Typographic Studies is a year-one unit for the BA (Hons) Visual Communication developed by University for the Creative Arts (UCA) and jointly delivered by tutors from UCA and Xiamen University. Its coursework is an introductory series of fast paced design exercises, essential for a designer to investigate, test and apply the guiding principles of typography, graphic image making and contextual research. Through a series of lectures, workshops, group critiques, and individual tutorials, students were taught to broaden their technical skills, whilst developing an understanding of how to communicate visually and graphically.
During 8 weeks of learning, students learnt how to develop ideas and experiment through the use of different software tools such as Adobe Illustrator and InDesign. They developed an understanding of how to simplify their designs and the presentation of their work – a skill that is highly important for a graphic designer.
Assessment tasks –
1. Anatomy of Type
Group type anatomy identification and individual; Visual and contextual research into designers and Gestalt theories
CAI Wanxuan
WANG Xiaowen
2. Counterform
Illustrator experiments - digital image tracing, analogue drawings and vector drawings
CAO Jiawen
ZHU Siyi
3. Onomatopoeia
Analogue tests and digital experiments; Action of the word through the use of placement of type
YAN Hongsen
CHEN Chunxi
4. Hierarchy
Series of page designs using different typographic layouts that explore the readability of text in InDesign
YANG Zhentao
LU Wenbo
5. Circles
Concepts in relation to circles such as rhythm, order, contrast; Digital experiments using Illustrator
CHANG Siqi
WANG Hening
6. Lines
Illustrator tasks with horizontal and vertical compositions
ZHOU Shuangyang
ZHAN Wanxin
7. Poster development and review
Select outcomes and translate into A1 poster designs；Project evaluation on design decisions
WU Xueyan
LV Zhaoxi
8. Poster design
Presented as final outcome.
Preview
（CHANG Siqi, WU Xueyan，ZHU Siyi， ZHAN Wanxin， YAN Hongsen，CHEN Chunxi, CAO Jiawen，JIN Peilin，LU Wenbo，ZHOU Shuangyang, ZHAO Zhao，YANG Zhentao）
Translated by：PANG Yujun，HUANG Xinyi
