WELCOME
Today we will discuss the class syllabus and student expectations. Choose a small crit group and one-on-one session time. These time meetings will be cosistent for the full semester term.
→ Sign up for a Group crit block.
→ Sign up for a One-on-one time block.

Instructor
Philip DiBello
pdibello@sva.edu

Course Description
This course will provide a emphasis on developing a designers sensitivity to typography through both restrictive and open-ended assignments. Projects will be a combination of experimentation and formal exercises with a focus on typographic systems as well as the details of macro and micro typography.
Theory, dialogue, process and personal practice will be central themes discussed to establish a students own opinions about design. Classes are a combination of critique, in-class workshops, and one-on-one meetings with occasional guest lectures and critiques.
Throughout the semester readings will be assigned along with each project. Readings will accompany your assignments.

Student Expectations
This course is constructed for a higher level junior design student. It assumes you already have knowledge of fundamental design and typographic principals. Some assignments will be open ended. You must take initiative in every project and make it your own. You’re expected to engage in critique, both by giving and receiving feedback.
Your level of effort will dictate your success in this class. You must be disciplined and self-motivated. To produce good work you must put in the time. Coming in un-prepared is not only disrespectful to me, but is also unfair to your fellow students and yourself.
This is a space to discuss and understand graphic design. It is not about a job, or approval, or client and designer relationships. Understand you’re here for yourself. Not to please your peers, or your professors, or outside sources.
Attendance is critically important to the success of your assignments and your letter grade. You’re required to be in class at it’s start time. If work will be shown, it should be uploaded and prepped for presentation. Take pride in your work and display it properly.

Google Drive Folder
Since we’re online this semester we will use a specific Google Drive folder to organize and present work. The folder is broken up into weeks. Inside this folder are sub-folders labeled with your name. Each week upload your work to the corresponding folder. It is your responsibility to keep this folder organized and clean. Each week will also have a corresponding Google Slides document. Before class upload your work to this Google slide doc. This will speed up our presentation process and make you accountable for presenting. Regardless if it’s a group crit or one-on-one, you must upload your work weekly for the duration of this semester.

Attendance Policy
You’re given one absence without repercussion. Missing a second class is an automatic C. If you miss three classes you will be withdrawn from the course, no exceptions. Tardiness will not be tolerated. Class starts promptly at 3:00.

Grading Breakdown
Grades are a combination of the quality of your work, class participation and progress. Simply showing up will not make you pass the course. You must be prepared for the days lesson, completing any homework or readings assigned and ready to discuss.

A
Your work is of exceptional quality and reflects mastery of the material covered in class. Your class participation is outstanding. Your craft is impeccable and you find ways to push design and materiality. You consistently add something new to every project or push your capabilities. Your work steadily improved throughout the semester.

B
Your work is very good and satisfies the goals of the course. You participate in class discussion. Continue to refine your craft, and find those moments to take initiative in any given project and push it beyond it’s boundaries.

C
Your work meets the standards of the course. You could speak up or engage more often during class discussion. Be willing to take more chances with craft and production. You turn in assignments and did not miss more than one class.

F
Your work did not meet the requirements for this class. You did not complete all projects or missed 3 classes. You will receive no credit.


Academic Integrity
Academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, will not be tolerated. Students found to have committed an act of academic dishonesty will fail the assignment for which an infraction is suspected and substantiated. More serious violations will be handled through the process enumerated in the SVA Handbook . Put simply, make sure your work is your own.

Students with Disabilities
SVA is committed to providing students with access to their academic programs and courses. If you are a student with a disability and require accommodations, you must register with Disability Resources by visiting sva.edu/disabilityresources and completing an online accommodation request. To be eligible for accommodations in this course, students must provide the instructor with a letter of accommodation from Disability Resources. For questions or assistance, please call Disability Resources at 212-592-2396, or visit the office: 340 East 24th Street, New York, NY 10010, or email disabilityservices@sva.edu

SVA Attendance Policy
The SVA Handbook says: The School of Visual Arts is a professional art college dedicated to teaching and learning. Attendance is required in all courses, and the individual faculty member determines the number of acceptable absences, if any.
All students are expected to participate and keep their cameras on for the duration of all synchronous class sessions. Failure to do so may result in reduction of grade, at the discretion of the faculty, unless the student has received permission in advance from the faculty member. Students should refer to the “netiquette” section in the Student Knowledge Base to familiarize themselves with best practices for online learning.

