Back to Introduction to Typography
California Institute of the Arts

Introduction to Typography

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.

Status: Design Strategies
Status: Creativity
BeginnerCourse23 hours

Featured reviews

SK

5.0Reviewed Jun 4, 2020

Loved that the main typeface study was carried out throughout this course. Loved beginning with the writing assignment and then evolving into a full on typographic poster. Very fun and informative

LB

5.0Reviewed Apr 7, 2016

Plenty of information on various aspects of typography presented in detail and in a comrehensive manner, as well as engaging exercises really boost your knowledge and broaden your design horizons!

ER

5.0Reviewed Sep 16, 2018

Highly useful information to beginners in typography with very well made videos. Balanced exercises push students to implement the knowledge they acquired mixed with their own creativity.

HB

5.0Reviewed May 13, 2022

Terrifc and Helpful contents were supplied. I was not disappointes at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Thank you so much COURSERA for your collaboration with COVENANT UNIVERSITY it's like a dream I never had.

PK

5.0Reviewed Jun 23, 2020

Fabulous course! Learnt a lot in this course about various typefaces, history of the typeface, and how to use it effectively and efficiently and in a very appealing way. Thank you a lot!

SZ

5.0Reviewed Aug 27, 2020

i really enjoyed this course and i liked the part where we interact with other artists around the world. i learned a lot about typography and i think it'm ready to continue in my journey with art.

SL

5.0Reviewed Apr 6, 2016

Very organized and detailed about the basic, history, characteristics of typography. I really enjoyed it and wish there were other courses by the same lecturer. Thanks for the great course!!

JR

5.0Reviewed Apr 4, 2020

Como estudiante de arquitectura, este curso me ha ayudado bastante para la diagramación de láminas y el correcto uso de la tipografía. Gracias Coursera y CalArts por este maravilloso curso.

HY

5.0Reviewed Aug 23, 2016

This course was even better than the previous course of the specialization. It explains historical, technical part of the typography and assignments were very well related. Well designed course.

EM

5.0Reviewed Jan 13, 2018

I highly enjoyed this class. I found it very helpful crash course on typography. The activities were engaging enough to help me understand more of the importance of typography in graphic design

RS

5.0Reviewed May 10, 2020

Ffirstly i need to say thanks to my university they provide me a best platform for learn more about my subject. And i get more knowledge from my forign mentors. I am Thankfully to your support.

EO

5.0Reviewed Dec 17, 2017

Reviewed some of what we learned about Typography in the first course (Fundamentals of Graphic Design), but did expand in some areas. Interesting and informative and great course assignments.

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