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Course Planning by Program

2025-26

Essential Objectives

Course Syllabus


Revision Date: 06-Jul-25
 

Fall 2025 | ART-1350-VO01 - Typography


Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Location: Online
Credits: 3 (45 hours)
Day/Times: Meets online
Semester Dates: 09-02-2025 to 12-15-2025
Last day to drop without a grade: 09-15-2025 - Refund Policy
Last day to withdraw (W grade): 11-04-2025 - Refund Policy
This course has started, please contact the offering academic center about registration

Faculty

Robert Kirk
View Faculty Credentials

Hiring Coordinator for this course: Dana Lee

General Education Requirements


This section meets the following CCV General Education Requirement(s) for the current catalog year:
Arts and Aesthetics
    Note
  1. Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.
  2. Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

In this course, students learn the practical and critical thinking skills necessary for working with type and why typographical skills are fundamental to design projects. The history of basic typefaces is explored as well as their expressive potential to communicate. Assignments in both traditional studio work and digital technology teach basic skills through the use and manipulation of typefaces in practical applications such as posters, logos, and advertisements. Prerequisite: Introduction to Adobe Creative Cloud.


Essential Objectives

1. Survey the history and development of typography.
2. Analyze how letters are constructed and alphabets designed in order to gain a basic understanding of the character of each letter and of an alphabet.
3. Analyze the major classes of typefaces; understand how they differ and why these differences dictate their uses.
4. Analyze the size, spacing, and color adjustments available to a designer and how to determine and use the "readability" of a typeface.
5. Describe how meaning and expression of that meaning determines the selection of type for typical graphic design projects.
6. Examine, discuss, and critique historical and current typographical works across diverse global, cultural, linguistic, and social contexts.
7. Complete individual projects and display in a professional manner.


Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV computer recommendations Support page.

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.


Required Textbooks and Resources

ART-1350-VO01 Link to Textbooks/Resources Information for this course in eCampus.

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.


Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

 HighLow
A+10098
A Less than 9893
A-Less than 9390
B+Less than 9088
B Less than 8883
B-Less than 8380
C+Less than 8078
C Less than 7873
C-Less than 7370
D+Less than 7068
D Less than 6863
D-Less than 6360
FLess than 60 
P10060
NPLess than 600


Weekly Schedule


Week/ModuleTopic  Readings  Assignments
 

1

Introduction To Typography

  

Developing A Design Process

How To Give Constructive Feedback About Your Classmates’ Designs

Typography — Raw Material for a Graphic Designer

Getting Started with Typography

  

Discussion: Icebreaker

Discussion: Matthew Carter—My Life in Typefaces

Project: Letterforms

Assignment & Discussion: 6 Designs Using a Single Letter

 

2

Typography History

  

History of Typography

Type 3.0: The Future of Typography Today

Who Invented the Alphabet? — The Origins of ABC

First Alphabets

The History of Web Typography

This Weeks Typography Inspiration

Where to Get Fonts and How To Install Them

Notable Creatives 1

  

Discussion: Textbook Readings

Discussion: Notable Creatives 1

Assignment & Discussion: 3 Page Title Designs

 

3

Typographic Details

  

Thou Shalt Not — 34 Typographic Sins

Glossary of Type Terminology

On Quotation Marks and Other Puzzling Punctuation

  

Typography Quiz

Discussion: Wake Up and Smell the Fonts

Assignments & Discussions: Anatomy of Type & One Perfect Column

 

4

Seeing Inspiration Around Us

  

Video: Helvetica

The Elements of Typographic Style

  

Discussion: Notable Creatives 1

Discussion: Textbook Readings

Discussion: Helvetica

Assignment & Discussion: Play

 

5

Contemporary Expressive Typography

  

Expressive Typography, and the Typography Poster

Intricate Beauty by Design

  

Discussion: David Carson — Al For A Few Good Waves

Discussion: Expressive Typography Exercises

Assignment & Discussion: Higher Ground Poster Thumbnails

 

6

Type Trends

  

InDesign Tutorials

Type Trends 2023 & How to Use Them

Matthew Carter: My Life in Typefaces

  

Assignment & Discussion: Higher Ground Final poster Design

Discussion: Type Trends 2023 & How to Use Them

Discussion: Matthew Carter: My Life in Typefaces

 

7

Back To Type Details

  

Diggin’ it?! The Buried Treasures of Typography

Butternick’s Practical Typography

Do It Yourself

  

Discussion: Seeing Typography in Your World

Assignment & Discussion: Designing a Table of Contents

 

8

Paragraphs, Grids, and Page Layout

  

Typography — The Grid

Grid Samples

Notable Creatives 2

Explorations in Typography

Basic Page Setup and Using Grids and Guides in Adobe InDesign

  

Discussion: Textbook Readings

Assignment & Discussion: Long List Poster Design

Discussion: Notable Creative 2

 

9

Relax Reflect and Breath

    

Discussion: All for a Few Good Waves

Assignment: Modifying an existing typeface

 

10

Font Pairing

  

InDesign Tutorials

  

Discussion: What makes this typographic design good?

Assignment: Type Specimen Booklet

 

11

More on Type

  

Readings on Typography

Deconstructing Type

  

Assignment: Type Solution for a Multi-page Brochure

Discussion: Deconstructing Type

 

12

Personal Identity: Monograms

  

Inside a Marketing Team

  

Assignment & Discussion: Personal Identity Thumbnails

Discussion: Inside a Marketing Team

 

13

Personal Identity Inspiration

  

Textbook Readings

Notable Creatives 3

  

Discussion: Textbook readings

Discussion: Notable Creatives 3

 

14

3D Type

    

Discussion & Assignment: Type Cube

 

15

Work Week on Final Projects

    

Discussion & Assignment: Type Cube Final Design

Discussion & Assignment: Personal Identity Final Designs

 

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

  • In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
  • Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
  • Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:


CCV strives to mitigate barriers to course access for students with documented disabilities. To request accommodations, please
  1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
  2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
  3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.


Academic Integrity


CCV has a commitment to honesty and excellence in academic work and expects the same from all students. Academic dishonesty, or cheating, can occur whenever you present -as your own work- something that you did not do. You can also be guilty of cheating if you help someone else cheat. Being unaware of what constitutes academic dishonesty (such as knowing what plagiarism is) does not absolve a student of the responsibility to be honest in his/her academic work. Academic dishonesty is taken very seriously and may lead to dismissal from the College.

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Register for this semester: March 31 - August 29