Pronouns and Chosen Names
Students may indicate their pronouns and preferred/chosen first name through MyServices; this information will then appear on class rosters (go to your profile and select "Edit Personal Identity").
Please let your instructor know the preferred name and pronouns by which you would like to be referred, if that information does not already appear on the roster. A student’s chosen name and pronouns should be respected at all times.

Typography Resources
✳ Classics
 ITC
 Monotype
 Font Shop
 Linotype
 URW++

✳ Foundries & Independent Type Designers
 Commercial Type
 Klim Type Foundry (Kris Sowersby)
 Grilli Type
 Swiss Typefaces
 Colophon Foundry
 Optimo
 Lineto
 Our Type
 Tobias Frere-Jones
 Hoefler & Co.
 Production Type
 Letters From Sweden
 Playtype
 Bold Monday
 A2 Type
 Open Foundry (decent, free fonts)

✳ Newer Foundries & Contemporaries
 Dinamo
 Radim Pesko
 Milieu Grotesque
 Schick Toikka
 Camelot Typefaces
 Medium Extra Bold
 Or Type
 Oh No Type Co.
 Future Fonts
 A is for

Oftentimes graphic design is reduced to the visual. A viewer encounters a piece of ephemera with a common set of pre-conceived notions in history, culture and their own semiotic view of the world. They have to internalize the visual based in-part (mostly) on the formal aspects they see and in what context it’s viewed. Unbeknownst to the passerby, the designer has followed multiple paths of decisions that lead them to their final solution.
The point is, the designers process is hidden when the project is delivered, the ink has dried, the code is rendered by the browser… these paths they’ve traveled lay on the cutting room floor. The classroom is different. We have a unique opportunity to discuss the ‘why’ just as much as the ‘what’. This discussion will help shape what ‘design’ is to you. As you continue your practice you will learn, challenge yourself, change your mind, and develop your process.



In our first class you will draw a card from the deck of Oblique Strategies. You are to use this card as a prompt to design a type–only 18×24 in. poster. When you feel you are “finished” with your poster, draw a second card. Make note of which strategy you drew, and use that strategy to iterate or fully redesign your initial poster. When you feel your poster is complete, draw a third card and repeat the process. Allow the process to lead you to unexpected places.
In addition to your full size posters you must bring in 20 sketches that visualize your process. These could be (but not necessarily have to be) drawings of different concepts, quick explorations done on the computer of the same concept, a documentation of the poster in different forms before your final compositions were realized, etc. Present these as thumbnails. Follow the presentation template created for this week.
Be ready to present your poster with a rationale for the typeface you’ve chosen, an explanation of your concept, and how the poster evolved based on the subsequent cards you drew.

Deliverables

1. Three Final, full size posters
 18×24 in
2. 20 Sketches
3. Five notes/thoughts/opinions/favorite passages from the essays below



Background
Revisit Michael Rock’s essay Designer as Author. Next, read his follow-up essay Fuck Content. Fuck Content was written some 10 years after Designer as Author. Rock spends a portion of the essay clarifying his intention of the Designer as Author. As you read, write down certain notes, thoughts & opinions and highlight passages throughout the text. Copy and paste these passges in the presentation template. Be prepared to discuss 5 points. Consider Rock’s point of view, and contextualize this position when you approach your assignment.



In 1975 artists & musicians Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt collaborated on a project titled Oblique Strategies. Inspired by the readings of I Ching, the two published a set of cards used to generate ideas and break routine thinking patterns.

“While born out of a studio context, Oblique Strategies translated equally well to the music studio. For Eno, the instructions provided an antidote in high-pressure situations in which impulse might lead one to default quickly to a proven solution rather than continue to explore untested possibilities: “Oblique Strategies evolved from me being in a number of working situations when the panic of the situation—Particularly in studios—tended to make me quickly forget that there were others ways of working and that there were tangential ways of attacking problems that were in many senses more interesting than the direct head-on approach.”
Brian Eno: Visual Music, Christopher Scoates



Now on their fifth edition, Oblique Strategies have been published in English, French and Japanese. Each edition changes slightly, adding or removing different cards. If you're interested in learning more, Gregory Taylor has put together a fine website documenting the editions and pulling together some more information about the deck.

