In spring of 2017, I attended a short course devoted to the study of Typography at Central Saint Martins, UAL. I was eager to learn more about typography beyond its formal and aesthetic attributes in design and explore newer conceptual and cultural contours that complicate this expressive form of letter making. It actually started with making the collage using printed letters, one abstract and one forming shapes using letters.
Fig. 1
On the course, we were taught to interrogate not only handprint letters as introduced in the article, The New Relevance of Basel Basics, but also to think about the arrangement of existing letters to find better layouts in conceptual and aesthetic terms. Experimentation and the physical aspects of rearranging letter type was a new pedagogical practice introduced to me. It was exciting to think more fulsomely about design in this way. In other ways, this course taught me to think about the arrangement of typeface from many spatial orientations, thinking in terms of hierarchy, especially focusing on one stand out point.
Fig.2
I believe this methodology presented at UAL has taught me to think about how square plain vertical and horizontal typography is a new starting point to spatially arrange more compelling and exciting design projects. Informed by the Basel School style, this short course stressed that designers should be experimental in their practice and more holistic in their views of the world to better inform their aesthetic styles and approach to design. Despite being a short course and it providing a limited type of engagement in relation to full term teaching, I gained a wider appreciation for newer pedagogies for teaching design and that openness and critical inquiry are part of this creative discipline. It is my hope that I will transform into a more capable and erudite designer based on this proven method generated by great pioneers in the field at UAL and those I am newly encountering at this MA course.
Fig. 3
Bibliography:
Berbic, A., and Grant, R. (2008) The New Relevance of Basel Basics. [Online] Available from: https://smartech.gatech.edu/handle/1853/29131