Syllabus

Class Description (Official)

Students are introduced to considerations and practice of designing type. Techniques taught include emerging technologies like variable type, and perennial skills such as calligraphy. Participants learn critical decision-making skills and sensitivities inherent to developing typefaces for print and screen. Topics include legibility, critical theory, systems, and information design. Software includes Glyphs (Mac) and FontForge (PC). Materials include pen and ink.

Class Description (Colloquial)

In this class, we will take a deeper look at the mechanical, technological, and aesthetic means by which typography comes into existence. Language, which flows through the substrate of typography (sometimes) will also be a focus of the class. That being said, it is neither an engineering or linguistics class, its purpose is ultimately, the designing of graphics.

Objectives

Gain an introductory agency to the tools used for contemptorary type design (Glyphs, Font Forge).
Gain a greater understanding of the complexity of the linguistic systems which typography is a part of.
Gain greater agency in using typography in your practice as a designer of graphics.
Gain a better understanding of the contemporary cultural milieu and history surrounding type design.

Course Deliverables

~5 font files → Depending on how you count them. Additionally with more engagement we might add or augment projects. You will have 2 projects where you create a typeface wholly on your own, 1 experimental set of glyphs, 2 collaborative typefaces.
related ephemera and specimen → You will be asked to produce ephemera and type specimen in order to both utilize and assess your work in the class
exercises → Some of the output here will be diagnostic (ie to see if people understand the concepts), and generally to release some pressure. With our calligraphy exercises, you'll also be asked to have residue of that work ready for discussion in class.
reading/viewing responses → We will watch and discuss various talks on typography, you will be expected to potentially lead talks or produce designed ephemera responding to it.

Expectations

Jack Coffey is our LA → Please treat him with the same respect you would (hopefully) give me. If I am not available for technical questions or feedback especially during class, do not hesitate to ask him. If you have questions via email, please CC him as well.
You will be on time for class → On time does not simply mean being in the classroom when class starts, but in the room and physically and mentally prepared to engage with the material.
Limited phone/computer usage → Please refrain from checking your phone during class time. If you have an urgent personal matter please let me know. I will do the same.
Ask questions (Early! Often!) → You will not understand everything in class. That is totally okay. Asking questions will help you to understand things as well as help me assess what it is you are understanding or not. Disregard the idea that you are "stupid” if you ask questions, or that any specific question is "stupid."
Do homework → I am structuring the class in such a way that I expect you will work outside of class approximately 4 to 6 hours. I am expected to do this as an Employee of the State of New York, but also in order for you to accrete knowledge, understanding, and agency, you will need to work outside of class.

Informal AI Policy

In general, I would strongly suggest, to not use LLM-based-AI (like ChatGPT). It is possible that you might use it without it being detectable by me, regardless, please be able to explain your decision-making regarding anything that might have been created or augmented by AI.

Please be comfortable with me asking about whether something is AI, it will almost always be out of curiousity and not an accusation.

Additionally, using AI to wholly prompt an assignment as your own work is plagiarism and will be treated as such. That being said, using the Object Selection Tool in Photoshop, or extending a photograph by 10 pixels is less objectionable, and more than likely harder for most "aesthetically sensitive" people to detect.

All that being said, whether you use AI or not, support it or not, it is important to have some sense of its material consequences, I'd suggest videos like the ones below:

All that being said, if you have a specific conceptual reason to explore AI as a concept, let's talk it over. For example, this is a project by Drew Sisk where he asked ChatGPT to create outlines for letters combining Times New Roman and Arial that he then created a typeface from.

Grading (The Class)

My general policy for grading is as follows:

When you don't give an ƒ, that's when you get an F!

Basically, if you care, participate in some meaningful way, and do the work asked of you, you will pass the class. If you do the work exceptionally you can achieve a grade that is conventionally perceived as "good." This grade may not match your expectations.

You may contest grades for the class and individual assignments at any time, though I do not guarantee I will acquiesce to your request.

Your grade is broken down as follows:

40% → Participation
40% → Projects
20% → Exercises

Additionally the following things will effect your grade:

Unexcused absences and the accretion of latenesses will have an effect on your grade. Your grade will be half a letter grade lower per unexcused absence. Three latenesses will count as an unexcused absence.
You must complete all assignments. If you are missing assignments (projects or exercises), it will effect your grade in the following ways:
- If you are missing >10% of the assignments the highest grade you can receive is a B
- If you are missing >25% of the assignments the highest grade you can receive is a C
- If you are missing >50% of the assignments you will automatically receive an F.

You can increase your grade in the following ways:

Any assignment might receive "je ne sais quoi" points → These are at my discretion and for purely subjective reasons. This could be a cute cat collaged into a web page, or a nifty bespoke letter.
Our larger projects will have "no shuriken mode" challenges → listed somewhere in the project page. These will be suggestions of things you could do to go above and beyond in a given project. These are generally beyond the outlined terms of the assignment's minimums, and are not subjective (i.e. you will not be asked to use a font I, personally, like more than others). These do not guarantee a higher grade, but should be an indicator as to how to make a project "better."
If you notice any errors → (not simply a page-rendering error, like the styling breaking) on the website, you may report them to me at any time and I will give you a small, but non-negligible amount of extra credit.