Design an interactive, screen based ‘tool’ that does one thing well. It should do no more or less. The tool in question should solve a problem. Your interface should respond to a users input, meaning when it is scrolled, tapped, pinched or controlled in any way by a user interaction it should respond to the gesture. Your design can be functional or abstract.
Your final deliverable is an interactive prototype to be viewed on your phone. Design your interface in Figma for your mobile device’s screen size. Prototype your interface with Figma or Principle including animations and states. Present screen recordings of your prototypes in class.

Your presentation for class should
1. State your problem as clearly as possible
2. Explain your solution
3. Explain why your solution should exist
4. Explain your steps (micro-interactions)
  *in excruciating detail
5. Present static steps (screens)
  *What’s needed for your tool to complete it’s task
6. Present video of yourself interacting with your tool



Our reading for this assignment is Frank Chimero’s essay What Screens Want. Frank discusses an approach for designing interfaces, and discusses interactive design’s history. It was written in 2013 and touches on some conversations of the era. The act of designing for screen has evolved both aesthetically and functionally, but the main point is that we take these things for granted. Interfaces have evolved so quickly, and right beneath us.

The following videos present two (of many) approaches for this assignment. Andy Pressman dicsusses functional interfaces, and ther merits of friction within user interaction. Rafaël Rozendaal creates beautiful, sometimes meaningless, internet art. Even if a problem is entertainment, his pieces are interactive and meet the requirements of the assignment.
The web combines three aspects of graphic design into one medium; print, motion and interaction. It lives on our desktops and in our pockets. It can organize and manipulate data at will. It can calculate endless amounts of information instantly. It’s a living, breathing thing.

Create a final, fully functional prototype or representational video of your interactive tool. It should sufficiently do one thing well. Upload your video to this weeks Google Slides doc. We’ll meet as a full class at 3pm.

Lots of people say “graphic design is problem solving”. I’m not sure I fully agree, but there is a “problem solving” component to what we do. Even if it’s creating clarity and visual harmony, that could be solving a problem. I would argue good graphic design is not just “window dressing” or “decorating”.
Your interactive tool can solve a number of problems. Maybe it tells me the time. Maybe it tells me what podcast to listen to. Maybe it shows me if something is level. Maybe it generates random faces. It can be a useful tool, or it can not be useful at all. But do these things need to exist? What would you find useful if you had to design anything?
Don’t get hung up on the ‘problem solving’ part too much, the thing you’ll realize quickly is that it’s a lot harder than it seems to do one thing well. And most of this will be a process in reduction. Do you need to add that extra step? Would it work better if something were moved here? Or interacted with this way?

Object Project: Research
Choose an object that resonates with you. It can be anything you like, but should be something that stimulates you visually and critically. You’ll be using this as the pillar of your identity project, so choose wisely. Consider this objects materiality, history, lineage, function, and so forth. It can be old, attached with personal meaning, or brand new.
You will be presenting your object to the class in the form of a two minute scripted presentation video which is a deep analysis of your object. Upload your scripted presentation to the Google Drive Folder under week 5. The following weeks will be focusing on designing a larger project which relate to your object and research.

PART 1: Research Presentation
Show your research in the form of a scripted presentation. Just like the Exhibition Identity Project last semester, make a video of yourself presenting your research. Keep your presentation around 2 minutes. Your main goal is to explain how the ideas in your object are expressed through form and/or function. These should be a combination of subjective opinions and objective thoughts. Be as specific as possible, research and present even the most obvious themes and physical attributes (they might not be so obvious to us). Work on forming an opinion of the object, and explain it’s significance culturally and personally. Your presentation can take quantitative form as a traditional powerpoint with comparisons, statistics, interviews and visual collections or it can be crafted as a visual exploration of the object. In both cases, keep in mind pacing, design, sequence, juxtaposition and tone. Your presentation should answer the following questions with thought and critical analysis of your object—
1. It’s history
2. Analysis of form
3. It’s users (past, present and future)
4. Associative meanings or other uses
5. Cultural context
6. Personal significance
7. 10 underlying themes uncovered

