I have put together this syllabus for my upcoming Typography 101 class at Temple University Japan for those curious as to what the class is comprised of.

PROJECT 1
ON/OFF PROJECT
Develop a concept for a new font whose forms relate to an 8”x 8” square grid. Each box in the grid must be either “on” or “off.” You have no curves or true diagonals. Draw letters on provided graph paper. Consider proportion, weight and structural features such as height of cross bars.

PROJECT 2
ANATOMY OF A LETTER
This exercise will help you to become aware of a letter’s construction: the positive and negative shapes that comprise a letter form make it distinct from other faces. Using various sheets of tracing paper overlay, and colored pencils, trace the letters in various ways to identify and become familiar with the anatomy of type. Include one version that shows ONLY the negative spaces.

PROJECT 3
CLASSICAL TITLE PAGES
Construct a page within an A4 size area using the Golden Proportion (1:1.618). Using only the Title, Author, and Volume text set in Times New Roman and Times New Roman Italic to create very different title pages for J.D. Salinger’s Eleven Stories Volume One. You may not use any ornament or color beyond black and white. You may not “scale” typographic elements – use only the Character and Paragraph palettes and the Selection tool to move objects. Pay detailed atention to the letterspacing, linespacing, kerning, and composition. Make the title pages as sophisticated, thoughtful, and composed with care as you can. Create five by the end of class, then five more for homework. A sample pdf of the work of Swiss master typographer Jan Tschichold is provided to use as reference.

PROJECT 4
CLASSICAL BOOK DESIGN
Construct a classical book layout using the Golden Proportion and a serif typeface. Import text and lay out all eleven stories from the provided Word file using Master Pages to help automate the process. Make the text as readable as possible and clearly define elements (chapter name, folio, etc.).Treat the text with as much care as possible: consider type size, leading, spacing, rag, rivers, widows, orphans, and other typographic errors. Pick your best title page from Assignment 3 and re-work it to fit this book design. An extensive pdf of how to construct Classically proportioned page constructions is provided for reference.

PROJECT 5
MODERN BOOK DESIGN
Construct a Swiss high Modern book layout using a modular grid and a sans serif typeface. Import text and lay out all eleven stories from the provided Word file using Master Pages to help automate the process. Make the text as readable as possible and clearly dene elements (chapter name, folio, etc.). Treat the text with as much care as possible: consider type size, leading, spacing, rag, rivers, widows, orphans, and other typographic errors. Create a modern title page for the book. The title is Eleven Stories Volume Two by J.D. Salinger. A pdf of how to create a modular grid is provided.

PROJECT 6
1–10
The 1–10 project is designed to increase your acumen in assessing typographic, spatial, and graphic hierarchy through iteration. We will be creating a series of typographic posters that will work individually and collectively in order to familiarize you with Adobe InDesign. Details are provided in in-class handouts.

REQUIRED READINGS
Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton

Chapters 1–4, and 8 of The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst (in TUJ library).

“The Crystal Goblet, or Printing Should be Invisible” by Beatrice Warde [Looking Closer 3] (in TUJ library).

“Typefaces are Rich with the Gesture and Spirit of Their Own Era” by Michael Rock [Looking Closer 3] (in TUJ library).

“Laws of the Letter” by Ellen Lupton and J. Abbott Miller [Design Writing Research] (in TUJ library).

Typographic detailing pages from Type and Typography by Phil Baines and Andrew Haslam (in TUJ library).