About This Course

This comprehensive course emphasizes the use of typography in the design process for use in branding, marketing collateral, web development, and film. The study of letter forms and fundamental typographic principles will be covered.

Students study typography terms, type as image, and typography's relationship to message making and meaning with an emphasis on understanding current and historical typographic trends including the importance of technology in the development of their own type face including digitizing for use on the computer. This comprehensive course emphasizes the importance of typography in the design process for use in branding, marketing collateral, web development, and film. Students explore the evolution and classification of letter form and develop their own typeface for use on the computer.
Advisory: DDP 102
Student Learning Objectives
    • Apply typography terms to the anatomy of type.
    • Apply technical and creative problem-solving skills to conceptualize, design, produce, and present original applications of typography on graphic design projects.
    • Analyze the effectiveness of visual communications through typographic designs utilizing the critique process.
Total Course Units 3
Lecture Semester Hours
36 Lecture Hours
54 Lab Hours
Total semester hours - 90
 (Homework) Out-of-class Hours - 72
Total Semester Hours - 162
Course Content
    • History, Contemporary Trends, Language, Aesthetics and Emerging Media as they Relate to Typography.
    • Anatomy of Letter Forms.
    • Fonts and Families.
    • Review of Typographic Tools and Features used in Design Software. 
    • Type Measurements: Points and Picas.
    • Type Layout and Formatting.
    • Creating typographic appeal and hierarchy.
    • Selecting and Mixing Typefaces.
    • Readability and Legibility.
    • Hand Lettering and Digital Typeface Creation.
    • Using Type Effectively.
    • Typographic Details.
    • Typographic Refinements.
    • Proofreading.
    • Creating Professional Quality Designs from Concept to Completion, avoiding Amateur Pitfalls.
    • Trends in Type.
    • Type Options for Web Design.
    • Type across Software Platforms.
    • Conversion of Student Custom Hand Lettered Typefaces into Digital Typeface for use in Software for Various Design Projects.
    • Group and Individual Critiques of Typographic Design utilizing relevant Terminology and Concepts.
    • Free and Commercial Font Sites.

Course Objectives

    1. Create original typographic design projects demonstrating the ability to investigate and integrate the needs of marketing, manufacturing and production into your design process and final design decisions.
    2. Evaluate typographic choices, and compare them to their peers during critical thinking skills with the recognition and consideration for the physical, cognitive, cultural, social, and human factors that shape your design
      decisions and final outcomes.
    3. Demonstrate the ability to identify, define, and evaluate potential, problems, variables, and requirements; conceptualize and evaluate alternatives.
    4. Design typographic layouts using software building upon their knowledge of design principles and elements.
    5. Demonstrate an understanding of five classic typeface families, the relevance of type history, theory, and criticism. Special emphasis will include sensitivity to the theory and practice of the ability of design to contribute positively to local and global communities.
    6. Create a portfolio of finished typographic projects that demonstrate depth of knowledge in your ability to create and develop visual form in response to communication problems using the principles of visual organization, composition, information and message hierarchy, symbolism, typography, aesthetics, and the construction of meaningful images.
    7. Demonstrate depth of knowledge in your ability to use current technology to conceive, design, produce, and create visual form to successfully communicate ideas, opinions, and concepts that are consistent with the professional field of applied digital media.
    8. Create original typographic design projects, synthesizing the parameters of the assignment within a specific deadline.
    9. Evaluate and defend their projects and typographic choices, and compare them to their peers during the critique process using critical thinking skills.

To proceed through the modules, you can use the "Next" button, which is always located near the lower right hand corner of the page. Once the button says "Next Module," then you have reached the last page of the current module.