Typography 1 is the first in a three-course sequence that introduces students to the fundamentals of typographic practice, both as a set of technical skills and as an expressive medium. This first semester of typography begins fully zoomed-in -- exploring how and why letterforms are formed. Students will work with various tools and materials to construct letters; with attention paid to meaning, voice and the line between language and abstract form. The second part of the semester concerns itself with setting type. Typesetting is the score for the reading experience. Typesetting conventions and nomenclature will be taught by zooming out from the letter, to the word, to the paragraph and to the page. Students will become comfortable with typographic color and texture in a finite static composition. This is a studio course, so some class time will be used for discussions, most of the time we will be working in class. 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. 

Major Requirement | BFA Graphic Design

Web as Medium 1 is an introduction to creating communicative media for the web, from both conceptual and technological perspectives. Through engaging in readings, student-led presentations, and projects, students will explore cultural, social, and historical contexts around network technologies, and discover the Internet's potential as a space for social exchange and independent expression. Throughout workshops and hands-on exercises, students will learn fundamental design principles as well as a basic understanding of HTML/CSS/Javascript. Studio projects will guide students in exploring methods for conceptualizing, designing, and developing websites. While outcomes won’t always prioritize practicality or strict functionality, the emphasis lies on cultivating a poetic understanding of design and the Internet as mediums for critical research and action.

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 Sophomore Graphic Design Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Graphic Design

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