Introduction to Typography

Name: Introduction to Typography
Rating: 4.3 (103 reviews)

Design fundamentals for beginners. Avoid mistakes and obtain professional results.

Created byCassandra Cappello

Last updated 7/2020

English

What you'll learn

Typesetting
How to professionally pair fonts
Avoid common typographic mistakes
History and classification of typefaces
Text sizing for web and print
Type Anatomy

Course content

6 sections • 20 lectures • 1h 13m total length

Introduction to Typography1:01
This is a brief introduction to the course. I go over what you'll be learning about throughout the course at a high level. There's also a cheat sheet in the resources that will help you throughout this course.
Why Typography is Important1:16

Speaking the Same Language3:58
In this lecture we're going to go over all the vocabulary you'll need to understand what I'm talking about in later lectures and you'll gain the skill of being able to talk about typography using industry terms.
Serif or Sans Serif
The Printing Press1:45
The field of typography as we know it began with the creation of the printing press. This lecture will discuss the basic history of the printing press and how it influences us today.
Classifying Type Throughout History: Serifs4:05
Typefaces have different classifications throughout history, this lecture will go over all the classifications of serif fonts.
Classifying Type Throughout History: Sans Serif4:42
Typefaces have different classifications throughout history, this lecture will go over all the classifications of sans serif fonts.
Classifying Type Throughout History: Scripts and Display Fonts2:58
Typefaces have different classifications throughout history, this lecture will go over all the classifications of scripts, display and dingbat fonts.
Identifying Typeface Periods

Weights, Styles, and Spacing5:19
Font weight, styles, and spacing are integral to understanding how to choose and typeset any body of text. In this lecture you're going to learn more terminology in these areas, as well as how to work with these qualities when setting type.
Anatomy of a Typeface5:54
Letter forms have anatomy, just like the human body. In this lecture you're going to learn all the major names for character anatomy.
Identify Anatomy Terminology

Leading2:43
Leading is an action taken in typesetting. Here you'll learn exactly how to do it, and how much is too much vs. too little.
Tracking2:08
Tracking is an action taken in typesetting. Here you'll learn exactly how to do it, and how much is too much vs. too little.
Kerning2:04
Kerning is an action taken in typesetting. Here you'll learn exactly how to do it, and how much is too much vs. too little.
Paragraphs9:11
You're going to learn about an array of typesetting rules like paragraph formatting, text alignment, indentation, dashes, orphans, widows, and more.
A Comfortable Measure2:08
There is psychologically an acceptable visual measure in which people can read most optimally. This lecture is going to go over what that is, what to aim for, and how that changes for mobile devices.
Text Sizing for Print and Digital Design2:49
My students often ask me what text sizes are appropriate to use. This lecture will explain exactly what range is acceptable for print and digital design.

Roles and Personalities of Typefaces4:23
Typefaces have personalities. They can be serious, fun, sophisticated, playful, etc. This lecture teaches you how to identify the personality of that typeface and how to give it a role in your design.
Typographic Hierarchy2:04
The hierarchy of your design and font pairings is extremely important to the success of your design. You'll learn some tips and tricks on exactly how to do that in this lecture.
How to Pair Fonts6:36
This lecture is a list of rules and recommendations on how to make sure you have a font pairing where the two fonts work together beautifully.
Font Pairings with Examples7:26
This lecture puts the previous lecture into action. I'll be discussing examples of font pairings that work well together and I'll be explaining why they work.

Requirements

No prerequisites required, just come ready to learn about typography.

Description

Great typography goes unnoticed. In this course you're going to learn all the rules and tricks in order to use typography effectively. We'll be going over skills that any professional designer would need to excel in the working world. These skills apply to any area of graphic design, including web or UI/UX design.

This course is for those beginning their design career, who are still in school, or who are self taught. This course has some quizzes and tests in order for you to test your understanding as you go through the curriculum. I also have accompanying external resources and games to help you improve your skills beyond the lectures. The best way to learn typography is to practice it in a real world setting, with real text provided to you by a business. It is difficult to recreate that situation in a course or school setting, but if you understand all these typography rules and you apply them to your designs then I have no doubt that your work will be great.

Skills you'll gain from this course:

Understand typography fundamentals
Apply typographic principles to digital and print media
Learn the history of typography and its accompanying industry vocabulary
Be able to speak to other designers about typography using language they'll understand
Learn how typography is visually perceived
Learn the best way to present your type of people to read
Confidently choose and pair typefaces so that they are attractive and readable

By the end of this course, you'll have a theoretical and practical understanding of typography that will directly aid you in a real world setting. You'll have the foundational tools to create professional typography and speak to your fellow designers in a language they'll understand.

Who this course is for:

People looking to get into a career in graphic, web, or UI design and want to gain foundational knowledge.
Designers who have recently started their career/education journey and want to refresh their basics.

Introduction to Typography

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