Introduction to Modern Type Design

During this 10-week online workshop, which meets Tuesday evenings from January 29-April 4, participants will create their own original typefaces as they gain an understanding of the methodologies and software used to produce high-quality digital type.
The primary goal of this workshop is to show participants how to systematically think about type and successfully structure the type design process. We will focus on techniques and best practices for designing and spacing type, explore the conceptual foundations of type design, including proofing and testing work, and learn about the structure of type families. Participants will work in Glyphs App throughout the week and upload homework before each workshop for review. During meeting times, participants will learn various lessons about type, practice sketching, and get feedback on their type projects.
This course is suitable for designers just starting to think about type and for designers with some type design experience, hoping to develop their skills and processes. Some experience with drawing Bézier curves (in Adobe Illustrator, for instance) and with typography is recommended but not required. This is a great course for anyone interested in applying to the Type West Postgraduate Certificate Program in Type Design.
A free temporary license for Glyphs App will be made available to all participants. The class is capped at fifteen students to allow for ample one-on-one instruction.
Kel Troughton is a freelance type designer and lettering artist who gets an equal amount of inspiration from mid-century advertising and Bay Area graffiti. He graduated from the Type@Cooper West program in 2018, was the teaching assistant for Type West in 2019, and worked at Monotype. Kel is one of the co-teachers in the year-long Type West at Letterform Archive certificate program.
You can find him in the East Bay drawing and photographing letters and you can find his typeface Oaks on Future Fonts. You can also follow him on Instagram and Twitter .