PART 2: Documentation of Form
Create a section of your presentation which is an exploration of your object both formally and representationally. You’re to bring 100 total images relating to your object.
For your first 75 slides, record and document your object. Explore every potential angle and facet. This should be an intimate documentation of your object, uncover things you’ve never noticed. Find beauty in the details.
Next, collect 25 images relating to your object. This should not be of the object itself, more like research. Found imagery can be sourced from online or in books, be broad and wide in your research. Are there schematics of blueprints of your object somewhere? Is it made by someone, if so does their company have a logo? Are there advertisements for your object? Be abstract in your research, find tangents. They’re often the most interesting.

75 slides: documentation of object
25 slides: 25 moodboard/research slides



Watch
Watch the above lecture by Bob Gill. Bob Gill (b. Brooklyn, New York, January 17, 1931) is an American illustrator and graphic designer. April Fool's Day, 1962, Gill, Alan Fletcher and Colin Forbes established Fletcher/Forbes/Gill design studio, the forerunner of Pentagram. In 1967, Gill left the partnership and assumed independent freelancing again, including teaching, filmmaking and writing children’s books. He lives and practices in New York.


Example Presentations
Below are some previous student presentations to inspire you. Notice how each presentation follows the proposed outline, is well designed, and has a clear point of view.

AJ Kim
Eddy Lee

Type Anatomy
In class you’ll be assigned a typeface. Set a total of 26 letters using the ➺ InDesign document. Replace Helvetica with the Regular weight of your typeface while maintaining the letter and case. Adjust the guides layer to match your typefaces cap height, x–height, baseline and descender line found in Master Page A.
Next annotate any four characters of your chosen typeface. Each character must have at least three annotations. Look for consistencies & variations in the letterforms. Analyze their shapes, stroke widths, optical adjustments, etc. Be a detective, find design details hidden from the naked eye.
Design a specimen poster including all upper and lower case letters, numbers and major punctuation. Your poster must also include, in your own words, a three paragraph description—around 300 words—about the typeface from your analysis. Focus on it’s history, why it’s relevant and why you like (or don’t like) it.
Add your studies, annotations and poster to this Figma Doc. We will review your work as a full class. You’ll be presenting your typeface and findings to the class, be prepared to explain the design details you uncover.

Deliverables
21 Letter Studies
4 Letter Annotations
1 Typeface specimen poster

TYPEFACE LIST
1. Akzidenz Grotesk (Callie)
2. Century Schoolbook (Ariel)
3. Futura (Alejandro)
4. Univers (Arman)
5. Garamond (Jihyun)
6. Caslon (Aarya)
7. Times New Roman (TK)
8. Bodoni (Yvette)
9. Clarendon (Palak)
10. ITC Avant Garde (Mengge)
11. Gill Sans (Jin)
12. Akkurat (Catherine)
13. Franklin Gothic (Yue)
14. Sabon (Dongjin)
15. Roboto (Izzy)
16. Gotham (Hyera)
17. Graphik (Christina)
18. Post Grotesk (Xinyue)
19. Theinhardt
20. Pitch




Background
There are a few resources I would highly recommend to get you started. You should get Karen Cheng’s Designing Type or take it out from the library. It’s an amazing resource for anyone interested in the subject and a huge advantage for this project. Make sure to research type anatomy terms so your notes follow convention.

Also read through some review on Font Review Journal. They do a fantastic job of analyzing a typeface and highlighting interesting characters. Take inspiration from their detailed writing.

Lastly, Illustrator is a great tool to analyze letterforms, especially if you outline the type and view the vector shapes in ‘outline’ mode (⌘Y).

Develop a time-based graphic expression evoking what your object suggests. Your video should be at least 30 seconds in length, but it can be longer. Next week conceptualize and plan your your video.
Shift your focus from what your object is to what it suggests. Focus your effort on one theme or idea you’ve uncovered in your research. Think through what you’ve learned and find most interesting about your subject. Most importantly think through what you want to say about it. Begin expanding and contextualizing your designed element with your research.
Upload your work to this weeks Google Slides doc. Use the template as a guide, at minimum you need to create the pre-formatted slides. You’re encouraged to expand on what is there.

