Throughout history, from the earliest carvings in stone to today’s digital designs, typography has been the foundation of effective visual communication. Whether you're designing a logo, building a website, or crafting a magazine layout, the right font can transform your work from ordinary to exceptional.
In this practical typography course, you’ll learn the fundamental principles of typography that are crucial for creating effective and visually appealing designs. You'll explore the history and anatomy of type, diving into type eras and classifications to understand the evolution of fonts. You'll learn how to choose the right fonts for different projects and master the art of creating strong typographic hierarchy, contrast, and clarity. We’ll cover essential spacing techniques, such as kerning, tracking, and leading, to ensure your text is clear and easy to read. Through hands-on exercises focused on functional design, you’ll study how to align typography with overall design goals, whether in print or digital media.
By the end, you'll have the skills to confidently choose the perfect type for any project, creating work that is not only visually stunning but also functionally effective.
Pre-requisite: Adobe Illustrator and Adobe InDesign
CEUs: 1.6
Length (in hours): 16
Price in USD $225
Price in CAD $305
Agenda
Unit 1
Foundations of Typography
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The history of typography: from carved stone to digital type
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Letterform anatomy and key terminology: strokes, serifs, counters, terminals, and more
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Proportions and ratios in letterform design
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How to analyze and evaluate typefaces: form, function, and personality
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Understanding font file formats and their uses (OTF, TTF, WOFF, etc.)
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Google fonts, Adobe fonts
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Unit 2
Understanding and Choosing Typefaces
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Fonts vs. font families definition
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History of typeface eras and the evolution of classifications
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Introduction to type classifications: serif, sans-serif, script, display, etc.
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Choosing a typeface: readability, legibility, appropriateness, tone, and medium
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Aligning type with message, audience, and context
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Best practices for font pairing and establishing harmony
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Sourcing and licensing fonts responsibly for personal and commercial use
Unit 3
Typographic Hierarchy and Layout
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Principles of visual hierarchy: guiding the viewer’s eye
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The three core levels of typographic hierarchy in practice
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Creating emphasis through typographic contrast: weight, size, color, case, and style
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Highlighting and emphasis techniques: bold, italic, all caps, small caps, and color
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Type alignment and consistency: flush left, centered, justified, and ragged-right
Unit 4
Formatting Text and Typesetting
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Working with grids and layout strategies to organize content
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Using column grids to structure text across layouts
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Choosing the right column configuration for print and digital
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Paragraph structure and rhythm: indentation and separation
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Precision spacing: kerning, tracking, and leading
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Managing orphans, widows, and runts
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Hyphens and Dashes: proper usage of hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes