Type Design
- Faculty
Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science
- Version
Version 1 of 20.09.2024.
- Module identifier
11B1939
- Module level
Bachelor
- Language of instruction
German, English
- ECTS credit points and grading
5.0
- Module frequency
only summerterm
- Duration
1 semester
- Brief description
Type characters are the key elements of the visual appearance of graphical user interfaces of interactive products and applications and of classical print products as well. By forming words and sentences out of separate characters, type is a tool for communication of contents and messages. Furthermore, the shape and elements of characters refer to esthetical and social-cultural contexts. Students acquire a detailed understanding of type anatomy from a historical point of view as well as a contemporary perspective. Building on this knowledge the students design and develop an executable font using classical and/or experimental methods and procedures.
- Teaching and learning outcomes
- History of type design
- Production-related aspects of type design
- Type anatomy
- Type classifications
- Manual type design
- Digital type design
- Context-sensitive, generative, randomized, dynamical type design
- Overall workload
The total workload for the module is 150 hours (see also "ECTS credit points and grading").
- Teaching and learning methods
Lecturer based learning Hours of workload Type of teaching Media implementation Concretization 15 Seminar - 15 Practice - 30 Laboratory activity - Lecturer independent learning Hours of workload Type of teaching Media implementation Concretization 10 Reception of other media or sources - 40 Work in small groups - 40 Creation of examinations -
- Graded examination
- Work medial
- Ungraded exam
- Field work / Experimental work
- Recommended prior knowledge
Basic design knowledge
- Knowledge Broadening
The students who successfully completed this module possess extensive knowledge of the historical evolution of type design and its contemporary variants. They understand the current type classifications.
- Knowledge deepening
The students who successfully completed this module have a detailed knowledge of type anatomy. They know the production-related aspects and the visual esthetics of type design and its evolution that can be experienced in fonts of the 20th and 21st century. They are able to identify historical connections and stylistic relationships between type designs.
- Knowledge Understanding
The students who successfully completed this module analyze and evaluate the quality of type design relating to its intended purpose.
- Application and Transfer
The students who successfully completed this module are able to develop realizable type designs using professional methods.
- Academic Innovation
Students who have successfully studied this module are able to develop innovative design approaches and convert them into draft typefaces and to integrate the latest information technology developments into the implementation.
- Communication and Cooperation
The students who successfully completed this module are able to present the historical and stylistic classification of type designs and its shapes and elements understandable for different target groups. They give reason for decisions in regards to their type design in a comprehensible matter.
- Academic Self-Conception / Professionalism
Students who have successfully studied this module can assess their creative competence in the development of type designs and their ability to technically implement them.
- Literature
- Blackwell, Lewis (1995): David Carson – The end of print, Bangert
- Blackwell, Lewis (2004): 20th Century Type, Laurence King Publishing
- Carter, Rob (2018): Typographic Design – Form and Communication (7th ed.), Wiley
- Coles, Stephen (2016): The Geometry of Type – The Anatomy of 100 Essential Typefaces, Thames & Hudson
- de Jong, Cees W. et al. (2008): Jan Tschichold - Master Typographer, Thames & Hudson
- Frere-Jones, Tobias (2017): Fifty Type Specimens From the Collection of Tobias Frere-Jones, Princeton Architectural Press
- Heller, Steven & Fili, Louise (2016): Slab Serif Type – A Century of Bold Letterforms
- Neville, Brody & Wozencroft, Jon (2012): From Invention to Antimatter – Twenty years of FUSE, Taschen
- Forssman, Friedrich & de Jong, Ralf (2004): Detailtypografie, Hermann Schmidt
- Frutiger, Adrian (1998): Signs and Symbols: Their Design and Meaning, Watson-Guptill
- Renner, Paul (1999): The Art of Typography, Princeton Architectural Press
- Unger, Gerard (2018): Theory of Type Design, nai010 publishers
- VanderLans, Rudy (2016): Emigre Fonts Book – Type Specimens 1986-2016, Gingko Press
- Victionary (2019): Type for Type – Custom typeface solutions for modern visual identities, Thames & Hudson
- Willberg, Hans Peter (2001): Wegweiser Schrift, Hermann Schmidt
- Wozencroft, Jon (1988): The Graphic Language of Neville Brody, Thames & Hudson
- Applicability in study programs
- Industrial Product Design
- Industrial Product Design B.A. (01.09.2024)
- Media & Interaction Design
- Media & Interaction Design B.A. (01.09.2024)
- Person responsible for the module
- Arndt, Henrik
- Teachers
- Arndt, Henrik