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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Introduction to Typography by California Institute of the Arts

4.8
stars
5,564 ratings

About the Course

Typography is the art of manipulating the visual form of language to enrich and control its meaning. It’s an essential area of skill and knowledge for graphic designers. Typography predates modern graphic design by around 500 years; it is rich in rules, conventions, and esoteric terminology—but it remains an exciting space for invention and expression. In this rigorous introductory course, we will study, name, and measure the characteristics of letterforms. We’ll consider the pragmatic concerns involved in selecting and combining type. We’ll peek into the 
rich historical, cultural, and aesthetic histories of familiar typefaces. We’ll discuss time-tested conventions and best practices in setting type, as governed by principles of hierarchy and spatial organization. And we’ll explore the expressive, meaning-making potential of type. Informative lectures will be complemented by a series of three peer-assessed assignments, culminating 
in an opportunity to design a full-scale typographic poster. Please note that this is not a software course; a basic working knowledge of Adobe InDesign or other 
page layout software will be assumed. You will need access to a computer and page layout software, such as InDesign, to complete the assignments....

Top reviews

MB

Jul 25, 2020

The course is very interesting and well presented, the assignments are really helpful for the learning process. I would recommend to anyone interested in design, art, web design or just for curiosity.

BG

Aug 3, 2020

I thought the assignments worked really cohesively with one another. It helped to keep terms and skills in mind from one assignment to the next. The lecture videos were great, short, and to the point.

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1026 - 1050 of 1,203 Reviews for Introduction to Typography

By Francisco C

Nov 21, 2018

Very good course. I find some parts very convoluted with information and very fast paced. I had to keep rewinding the videos to catch all the information because it was too much for one 4 minute video in most cases.

Besides from the inconvenience of having to stop and go back several several times, the information is amazing and the visual exercises are incredible.

I hate not being able to send my homework but oh well... no money.

By Niamh F

Mar 28, 2016

This class taught me a lot about the basics of typography, however I didn't feel too encouraged creatively compared to the last class in this series. I understand that type is a bit more structured and requires more attention to detail and rules than other forms of visual art, but I wish there was a bit more content similar to the content in week 4 where we are encouraged to get creative.

By Annamaria J

Aug 28, 2017

I would rate this course 3.5 stars. I had to pause and rewind the videos a lot because they were fast and packed a lot of information, which is great but it was also sort of misleading that they appeared to be short videos but in reality they were rather "rushed". This course was less on hands in comparison with the first in this specialization, but altogether interesting and engaging.

By Dan R

Sep 19, 2016

The videos were very succinct and unobtrusively informative. The professor's approach was very good for a fundamentals course. My only real complaint would be the peer review system being the only provider of grades on the final project. The final grading feedback would be benefitted by the professor himself or a set of trained moderators that have more insight on design conventions.

By Ar. S D

Jun 24, 2020

This course is apt for learners wishing to dig deeper into Typography know-hows.

I liked the course,though I wish it were a bit more intense with more hands-on practice and exercises. I feel it will create a better impression and long term memory when the learners get more to practice. Thank you to the team for making this course and special thanks to the Instructor. God bless.

:)

By Joseph W

May 19, 2021

Course material and instruction were good. Seemed like some students were copying their typeface research verbatim from online sources and moving the order so as to not be so easily detected. Why do I think this? Their work was too well written and objective. I have an MA in writing, and have worked as a writer and readily notice when the level of writing seems too high.

By Tyrand M

Dec 21, 2016

I enjoyed the information, although the typography section was a bit brief. The course does help myself and others to get an idea of what an actual on-site course might consist of. I have been wanting to take a type/lettering class at my current school but have had the chance. Course was mostly informative and taught me ways to research and design.

By Alastair T

Sep 18, 2020

Does what it's supposed to! If you're earnest about watching the videos & doing the assignments, you'll learn a lot. I've been interested in typography my whole life & I certainly learned a lot just responding to different sorts of challenges. I also learned a lot from writing peer reviews: the why & how of a piece.

