| CODE | VSA1976 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Typography | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Visual Arts | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The course aims to make the student aware of an element of design that is ubiquitous up to a point where it sometimes becomes invisible. Type and typography are a fundamental design element in both the urban and the digital landscape which are often not given the importance due. This study-unit covers typography through its historic, cultural and philosophical contexts, typeface designs and designers, and type design and compositional principles. Through structured projects of increasing complexity, students will learn about the anatomy of the letter-form, understand the importance of rhythm, proportion, and harmony, and practice the processes and techniques required to design and develop a typeface which is legible, elegant and well composed. Through a number of design projects they will then be encouraged to explore form, composition and the use of space. Study-Unit Aims: - Expose the students to the history and philosophy of typography and type design so that they have a historical and critical context for the subject; - Expose the students to a number of seminal typeface designs and their designers and encourage them to research the cultural context and philosophy that may have contributed towards their existence; - Through lectures and exercises arm students with an understanding of the anatomy of type and a lexicon with which they can describe the elements of typography; - Guide students through structured projects to acquire the required skills to design, plan and draw a typeface; - Use software to render their type design in a digital format so that it can be used in other projects; - Foster a culture of critical, self reflection and peer evaluation. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Understand the elements of Typography and Type design and to describe a typeface in the appropriate terms; - Understand the need for standards and conventions when composing with type; - Recognise seminal typefaces, know their designers and the cultural and historical contexts from which they originated; - Tell the difference between typefaces and be able to classify them; - Know about alternative, left-field and experimental Type design and what led to these. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Notice and discern between good and bad type design and typography; - Know when and how to use specific typefaces; - Improve their drawing and presentation skills; - Gain an understanding of grids and composition; - Design typefaces based on aesthetic and historic models; - Use vector software related to type design; - Build good, insightful typographic compositions. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Bringhurst, Robert. The Elements of Typographic Style - V4, Hartley and Marks. - Kane, John. A Type Primer - 2nd ed. Laurence King Publishing. - Tschichold Jan. The New Typography: A Handbook for Modern Designers, University of California Press. - Grid Systems in Graphic Design: A Handbook for Graphic Artists, Typographers, and Exhibition Designers, Niggli Editions. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Co-requisite Study-unit: VSA1901 | ||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Project | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Mark Casha |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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