Type West Online

Pedagogy & Resources

The history and theory of type design serve as the basis for the core classes of type production. Students practice hand lettering, calligraphy, and drafting as a foundation for original letterform creation and master the digital tools necessary for making fonts. Class size is limited to allow for individual instruction.

Each of the three (3) ten-week terms is supported by two (2) weekend/weeknight workshops, taught by leaders in the fields of typography and type design. The course curriculum is supplemented by the popular Letterform Lecture series, co-presented by the San Francisco Public Library and currently held online, featuring visiting scholars and industry professionals and covering a wide range of topics on lettering, calligraphy, type, and more.

Type West students have access to an unparalleled typographic library as they research and create their own original typefaces. Librarians, curators, and other members of the Archive’s knowledgeable staff guide students through thousands of type specimens, reference books, and original examples of lettering and graphic design.

Students also benefit from free access to the Letterform Archive Salon Series which offers different viewpoints on our extensive collection.

Type West Online Instructors

Type Design

Graham Bradley, Lead Instructor, runs Roxaboxen, a California-based design studio specializing in typefaces and brand identities. He has been an instructor at Type West since its inception in 2018 and leads all three terms of the 2021 program. Before founding Roxaboxen, Graham was the first employee at Frere-Jones Type, where he worked with Tobias Frere-Jones on Mallory and Retina. He is a graduate of the Type@Cooper program at The Cooper Union, and a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.

Kel Troughton is a type designer and lettering artist who gets an equal amount of inspiration from mid-century advertising and Bay Area graffiti. He graduated from the Type@Cooper West program in 2018, was the teaching assistant for Type West in 2019, and worked at Monotype. You can find him in the East Bay drawing letters and you can find his typeface Oaks on Future Fonts.

Fer Cozzi is an independent type designer from Argentina. She graduated from the University of Buenos Aires where she earned a postgraduate specialization in Type Design and now teaches in the school’s Master of Typeface Design program. Fer has participated in several typography events around the world, and her work has been selected for renowned typography exhibitions and competitions.

Carl Crossgrove studied fine art, printmaking, and book arts, eventually focusing on typeface design at Rochester Institute of Technology. He fulfilled internships at Adobe’s type design group in the 1990s, and designed typefaces for Monotype for nearly 20 years. Carl’s background in calligraphy and drawing infuses his typefaces with humanism.

Type History & Theory

Ewan Clayton is the author of The Golden Thread, an essential book on the history of calligraphy and typography. He is currently teaching at the Royal Drawing School in London and the University of Sunderland, where he co-directs the International Calligraphy Research Centre. In 2013 he was awarded the first Karl-Georg Hoefer prize by The Schreibwerkstatt Klingspor for his work in calligraphy and education.

Briar Levit is an Associate Professor of Graphic Design at Portland State University. She spent her early career as Art Director of Bitch magazine, and as an independent book designer. Her feature-length documentary, Graphic Means, established an obsession with alternative design history, leading her to co-direct The People’s Graphic Design Archive and edit the book, Baseline Shift: Previously Untold Stories of Women Throughout Graphic Design History.

Silas Munro is a partner of Polymode, a design studio for poetic research, learning experiences, and clients in the cultural sphere, innovative businesses, and community-based organizations, including the city of LA, MoMA, and The New Museum. Silas’s writing appears in AIGA Eye on Design, Eye, Slanted, and Strikethrough: Typographic Messages of Protest. Silas is Founding Faculty and Chair Emeritus at Vermont College of Fine Arts, and co-founder of BIPOC Design History.

Type West Online Schedule

Trimester One
>"Fundamentals of Typeface Design" on Mondays, January 29, 2024 – April 8, 2024, from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm PT.
>"The History of Writing" on Wednesdays, January 31, 2024 – April 10. 2024, from 9:00 am – 11:00 am PT (except on the weeks when Letterform Lectures are in session).
>Two (2) weekend/weeknight workshops, taught by leaders in the fields of typography and type design.
>Office Hours with instructors to be determined.

Trimester Two
>"Original Typeface Design" on Mondays, June 3, 2024 – August 12, 2024, from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm PT.
>"Tools of the Trade: The Evolution of Typographic Technologies" on Tuesdays, June 4, 2024 – August 13. 2024, from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm PT (except on the weeks when Letterform Lectures are in session).
>Two (2) weekend/weeknight workshops, taught by leaders in the fields of typography and type design.
>Office Hours with instructors to be determined.

Trimester Three
>"Type Families" on Mondays, October 7, 2024 – December 12, 2024, from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm PT.
>"Cultural Impact" on Tuesdays, October 8, 2024 – December 13. 2024, from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm PT (except on the weeks when Letterform Lectures are in session).
>Two (2) weekend/weeknight workshops, taught by leaders in the fields of typography and type design.
>Office Hours with instructors to be determined.

*Please note that this schedule is dependent on the instructors' schedules and is subject to change.

Tuition

The tuition for each trimester of the 2024 program is $3,130, which covers all workshops, lectures, and software subscriptions. The tuition for the 1st trimester is due no later than Friday, December 15, 2023, to secure your spot in the program. Payment and scholarships information will be provided in the acceptance notification email.

The application period for Type West 2024 will open on Friday, September 29, 2023, and close on Monday, November 6, 2023. Find out more about the program by joining our in-person and/or online open houses.