Type West

Choose Your Format

In-Person or Online?

Both formats offer the same rigorous curriculum. Choose the one that best fits your life and location.

“Type West was a deeply meaningful and life-changing experience for me.”

-Pranavi Chopra, India

Browse Graduate Sites: 2019 • 2020 • 2021 • 2022 • 2023 • 2024 • 2025

About The Program

What is Type West?

Type West In-Person is the only year-long certificate program in type design on the West Coast, while Type West Online (also a year-long certificate program) offers the opportunity to make your own typefaces from anywhere in the world. Designed to accommodate the schedules of working professionals through evening and weekend classes, both Type West cohorts provide a supportive and challenging environment to deepen your knowledge of typography and expand your creative skillset with the ability to make your own typefaces.

Students practice hand lettering, calligraphy, and drafting as a foundation for original letterform creation and master the digital tools necessary for making fonts. In addition, students take Type History and Theory, which grounds them in historical knowledge and contemporary practice. Class size is limited to allow for individual instruction.

Each of the three ten-week terms is supported by two 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 held mostly online, featuring visiting scholars and industry professionals, 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.

Who is Type West for?

Type West is designed for working professionals who want to deepen their typographic knowledge and creative practice. The program offers a rigorous and rewarding path forward for graphic designers looking to expand their skillsets, typographers ready to take the next step, or anyone considering a meaningful career shift toward type design. No prior experience in type design is needed — just a genuine curiosity about letterforms and a commitment to the craft.

What will I be able to do?

By the end of the program, students gain the knowledge, tools, and hands-on experience to design typefaces from concept to completion. Graduates leave with a professional portfolio of type design work, a deep understanding of typographic history and principles, and a network of peers and mentors in the field. The curriculum covers the full arc of type design — from the history and anatomy of letterforms to the technical skills needed to draw, space, and produce a complete digital typeface.

Meet The Archive

An Archive Unlike Any Other

The Collection Includes:

• Type specimens (historical and contemporary)
• Medieval manuscripts and calligraphy
• Original lettering art and drawings
• Printer’s ephemera and reference books
• Graphic design history artifacts
• Contemporary work by muralists, graffiti writers, graphic designers, typographers and more

Curriculum & Skills

What You’ll Study

Included in every term:

• 2 weekend workshops per term with visiting designers
• Letterform Lecture series
• Salon series access
• Glyphs & RoboFont software subscriptions
• Archive membership for the program year
• Office hours with instructors
• Study hall with collections materials
• Font Friends meet-ups
• Discounts on Public Workshops

Schedule & Format

How The Year Works

Instructors

Who You’ll Learn From

Core instructors lead each term. Guest instructors — leaders in type design, calligraphy, and font engineering — teach weekend workshops throughout the year.

Lead Instructor - In-Person

Maria Doreuli

Founder and creative director of Contrast Foundry (CoFo). TypeMedia / Royal Academy of Art, The Hague. Founder, Contrast Type. TDC award winner.

Dean of Type West

Grendl Löfkvist

Teaches type history and technology. City College SF and SF Center for the Book. Board of Directors, American Printing History Association’s Northern California chapter.

Lead Instructor - Online

Sahar Afshar

Partner and Designer at Dogray. Font Developer at Dalton Maag. Birmingham City University, board member of the Type Directors Club and Beatrice Ward Scholarship.

Community

Hear from Type West students

“Type West was pivotal in kickstarting my type design career. I could not be where I am — making type and teaching others — without first learning from the talented folks at Type West.”

Libby Bischoff · In-Person Graduate, 2020

“My Type West training gave me confidence in my design. My revival typeface won the Updike Prize in 2023.”

Clara Cayosa · Online Graduate, 2023

Grads now work at

• Type foundries and independent studios
• In-house design teams
• Publishing and media companies
• Education (teaching type, typography, design)
• Identity and branding practices

Questions?

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