element in its own right, not merely a label for pre-existing images. The progress from initial sketches to final critique consistently demonstrates the greatest development of the semester.
Selected Student Self-Reflections