Richard Lipton

Critic - Graphic Design

Richard Lipton has been making exquisite letterforms for more than 48 years. His background as a professional calligrapher has always guided his work as a type designer. Despite the somewhat strict parameters of this discipline, he feels there are no creative limits to the craft of letter-making.

While studying art and design in college, a chance exposure to a dramatic piece of calligraphy ignited Lipton’s passion for letterforms. He continued his lettering journey in 1975 as a freelance calligrapher, sign painter and graphic designer and established a calligraphy studio in Cambridge, MA. In 1983 he began working for Bitstream, an innovative digital type foundry under the guidance of Mike Parker and Matthew Carter, eventually helping to make Bitstream’s type library one of the most respected in the industry. After his eight years at Bitstream, he joined the respected type foundry Font Bureau.

In 2016 he established Lipton Letter Design, one of Type Network’s original foundry partners where he developed custom type for clients ranging from small businesses to international news organizations and global corporations. Lipton is currently a senior designer at The Type Founders where he continues to create original typefaces. 

Courses

Fall 2023 Courses

GRAPH 3859-01 - TYPE DESIGN
Level Undergraduate
Unit Graphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

GRAPH 3859-01

TYPE DESIGN

Level Undergraduate
Unit Graphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2023-09-06 to 2023-12-13
Times: TH | 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM Instructor(s): Richard Lipton Location(s): Design Center, Room 404 Enrolled / Capacity: 12 Status: Open

SECTION DESCRIPTION

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.

Open to Junior, Senior or Graduate Graphic Design Students only. Please contact the instructor to be added to the waitlist.

Elective

Spring 2024 Courses

GRAPH 3859-01 - TYPE DESIGN
Level Undergraduate
Unit Graphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
Period Spring 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

GRAPH 3859-01

TYPE DESIGN

Level Undergraduate
Unit Graphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
Period Spring 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2024-02-15 to 2024-05-24
Times: T | 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM Instructor(s): Richard Lipton Location(s): Design Center, Room 404 Enrolled / Capacity: 12 Status: Open

SECTION DESCRIPTION

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.

Open to Junior, Senior or Graduate Graphic Design Students.

Elective