By keondra b f

Feb 28, 2020

the course covers the very basic elements of typography. i didn’t like that all coursework was graded by peers and that the core elements of the course hadn’t been updated in years. i found the reading and resource lists very helpful and look forward to learning more throughout the graphic design certificate course

By Alice H

Oct 20, 2016

The last assignment wasn't as specific, and I wound up giving people lower grades than I should've. Be more specific when you use the phrase "secondary piece". I thought it was referring to the notes we took, not the text that's supposed to go below the title and subtitle.

Really good class. It was very interesting.

By Lisa J

Apr 1, 2018

The information was valuable. The final two assignments were good. The last assignment made learning the material more interesting. It would be nice if the other lectures allowed for more creative interactive so as to help create a more memorable experience allowing the information to “stick” more.

By Giorgio B

Nov 10, 2023

A very nice and simple introduction to the subject, the theory is well explained with lots of visual examples and the final assignment gives a lot of satisfaction. Maybe it is possible to provide a pdf or something with all the vocabulary for the fonts, it would be useful throughout the course

By Minaketan O

Jul 7, 2020

Great course! The Videos were great and the instructor was awesome, but it felt quite short for my liking and would have preferred if it went more in-depth in other typographic topics but nonetheless it was a great course. Can easily recommend it anyone trying to up their typography game.

By R C

Nov 13, 2022

While the content of the course is well thought out, there is a problem with other learns you may encounter. Issues range from plagiarism, low to no effort in peer reviews, etc. I recommend checking the discussion forum to connect to others who are also looking to improve their skills.

By Dries N

Jul 21, 2017

Good but should have more peer rating on creativity/originality. Now even the most boring design of 5 min work will succeed as long as it has the requested parameters ( to many like 'does it have 3 different styles' and not many like 'how creative/original/appealing is the design).

By Aurisha

Sep 4, 2020

If you took the Fundamentals of Graphic Design, a lot of this info is repeat. I still enjoyed the assignments and learning some of the psychology behind type. Good if you want to solidify what you learned prior, or if you never took the other course, I would definitely recommend.

By Jason Y

May 14, 2018

Perfect fundamental typography course for those like me who learned on the job, but now need to learn the "why" things needs to be the way they are regarding type. Loved the section on modern day typography characteristics and enjoyed completing my typographic poster!

By Mindy A

Jul 13, 2023

Really good, and I enjoyed it! I'd love to get a bit more content in the course, and maybe a 2nd phase to the final project poster. It would be cool if we got to design the poster, receive feedback on it, and then be able to submit again after editing the draft.

By Meron N

Jul 7, 2020

Some good introductions to typography and its history and also a good component of the 5 course graphic design specialty. Some frustration with individuals not giving feedback on assignments although you can resubmit assignments if looking for more peer reviews.

By Marilou M

Dec 10, 2020

The course is well organised and provideds you with key knowledge and some great inspirational material! I wish there would be more assignments and extra resources at the end of week 4 for people that would like to expand their portfolio, like myself.

By C. M C

Apr 14, 2016

I was not 100% motivated about this cours and I thought it would be easy...but I was wrong!, it was serious stuff to deal with typo and I learn so much in the process, I saw some pretty works of my peers and it gave me the push to make my best!

By Kristín L

Jun 5, 2016

Overall I really enjoyed this course. My only input is that it could be a bit more advanced. I realize it's an "Introduction" course, but if you have just the smallest interests in typography, theres a lot of these things, you already know.

By Thomas C

Jul 15, 2021

The lectures are wonderful and insightful. The only issue is that when it came to the assignments (especially the later ones) the prompt/instructions could be a little bit confusing. But I was able to figure it out eventually.

By Raquel Z W

Jul 17, 2017

It was really good to learn about the fundamental of Typography in this course. The only con is that, in my point of view, it is really hard to give a consistent feedback for other colleagues when you are just a beginner.

By Natascha B

Feb 4, 2021

Sometimes there are other participants that don't bother grading peer assignment correctly, but otherwise I mostly had pleasant contact with peers. The course taught me a lot, and I'm sure I can use this in my job life!