STEWARDS OF THE TYPOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE: A MODEL FOR EDUCATION - PART 2 OF 3
Based on a paper presented at the AIGA FutureHistory Conference, Chicago, Illinois (October 2004), this three-part article outlines some possibilities for increasing the focus on typography in design education. In Part 1, Jan Conradi introduced a multi-faceted model for building and strengthening educational programmes in typography. By balancing the themes of historic preservation, reclamation, adaptive reuse and planning, typographic education can move from a 'project-based' curriculum to one where students can better understand and implement the principles of good design. Discover how to help students analyse the relationships between typographic form and visual communication in Part 2 of this series...

Section Two: Reclamation
Focus: Seeing
Advocating
fundamental typographic standards. Identifying typographic variables
and through systematic manipulation, illustrating their impact on
message clarity.
A solid understanding of typographic
variables should be a fundamental core of every design curriculum.
Educators must refuse to sanction mediocrity by consistently pointing
out examples of crude and sloppy typography. Students must become aware
of hackneyed solutions such as: relationships of point size, line
length, leading and spacing that hinder absorption of text content;
arithematic symbols standing in for quotations and apostrophes; awkward
text rags that distract through too much visual activity or through
inadvertent formation of an identifiable shape. In our profession such
lapses in form are significant and are inexcusably amateurish.
That
these clumsy solutions continue to proliferate points to a dismaying
lack of typographic standards coupled with the increased
democratization of publishing. Educators must structure experiments
that allow design students to identity and manipulate variables and to
understand their inter-relatedness and their impact. Our students must
understand that although the tools of typography are widely accessible,
professionals are held to a higher standard of accountability.
Students
delight in finding typographic faux pas once they know what to look
for. Their resulting journal of sketches, photos or photocopies is most
meaningful when accompanied by notes and critiques using precise design
vocabulary. There is no shortage of poor typographic work but remind
students to document examples that are elegant or clever or beautiful
as well. By consciously seeking both, the contrast between them becomes
even more apparent.
A sound typographic education
focuses the student's attention, assuring comprehension of fundamentals
before jumping into creating specific products. Exercises are not
simply for beginners. Advanced students benefit from continued
exercises as a way to reinforce their understanding and their
confidence for executing increasingly complex assignments. Students at
all levels must be reminded that poor typography has ramifications
beyond simple visual ugliness.
Section Three: Reuse
Focus: Implementing
Investigating
issues of reading and communication to pinpoint critical
characteristics of letter/wordform recognition. Analyzing the
relationships between verbal and visual, image and type.
To
consider reuse of typographic form implies awareness of how typography
was used and manipulated in the past. It also implies recognition of
broader issues influencing how typography is presently used, whether in
traditional print media or in digital delivery. What is the difference?
Eric Eaton, a senior designer at Wired Digital, says "the Web is about
cross-sections, broad strokes, big pictures. Good typography on-screen
is certainly not about subtle distinctions between letters. Typesetting
in the case of the Web is an amalgamation of type delivery, display,
and client interpretation."[3]
Educators must cultivate
a healthy skepticism in students who are generally too accepting of
what they see. As they study characteristics of type and investigate
variations in visual form, students should strive to generate both
questions and answers. What is the driving force for a solution?
Artistic sensibility? Technological considerations? Content
interpretation? What does it mean to use a typeface in a way that is
appropriate to its original time or purpose? Could it - or should it -
be used in a distinctively different way? Has type been chosen more for
novelty's sake than for an ability to effectively convey information?
Students must use the design process to generate multiple possibilities
and to analyze the communicative and visual impact of their decisions.
In his book Inside the Word,
Parisian designer Philippe Apeloig writes "... illustration rarely
reaches the same level of conceptualization as that achieved in
typographic compositions... Typography is the very essence of drawing:
a balance between full and empty, light and shadow. It is a discipline
halfway between science and art... and exact and arbitrary materials...
functional and poetic. "[4] Type seldom stands alone though, so
typographic education cannot ignore image. How do type and image work
as a team? Exercises and problems that explore, recognize, and control
the relationship between type and image are another critical component
of design education.
Are we educating our students to
become thoughtful and outspoken design professionals? New York designer
Rocco Piscatello told of a meeting with a client who wanted certain
parts of a text to be visually highlighted. Piscatello told him that
the words, as currently written, did not deserve such visual emphasis.
As a result, a professional copywriter was hired to rewrite the
pedestrian text and the final piece was strengthened in both design and
content. We need to remember that part of our task as professionals is
to give clients what they need - not what they think they want.
In
Part 3, Jan Conradi examines the educator's role in fostering cultural
sensitivity, social awareness, and intellectual stimulation.
Notes
[3] - Eric Eaton, Why Type on the Web is So Bad. [1997 Essay on-line]; available from http://webmonkey.wired.com/webmonkey/97/48/index3a.html?tw=design; Internet: accessed 16 July 2004.
[4] - Philippe Apeloig, Inside the Word, (Baden, Switzerland: Lars Muller, 2001), p49.
About Jan Conradi
Jan Conradi teaches graphic design, typography and design history at the State University of New York at Fredonia (Fredonia, New York, United States) She has written numerous articles and book reviews on topics related to design education. She is currently writing a book about Unimark International and is also developing an introductory textbook for graphic design.