Display typefaces are statements of love towards the craft of type design. They offer opportunities to push the boundaries of legibility, creativity, and self-expression while inviting us to engage in conversation with language, culture, and form. Designing display typefaces is a useful skill to develop a deep understanding of the tools and processes for making type as well as finding one’s unique voice in the field.

In this ten-week workshop, we’ll learn the foundations for designing display typefaces that speak for themselves. Through an emphasis on sketching methods and design strategies, you’ll learn how to make letterforms and produce fonts that stand out. Participants will do research to develop their own design brief, practice rigorously through weekly drawing exercises, and hone their personal discipline and craftsmanship.

This class will cover the basics of drawing letterforms by hand and digitally using Bézier curves in order to design coherent systems and develop your own typographic language. Whether you’re a graphic designer or a budding type designer, this class will help you step up your type game, get out of your comfort zone, or level up before a masters program. Let’s have some serious fun and put your talents on display.

Audience and Format

This class will be taught online via Zoom and Slack. There will be class participation and homework each week to enable students to challenge themselves and develop practical and critical skills. The ideal student can range from someone with a basic understanding of Bézier curves (e.g. the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator) who is making a font for the first time to someone with years of experience and mastery of the tools who wants to use this as an opportunity to continue developing their practice and join a community of learners. The most important qualities for success in this class are to be curious, have an open mind, and a willingness to iterate and challenge yourself.

Goals

• Discover your own process and develop an efficient workflow
• Develop your eye to judge consistency in contrast, color, spacing, and rhythm
• Develop an understanding of the relationship between calligraphy, lettering, and type
• Join a community of people passionate about letterforms

Learning Outcomes

• Learn digital drafting skills
• Learn how to use Glyphs App, a digital font editor
• Learn the basics of type design
• Learn how to design and space a basic Latin character set
• Learn how to proof and evaluate a typeface
• Learn the basics of OpenType and Language support
• Learn to draw for interpolation and produce variable fonts

Material Requirements

• Mac computer (laptop or desktop)
• Reliable Internet connection
• A free Zoom account
• A free Slack account (an invitation to a class group will be sent to each participant)
• Glyphs App, a free temporary educational license will be issued to each student enrolled
• A license to a professional Graphic Design Software such as Adobe Creative Suite or Affinity Designer to test the fonts.
• Speedball Calligraphy Pen with C1 nibs or Pilot Parallel Pen, 6.0 mm + refills (black ink)
• Speedball Oblique Pen Holder
• Gillott 303 Pointed Nib or similar
• Canson Pro-Layout Marker Paper Pad, 9" × 12" 50-Sheet Pad or similar
• Bee Paper White Sketch and Trace Roll, 12-I nch by 20-Yards or similar kind of tracing paper roll or pad
• Non-waterproof ink (black, walnut, or another dark color)
• Shallow dish or bowl for ink
• Eraser, white-out, scissors, and tape (artist tape or removable tape recommended)
• Any kind of sketchbook analog or digital to take notes and jot down ideas
• Access to a B&W laser printer is recommended for proofing homework and class exercises

Software Requirements

The instructor will be working, demoing, and providing tutorials using Glyphs App (Mac only). A temporary Glyphs App license will be provided to all participants for the duration of the class. However, you’re welcome to use Fontlab (Windows and Mac) or Robofont (Mac only) as long as you’re comfortable with troubleshooting technical issues by referring to your font editor’s manual or forum.

Scholarship Information

Scholarship seats are available for this course. Please check out more details on the scholarship page. This scholarship is open to all Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, with priority given to those who have limited resources or access to educational opportunities.