A. Present your idea:
1. The theme you’re focusing on
2. Your concept as clearly as possible
3. How your object suggests the theme and concept
 Cite specific sources from your research (week 5)

B. Define the ‘world’:
1. Create a moodboard of references
A moodboard is not strictly graphic design, pull references from other mediums. The example is very focused on the surface level. Please do better than this.
2. Find 3 video references that are inspiring you

C. Plan & Design your production:
1. Define a visual style for artwork or photography
2. Choose a typeface
3. Create a color plaette
4. Consider sound design (music, foley)
5. Create at least 4 styleframes
6. Create at least 12 storyboards

D. Test:
Create a video test that illustrates how exactly you will move forward. When we watch your test we should have a clear understanding of what you’re trying to achieve. Your test should be a minimum of 10 seconds.







Oblique Strategies for this week:
Imagine the piece as a set of disconnected events
Give way to your worst impulse

Refine your presentation, finalizing your idea, world and elements of planning from last week. Create your (at least 30 second) video. Finalize your presentation in the week 7 slides doc.

Art of the Title is an excellent resource to discover the design process behind well recognized film and television title sequences. They interview and discuss how a title came to be whith the title creators. Title design is an example of combining traditional elements of graphic design with moving image.

When discussing typography we tend to use human characteristics to describe what we’re seeing. We call parts of letters arms, legs, chins, shoulders, spines… When we describe a typeface we might personify the alphabet by calling it friendly and bubbly, or serious and stark.
For next week you’re tasked to pick a person. You need to find a typeface that connects to the person in some way. Maybe you try to find something that feels like their appearance, or you focus on their personality. Whatever the case, be ready to explain your rationale. Avoid overly expressive typefaces unless you have a really good reason. Try to find beauty in the details.
Once you’ve settled on your typeface provide a specimen that includes every character of the typeface, uppercase and lowercase, including punctuation.
You’ll also design a french-folded book or a website that should relate to the person somehow, and must use your typeface. The book should be at least 22 pages (10 spreads), plus a front and back cover (cover not included in page requirement). The page size must be 8.5×11”, spread size 11×17”. The book must be french folded. Your cover type is up to you (soft cover, hard cover, screw post, japanese stab, etc.). Take what you learned about book production and bring it to this project. You will need to produce a physical book and photograph your results at the end of this project.
If you decide to make a website it should include ten uniquely designed sections, each with one novel interaction, or a unique animation, interaction or feature. Your website must also have a header and footer, and optional navigation.
Lastly, show a portrait of your person.Choose your typeface wisely. If in doubt, pick something classic and well drawn.

DELIVERABLES (all)
Type Specimen Poster
Person Portrait

DELIVERABLES (book)
At least 22 pages (10 spreads)
—Page size: 8.5×11”
—French Folded
—Upload your spreads flat to slides

DELIVERABLES (website)
Figma prototype with
—At least 10 sections
—1 novel interaction per section
—header and footer
—Figma prototype
—Upload your sections to slides and include a link to your Figma prototype

Last weeks class has been canceled. We will make up the assignment this week. See assignment above.

Design and produce your french folded book or website prototype. If you are making a book, fully print and produce your publication. If you are making a website, link to your interactive prototype. Photograph your book, or record a video of your website and include them in this weeks slides doc. Make sure you are fully considering the following:

Print Checklist —
➺ Format and thickness
➺ Proportions of Spread
➺ Margins & Grid
➺ Typeface Selection
➺ Text Setting
➺ Paper, Printing, Production
➺ Binding
➺ Front & Back Covers
➺ Object Quality as a Whole

Website Checklist —
➺ Margins & Grid
➺ Typeface Selection
➺ Text Setting
➺ 10 sections
➺ 1 novel interaction per section

