This is the first studio for students in the communication design program. Students explore the fundamental principles of typography, where type is regarded as an image that serves a variety of communicative purposes. Projects allow students to explore issues of form and meaning, hierarchy, legibility and readability, structure and composition, and the design process. While typography is a highly focused branch of communication design, this introduction to type as image serves to open a path for students to study all facets of communication design in subsequent courses.
Students use both traditional materials and design tools as well as computers.
Special tutorials provide basic instruction in software such as QuarkXPress and Adobe Illustrator. In addition, we will also discuss some of the key figures, philosophies, and technologies that have shaped typography. The course will also include a demonstration of letterpress operation in the Design Department's Lab Press and a guided visit to the Hunt Library's Rare Book Room.