Online Core: Experimental Type

Go beyond conventional type design to explore sketching techniques and letter construction, discover new shapes and letterforms, and come up with your own original ideas.

During this four-week workshop, participants will explore the exciting world of sketching tools and techniques and dive deep into the creative process of discovering new letterforms.

Over the course of four Thursday evenings (June 9, 16, 23, and 30), we will learn about letter construction, analogue sketching approaches, and how to bend and break the rules to create unique shapes and create original ideas.

We will practice analyzing your own work to become better critics. In the never-ending play of black and white, participants will learn about fundamental type design principles and how to develop an eye for form and counter-form, color, contrast, consistency, spacing, rhythm, and texture.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand the basics of letter construction
• Explore letterforms through analogue techniques
• Learn to balance form and counter-form, spacing, setting rhythm, and observing textures
• Learn to analyze your sketches, be your own critic, and develop your own process for designing type from scratch

Required Materials

• White paper (bleedproof, A4 or A3)
• Black paper (for cutting)
• Tracing paper (A4 or A3)
• Pencils, sharpener and eraser
• Black sharpies, various sizes
• Whiteout (liquid)
• Black ink (and ink cups)
• Flat brush 3/4"
• Parallel pen or broad nib (3.0mm or 3.8mm)
• Scissors
• Masking tape
• Laptop or desktop computer
• Photo editing software, such as Photoshop etc.
• Vector/font drawing software, such as Robofont, Glyphs etc.

Note: This workshop is only open to students enrolled in the Type West Online Postgraduate Certificate Program in Type Design.