The eLearning Center for Gatlin Education Services

Learn advanced concepts in typography including type fusion, information hierarchy, expressive type, and 3D type applications. Assignments include advertising, product packaging, civic branding, and currency design. The focus of the course is on improving your design by learning to see type differently.

LESSON 1 Letterforming Lesson One opens your eyes to the expressive power of type. You'll begin with an introduction to the exciting field of type design, exploring some of the challenges that typographers face. You'll investigate the difference between seeing type and reading it, helping you develop your appreciation for both functional and expressive letterforms. In the exercise, you'll experiment with type fusion, creating your own little Frankenstein's monster!

LESSON 2 Type Details and Hierarchy Type layout professionals look at the big picture and the details. Lesson Two covers all the minutaie (special characters, ligatures, dashes, and hyphens) you need to know to add finesse to your text layouts. You'll learn how and why to make kerning, leading, and tracking adjustments, exploring how your choice of typestyle affects your overall approach. You'll absorb principles of visual order by studying an advanced example of information design. In the exercise, you'll use your layout program to apply these fine-tuning techniques.

LESSON 3 Making Type Sing What makes type sing? Lesson Three explores the expressive aspects of typography, looking at the different ways in which letterform, layout, and color choices can create an abstract, almost musical impact on the reader. You'll explore outstanding examples of typography and test the analogy between type and music. In the exercise, you'll make your own music, by designing a pair of music performance posters.

LESSON 4 Type As Symbol In a logotype, typography transcends textual communication, becoming instead an image or identity, a potent source of cultural resonance. Lesson Four explores the embedded meanings in the logos we see everyday, analyzing how and why they communicate so powerfully. You'll look at a Floridian case study in identity creation. Then in the exercise, you'll create a civic identity -- for another Sessions student!

LESSON 5 Two, Three, Four Dimensions Mastered 2-D type? Then it's time to make your text pop and fly. Lesson Five explores techniques for lifting type off the page. 3-D effects such as shadow and perspective lead into a discussion of sculptural type and signage in our visual environment. The brave new world of dynamic typography is also explored, with case studies on leading practitioners of motion graphics and interactive text. In a logo design exercise, you'll design a standout brand for the most generic of products.

LESSON 6 Type Culture Type has cultural (and subcultural) weight. It can capture the spirit of the times and the power of the people. Lesson Six explores the different ways in which typography reflects and communicates cultural meaning. A particular focus is upon one vehicle for typography important to all designers: money. The visual language of currency design is explored, setting you up for a final project in which you redesign your local lucre. Just don't go spending it!