This course will cover all aspects of designing comprehensive art and photographic books. We will examine the use of type in layouts, editing images, grids, scale, and pacing. Particular attention will be paid to certain elements of design production, including the visual, tactile, and aesthetic qualities of paper, printing, binding, color separation, and advanced techniques in reproduction, namely duotone and three-tone in black and white photography. In the first part of the semester students will design the layout and the corresponding dust jacket for a photographic book. The material will include a number of original black and white photographs from one of the very well known French photographers. In the second part of the semester, students will be given the choice between designing a book based on their own interests and completing a book design project using assigned material.

Elective

This graduate-level studio elective course will use the term "variable" as a core trajectory through the semester, and will focus on methodologies to visualize these variable design spaces; exploring the potentials of working within single to multi-axis frameworks. Inside these spaces, instances (artifacts) can be interpolated (generated). From analogue tools to variable letterforms, this elective will consider the technical and poetic potentials related to the process of interpolation; from observing two knowns, an unknown can be defined.

This elective will consider typography and typographic technology as generative worlds of practice for study; containing endless rabbit holes to explore, engage with, and return to. We will specifically explore variability in relation to the production of type, and curiously chart the number of ways in which the tools/programs of type production can be used (and mis-used) to animate forms (letters or otherwise). We will navigate the relationship between the history of code, and the history of font production, to find ourselves making within the current context of variable type technologies. Primarily a studio-centric ‘off-road typography’ making and prototyping environment, the course’s critical dialogue will focus on the transformation of language and communication through these variable design processes.

Elective

This workshop will introduce students to the foundational tenets of digital 3-dimensional modeling through the lens of the graphic designer. Using 3D-modeling and sculpting software students will learn strategies for creating virtual forms in different contexts. Once comfortable with modeling students will be introduced to the various elements of rendering including shaders, lighting, and the virtual camera. After successfully rendering scenes students will learn to composite their renderings with 2D graphic design work as well as create animations for video and motion graphics.

Elective

This workshop will introduce students to the foundational tenets of digital 3-dimensional modeling through the lens of the graphic designer. Using 3D-modeling and sculpting software students will learn strategies for creating virtual forms in different contexts. Once comfortable with modeling students will be introduced to the various elements of rendering including shaders, lighting, and the virtual camera. After successfully rendering scenes students will learn to composite their renderings with 2D graphic design work as well as create animations for video and motion graphics.

Elective

This workshop will introduce students to the foundational tenets of digital 3-dimensional modeling through the lens of the graphic designer. Using 3D-modeling and sculpting software students will learn strategies for creating virtual forms in different contexts. Once comfortable with modeling students will be introduced to the various elements of rendering including shaders, lighting, and the virtual camera. After successfully rendering scenes students will learn to composite their renderings with 2D graphic design work as well as create animations for video and motion graphics.

Elective

This workshop will focus on establishing a basic understanding of a variety of screen printing techniques and how to make use of those techniques in making your projects. Through in-class demos and out-of-class assignments, this workshop will encourage interplay between screen prints and digital prints. The class will start with simple paper stencils and move quickly into making screens from images and text generated digitally. No previous experience required.

Elective

This workshop will focus on establishing a basic understanding of a variety of screen printing techniques and how to make use of those techniques in making your projects. Through in-class demos and out-of-class assignments, this workshop will encourage interplay between screen prints and digital prints. The class will start with simple paper stencils and move quickly into making screens from images and text generated digitally. No previous experience required.

Elective

This workshop will focus on establishing a basic understanding of a variety of screen printing techniques and how to make use of those techniques in making your projects. Through in-class demos and out-of-class assignments, this workshop will encourage interplay between screen prints and digital prints. The class will start with simple paper stencils and move quickly into making screens from images and text generated digitally. No previous experience required.

Elective

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

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

Web as Medium 2 is an advanced studio course for students who have been exploring browser-based technologies as a creative medium. Students will build on their critical understanding of code to investigate the cultural, social, and philosophical implications of the internet, culminating in the creation of self-driven projects as their responses. The course will provide a space for students to conduct in-depth experiments on the web, fostering active skill-sharing and knowledge exchange among peers. The course features student-led research/workshops as a point of engagement with relevant technologies and its discourse, along with self-driven projects that utilize the browser as a space to experiment and communicate. Prerequisite knowledge of or coursework in HTML/CSS/JS basics is required — students are expected to have solid understanding of network technologies, including how to publish web pages to the internet.

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.

Please contact the department for permission to register; registration is not available in Workday. 

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

This is a vibrant time for book makers. The designer encapsulates numerous roles in the creation of a publication: content generator, typographer, printer, binder, editor and publisher. Gutenberg may have started the revolution in the 1400s, but the form of the book is anything but antiquated. With ever-changing technologies and sophisticated materials, the potential for the book and its distribution has only expanded. Through a series of exploratory exercises including hybrid forms of printing and binding, students will continually use content as the primary consideration as they challenge historical precedents and traditions. Artists including Clarissa Sligh, Julie Chen, Leon Ferrari, Mira Schendel, Amos Paul Kennedy, Tauba Auerbach, Sara DeBondt, Irma Boom, and others provide differing models, and perspectives on the form of the book. Students will visit special collections for inspiration, experiment with  both traditional and experimental materials and bindings to position the book into contemporary hands. 

Estimated Cost of Materials: $100.00

Elective

This course is for graduate students in graphic design to work independently on research. The instructor serves an advisory role in all projects. Students must submit a written proposal for work planned and criteria for evaluation. Course meetings are arranged individually, or with the group as needed.

Course may be repeated due to new research projects each semester.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department.

Elective

This course is for graphic design graduate students in their final year to work independently on their graduate thesis. The instructor serves an advisory role in all projects. Students must submit a written proposal for work planned and criteria for evaluation. Course meetings are arranged individually, or with the group as needed.

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

Major Requirement | MFA Graphic Design