Typography
MEDA 214
Typography, is a introductory-level studio course in the graphic design
major, with a focus on using type to communicate visually and verbally. Typography covers the fundamentals of letterform design, the functional and creative use of type, the technical aspects of typesetting, some history of typography, and the development of symbolic and typographic elements. The course will build on compositional and imaging skills that students have begun to develop in their earlier classes.
About Typography
This portfolio showcases the work of students who began with only a rudimentary understanding of typography, transforming from simple users of fonts into thoughtful creators of visual language. Through a series of projects, they discovered that typography is far more than just picking a font; it is the art of giving words a voice.
Project 1: The Building Blocks
Creating Type
Our journey began by asking students to design their own typefaces. This wasn't about creating something ready for a major foundry, but about deconstructing letters to understand them as shapes. They explored the anatomy of a character—the strokes, curves, and serifs that give a letter its unique identity. By building their own alphabet from the ground up, students learned to see the letters not as static symbols but as a system of forms that must work together harmoniously.
Project 2: Words
as Images
Next, the students tackled the idea of visually defining a word. They were asked to go beyond the literal meaning and use type to convey the emotion or essence of a word. For example, how do you make the word "whisper" look and feel quiet, or "explosion" appear chaotic and loud? This project taught them that form informs function. The shape, weight, and spacing of the letters weren't just for reading; they became tools for communicating feeling and tone, proving that type can be a visual expression in itself.
Project 3: Creating Order from Chaos (The Grid)
With a grasp of individual characters and expressive forms, we moved on to organizing information. The students' third project focused on hierarchy and grids. They learned that the strategic use of scale, weight, and position can guide the reader's eye, creating a clear visual roadmap. This is where they began to truly understand typography's functional purpose—not just making a message legible, but making it understandable at a glance. They saw that a well-structured grid isn't a limitation; it's a foundation that brings clarity and order to even complex information.
Project 4: Type
and Music
Finally, the students were challenged to visualize music through three distinct static compositions. This project pushed them to use everything they had learned to translate an auditory experience into a visual one. The first piece focused on the concept behind the music, using type to capture the song's core emotion or narrative. The second tackled rhythm, employing repetition, spacing, and weight to create a visual pulse and beat. The third piece visualized the melody, using the rise and fall of the type to represent the song's pitch and flow. This final exercise demonstrated how type can convey abstract ideas and emotions, proving its expressive power extends far beyond the static page.
