TypographHer Archives - Design Assembly

Join Brisbane-based type designer Nicole Arnett Phillips aka TypographHer, for this full-day, hands-on typography workshop in Auckland:

The Essentials of Typography – Everything about type that you didn’t learn at school!
Saturday 27th May
10am–4.00pm

Yoobee, Level 4 workspace
3 City Road
Auckland CBD

$350 Professional / $250 Design Assembly Friend (Not a DA Friend? Click here for details on how to sign up). 
$150 DA Student Friend (Not a DA Student Friend? Click here for details on how to sign up). 

Refreshments from Atomic Coffee and Serious Popcorn. Thanks Guys!

I attended Auckland University of Technology, and our curriculum was broad. We had an introduction to typography, its historical context, pairing typefaces and the fundamental geometry of the major type classifications — barely scratching the surface of type as a discipline.

At the time (15+ years ago) design schools were moving away from drawing (and making) toward more fast-paced, digital production practices, so I soon realised that I needed to create a personal investigative practice that trained my eye, developed my hand, and nurtured my curiosity for the mechanics of typography. I began interrogating letters (and typefaces) hoping to unlock their dirty little secrets. My method of visual research was tactile and analogue. I would draw, trace, and scale characters, rotate and reverse them, crop them and recreate them.

This craft based learning (after graduation) was where my type education began. Analogue craftsmanship demands you to be resourceful and clever, I value the freedom that comes from working slow, with my hands, and without the safety net of {cmd+Z} to undo. Crafting and interrogating letterforms in this way is the best medium to learn the finer details of typography, lettering and type design.

In this one day workshop I will share some of what I have learned as well as my techniques for interrogating, drawing (and learning) about type. We will explore all the things you didn’t learn about type design and typography at school, using craft to unlock type’s dirty little secrets.

Learning Outcomes:

• Exploring the origins, anatomy, and vernacular of typography.
• Understanding recognition, legibility, archetypal forms, and the visual logic of typography.
• Using varied techniques for creating typography by hand.
• Gaining insight into the maths (geometry) and magic (common optical illusions/adjustments) used in typography.
• Participants will also deepen their understanding of typographic tone, what sounds look like, and the relationship between visual and verbal language.