If you would like Purchase College, SUNY's specific Grading Policies, look here.

Grading (Assignments)

Your assignments will generally include:

Projects → These are a larger part of your grade and are, proportionally larger projects. They will take longer to do and will involve some amount of conceptual and technical synthesis or production that requires more time, energy, and thought. These are generally, the projects we will critique. They will have their own grading rubric outlined for their completion and evaluation.
Exercises → These will generally be smaller assignments where the outcome is very clear. This might be, in the interest of learning a technique (software or otherwise) and is mainly to provide a kind of, residue that you performed the task or learned a specific skill. These will generally be pass/fail, or will be based on the number of questions in a given exercise. Otherwise, grading criteria will be provided in the related page on the website.
Reading or Viewing Responses → You may be asked to prepare written responses to readings to share with smaller groups and the class. As this class is within a design program, you will be asked to design and typeset these responses (ie these are not book reports). They will be graded in the same category as an "exercise."

Attendance

As you know, Purchase College, SUNY, specifically the School of Art + Design, has a rather oppressive attendance policy (emphasis my own):

There are no excused absences in the School of Art+Design. Three or more absences in any course will result in a failing grade. Excessive tardiness may count as absences. Please see your course syllabi for more details.

This is mostly a good thing, in that it places emphasis on being in class together. However, the realities of life may make this policy feel more draconian than what it was intended to be. Please observe these practical policies:

Be on time for class, within 10 minutes of the class's start time, or you will be marked as late (unexcused).
Leaving class early without a reason that we mutually acknowledge and agree upon before class, counts as being late.
Three latenesses is equivalent to one absence.

I conversely will observe the following policies:

I will send an advanced warning to everyone if I’m in danger of being late, and by what amount. This will more than likely be through email. I have to leave ~two hours before class, but I will strive to let you know before this unless there is, for example an issue with public transit.
If you arrive late (unexcused or excused) and need to walk through material from class I will make time during a break, in-class work time, or a one-on-one outside of class.

Structure (Individual Classes)

We will begin each class with one of the following:

Show 'n' Tell → you will be asked to talk about something you are interested in for five minutes. This could be your favorite tv show, a trip you went on, work in another class. If you take longer than five minutes I will ask you to continue next class.
Stoopid Time → You will think of absurd or impossible to answer questions and I, or another student will attempt to answer them.

(people tend to forget these are due, I will try to send an email in advance but please check the schedule for each class about what you may have to do)

Subsequent to that we will do the following, not necesarrily in a specific order:

Discussions → We will take some time to talk through a reading, viewing, or piece of art/design. You may be asked to make a designed response to it, or get into small groups and talk and then talk to the class.
Presentations/Reports/Meetings/Work Time → We will take time to update each other on our progress on projects, or work on them. I may also use this time to talk about specialized topics. Because of class size I will probably have to break some feedback sessions on specific projects across multiple weeks.
Review Homework → We will review what is due next week, and what things may have been forgotten or moved around. The website should reflect this as well.
Notes particular to this class → I will need to end class slightly early (~8:10) in order to make the loop shuttle on time. I tend to prefer a longer break which I will administer at "dinner time" and I will need to take a ~15 minute break around 7:30PM to say good night to my son.

Projects

All major project names are in IPA, or the International Phonetic Alphabet. That is partly to encourage you to think about the linguistic component of your work, and how culture has influenced language (for example, notice how "many" is spelled in IPA vs traditionally in English).

The other reason is because all the projects are based on words my son Felix says, or has made up. Context will be provided on each of the separate project pages.

Project Name	Time Frame	Description
/ˈmɛni/	2 weeks	We will, collaboratively, produce a typeface which you will use to make several posters you will bring to class.
[ˈbuːʒuː]	4 weeks	You will create a "fictional" or "historical" set of glyphs which you will use to make specimen, designed ephemera, and communicate with another student using their system
[ˈɜːrkəl]	4 weeks	You will create a full typeface based on extending a found piece of typography. You will create aesthetic objects as well as research.
/kəˈkuːn/	throughout the semester + final 5 weeks	You will create your own typeface based on your own concept which you will conceive of during the beginning of the semester

Topics covered by exercises:

drawing in your type design program of choice (assuming Illustrator experience)
components
interpolation
variable type

In the past I have included a variable typeface as part of another typeface, this would be one the class does together. I am actively reconsidering this as the newest version of After Effects allows you to manipulate axes of variable type.

Required Statements

I am required to include the following statements in my syllabi. I will mention additionally how to locate this material in class, as well as in the printed syllabi.