“Removing” Typography from a Curriculum — Michael Kelly
Channel: TypeCon
Date: 27/06/2022

Recorded during TypeCon2018: Xx in Portland, Oregon

In the Fall of 2017, the Communications Design Department at Pratt Institute began the roll out of a revised curriculum, the result of at least seven years of consideration and three years of very focused development. During the years preceding the roll out — and even as it has commenced — one of the concerns voiced was the “lack of typography” or “removal of typography” from it. Of course, this was merely a matter of nomenclature. Typography was expected to be considered and integrated in almost every core course, factored in to those centered on or including research, cross-platform design, information design and environmental design.

For a department as large as this, and one that includes concentrations in Graphic Design, Illustration and Advertising, this presented and will continue to present distinct challenges. As both a faculty member and administrator who has helped craft the curriculum, oversee its roll out and now taught one of the individual courses, I have examined this process from several angles, and as part of that investigation have also worked to integrate this thinking into the ‘old’ courses being phased out of the curriculum. It remains a work in progress.