Skills for Latin and Chinese multiscript design
An intensive training in key areas of design for visual communication, making use of unique material resources in a small-group interactive format. Areas covered:
• Western typography key concepts and trends, including trends in document design and branding.
• Essential knowledge for working with Latin typefaces: understanding shapes, proportions, and styles both visually and through their relationship to typographic genres and technologies.
• Systematic learning of document genres, and matching typeface families for publications in print and online, in preparation for multiscript environments.
• Typeform and logo refining practice to achieve fitness for optical scale and rendering environments.
• Multiscript / multilingual typography challenges and solutions, trends and quality criteria.
The course combines hands-on sessions with original material from our Collections & Archives, workshop sessions in a world-class studio with twelve presses (using wood and metal type from multiple scripts), illustrated presentations, and workshop-style exercises.
The primary material available to participants is from the Department’s museum-accredited Collections & Archives, and comprises unique materials covering typeface design, typemaking, ephemera, posters, and printed publications spanning five centuries, and designers’ personal archives.
Schedule
Five days, 10:00–17:00 each day with an hour’s break at 13:00 (light lunch provided). Coffee and tea available throughout the day.
Day 1
Morning theme: fundamental document conventions
Introduction to the course | personal introductions | working methods
Exercise: identifying document genres and styles
Feedback: exercise results and discussion
Afternoon theme: fundamental typographic conventions
Exercise: typeform details and typeface consistency 1
Feedback: practice results and discussion
Day 2
Morning theme: typefaces and documents in response to technologies
Exercise: typesetting for letterpress
Demonstration: typesetting for hot-metal
Feedback: practice results and discussion
Afternoon theme: from letters to typefaces to families
Exercise: selecting family members and styles
Feedback: practice results and discussion
Day 3
Morning theme: multiscript / multilingual typefaces
Exercise: typeface pairing across scripts
Feedback: practice results and discussion
Afternoon theme: multiscript / multilingual typography
Exercise: typographic composition across scripts
Feedback: exercise results and discussion
Day 4
Morning theme: building detail skills 1
Exercise: typeface refinement
Feedback: exercise results and discussion
Afternoon theme: building detail skills 2
Exercise: logo refinement
Feedback: exercise results and discussion
Day 5
Morning theme: total design specification
Exercise: creating a typographic specification for
multiscript bands and documents across devices
Afternoon presentation: workshop results
Final display review and discussion
Equipment
Laptops with Adobe Creative Suite applications and Glyphs for those interested in exploring typeface adjustments
(We provide pencils, pen, nibs, and markers of different widths, but do bring your favourite tools)
Registration
Register via the University’s e-store ➽
Accommodation in student halls with en-suite rooms is available.