Being a graphic designer affords endless possibilities. Our job is not purely visual or aesthetic; The way things look is only a part of the whole. Our job is to give ideas form, to shape what we have into a coheasive whole. Being in this position feels like a curse, but it’s actually a blessing. We’re world builders.
Develop a long form project based on a theme or themes uncovered from your object research. There are infinite avenues to explore, decide on a medium and message and develop the system involved in realizing your project from start to finish. The goal of this assignment is to develop the content, visual language and execution of your project. The final result is open ended, and the following are suggestions for you to expand upon or develop further. Consider your research and object video from the previous weeks. Is there some magic that you can pull from your work so far?
Whatever the case, the project should be fully realized and manifested at the end of this semester. If it’s a website, your URL should be live. If it’s a magazine, you should have three issues printed. If it’s a book, your edition should be printed and bound. If it’s a candle brand, pour some wax into a vessel, design a label, and create your packaging. Make your project real.
On Week 15 you will present your fully realized project in the form of a 2 minute scrpited presentation. This presentation should walk us through your project from beginning to end, including how you arrived at your final project from your object research.

NEXT WEEK
Begin concepting and designing your project. Explain to me how it connects back to your object, and how you would like to move forward. Present the first round of design for your visual language. We will discuss how it is shaping up, what needs to be addressed, and how you can develop your project to push the idea further. Upload your work to the Slides Doc. Your presentation format is up to you. We’ve been working all semester towards this.

Some examples include:

—A Research Book project (300pg minumum)
 Printed and bound publication
 One portion of the project should be authored content
 At least two sections of collected and curated content

—A magazine project (3 issue munumum)
 Masthead Design
 One featured article
 Three 3-spread articles
 A Unique section (e.g. Photo Essay)
 Merch (tote bag, etc)
 Marketing Website

—An event or conference identity package
 Wordmark and logo
 Signage and wayfinding
 Invitation
 Merch (tote bag, etc)
 Marketing Website

—A Product & Brand
e.g. Fashion, app, physical goods, etc.
 Product Design
 Wordmark and logo
 Identity System
 Art Direction
 Merch (tote bag, etc)
 E-Commerce Website

—A Custom Typeface or Alphabet
 Upper and lowercase A-Z
 Numerals and punctuation
 Printed ephemera
 Specimen Website

—A Record Label
 Wordmark and logo
 Identity System
 Art Direction
 Album Artwork System (at least 3)
 E-Commerce Website

—A Podcast
 Record at least 2 episodes
 Identity System
 Art Direction
 Porcast Artwork System (at least 3)
 Promotional Website

—Whatever! Make something!




PODCAST
Listen to the above episode of Design Matters with Debbie Millman and Michael Rock. There are some really interesting ideas here about world building. Consider the last phase of this project the world you would like to build around your theme or idea.



EXAMPLE PROJECTS
Below are some previous student projects to inspire you. Your first few weeks will be less formalized than what you see here, but when you reach the end of this project your themes and throught process will reveal themselves.

Eddy Lee (research project, custom typeface)
Chengbo Yao (record label)
Heeyoung Choi (research publication)
Inkyoung Hur (conference, custom typeface)
Jennifer Kim (custom typeface)
John Patrikas (product, misc.)
AJ Kim (publication, misc.)


Link to Video description of assignment

At this point your concept should be fully formed. Your goal is to plan organize, shape and generate your content. Continue to refine your final project’s visual language. Keep searching for the right form that fits the content. Present in the Week 13 slides doc.


Reading
Read Research and Destroy by Daniel van der Velden (B. 1971). Daniel van der Velden is a graphic designer and writer. Together with Vinca Kruk he founded Metahaven, a studio for design and research. Metahaven’s work—both commissioned and self-directed—reflects political and social issues in provocative graphic design objects.

Make any final adjustments, your plan should be reaching it’s conclusion and you should be finalizing and executing this week. Make your project real. We will discuss one on one, come prepared with questions either about granular details or larger picture items. Present in the Week 14 slides doc.

Create a 2-minute presentation for our guest which describes your process from beginning to end. Think of this as a full case study, walking through your process from concept, to visual language and finally execution. It goes without saying, but your end result should be professional and polished. Present in the week 15 slides doc. Describe:

1. What was your object?
2. How did you uncover your theme?
3. How did it manifest in your project?
4. Finally, show your project in full as a case study
— Describe to us, in detail, your decisions which create the whole