Python for Designers

There are lots of ways to generate and explore ideas in design, but one great tool for this is writing code. It’s easy to start with even a few conditions or settings—a color palette; a group of shapes; a series of sizes, positions, orientations, or textures; a typeface—and quickly generate many hundreds of variations and iterations. Using code to explain to a computer how to make something can help you think it through and understand it better yourself. Mistakes in the code, and unanticipated effects and outcomes, can sometimes result in something better than what you’d originally planned to make. They can even help you discover new design ideas, directions, and possibilities.

Participants in this workshop will learn the basics of writing in Python, a popular and powerful programming language, working in the free and user-friendly application DrawBot for the Macintosh operating system. No previous experience with Python is needed. You’ll create high-quality vector art, and work with text to explore DrawBot’s advanced typographic features. You’ll be able to save your creations as static or moving images (.jpgs and .pngs, animated .gifs and .mp4s), and even export to multipage .pdf files. You can treat these files as sketches, using them as starting points for work in other applications. Or, you can refine them into finished products in the DrawBot code editor.

On day 1 of the workshop, we’ll cover Python and DrawBot fundamentals and learn how to draw, color, and transform shapes. We’ll learn how to read and manipulate text with code and practice basic typography in DrawBot on day 2. Day 3 will be an exploration of more advanced drawing techniques and animation. Finally, on day 4, we’ll cover more sophisticated typographic methods, and learn some basic type and motion skills.

Class is held over four evenings on Wednesday, June 2, Thursday, June 3, Wednesday June 9, and Thursday June 10.

Required Materials

• Laptop with MacOS 10.9 (Mavericks) or newer installed
• Sketchbook and pens/pencils for notes and plans

Diversity and Equity Scholarship

Diversity and Equity are important to all of us at Letterform Archive, and we are committed to increasing opportunities for underrepresented groups within the type and design communities.

We are offering one BIPOC/Equity scholarship seat in this workshop.

To apply for this scholarship, please complete and submit to us the short form linked here a week prior to the start of the workshop.