This course focuses on advanced composition in Graphic Design and Typography using an array of materials, techniques and formats. Form remains an area of study in graphic design that does not need an application, only a surface. Emphasis will be placed on experimental form-making/image-making using generative and iterative approaches. Form need not follow function. Studio assignments are supported by lectures showing contemporary graphic form, from historical to contemporary work, that are effective and evocative. This elective aims to build a collection of work that can be shared with the larger graphic design community.

Elective

How do we turn something unintuitive, like a flat digital screen, into something that’s a joy to use? In this studio elective, we’ll explore this question through the field of user interface and experience (UI/UX) design. Our studies will look at a wide range of digital platforms including apps, websites, operating systems, and video games, as well as physical and hybrid contexts such as appliances and exhibitions. Through lectures, exercises, and projects, we’ll investigate what it takes to design legible, meaningful interactions with the technologies that shape our lives.

Instruction will focus on creating digital and physical mockups and prototypes, alongside methods for user research and testing. Students will primarily work in Figma, supported by in-class tutorials. While this is not a coding course, we’ll consider how designers and developers collaborate to bring interfaces to life. Some familiarity with graphic design and typography is recommended but not required.

Elective

Graduate Typography I through III (GRAPH-332G/342G/352G) are a sequence of courses that focus on the subject of typography. This sequence covers the fundamentals of typography, its theory, practice, technology and history. Studies range from introductory through advanced levels. Grad Typography I includes: the study of letterforms, type design, proportion, hierarchy, legibility, and structures for composition of multiple type elements. Aspects of contemporary practice and theory are integrated into research and discussion.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Graphic Design Students.

Major Requirement | MFA Graphic Design (3yr)

The second semester continues the development of typographic practice by exploring the conditions in which type operates: the systems needed to work with varying scales and narrative structures. Students will design large-scale and small-scale work simultaneously; understanding the trade-offs of various formats and contexts. The course also extends basic typesetting into more extended reading experiences. Students will learn to set the conditions for readability by creating order, expressing emotion and making meaning. Students will design and bind a book while understanding how the traditions of the codex relate to onscreen reading. Within the durable form of the book, lies centuries of conventions like indexical systems, footnotes, page matter and more. Students also will become better readers, by engaging with contemporary issues in the field of typography and type design. This is a studio course, so some class time will be used for discussions, most of the time we will be working in class, often on a computer. There is an expectation that students work both individually and in groups and be prepared to speak about their own work and the work of their peers in supportive and respectful ways. A laptop and relevant software are required.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Graphic Design Students.

Major Requirement | MFA Graphic Design (3yr)

Typography III is the culmination of RISD's typography sequence, with an emphasis on typography and contemporary display platforms. Advances in software and hardware have created new opportunities for how language is written, sequenced and accessed. Projects in this semester depend on altered states, where the content, composition, and context all are potentially at play. Students will continue to develop proficiency in designing for static compositions while extending the meaning and voice of that work across multiple platforms. Students will have ample opportunity to further shape their perspective and individual voice in relation to contemporary typography. This is a studio course, so some class time will be used for discussions, most of the time we will be working in class, often on a computer. There is an expectation that students work both individually and in groups and be prepared to speak about their own work and the work of their peers in supportive and respectful ways. A laptop and relevant software are required.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graphic Design Students.

Major Requirement | MFA Graphic Design (3yr)

This elective is an opportunity for students to immerse themselves in the process of designing a serif text typeface; to consider all the design decisions that are a part of this creative exercise, and to learn the finer points of bezier wrangling, serif and sans, spacing, kerning, and all the other details of execution which turn a roughly-formed idea into a more complete, rigorous and polished type design. This course will provide a fundamental understanding of how typefaces work in addition to accessing a new design tool that can find practical use. This is a Mac only course.

Elective

This elective is an opportunity for students to immerse themselves in the process of designing a serif text typeface; to consider all the design decisions that are a part of this creative exercise, and to learn the finer points of bezier wrangling, serif and sans, spacing, kerning, and all the other details of execution which turn a roughly-formed idea into a more complete, rigorous and polished type design. This course will provide a fundamental understanding of how typefaces work in addition to accessing a new design tool that can find practical use. This is a Mac only course.

Elective