GD4011 - Typographic Fundamentals 1 | Form & Architecture

You’ll learn through a blend of challenging short and long practical graphic design project briefs that will give you an introduction of typography as a creative force. Briefs that will give you a full appreciation of the role of typography and its impact on and in the graphic design profession. Your learning will develop through a blend of practical studio and workshop-based learning activities in addition to independent study.



This will be accomplished by building on and using the various methods and approaches that you are being introduced to as part of your design process, including reflection and presentation. These will equip you with a confident grasp of the fundamentals of typography, and the ability to deploy it to high standard of realisation in preparation for creative asks in subsequent years. As you develop your design process, you can bring a new understanding and appreciation of typography into your practice through design, craft, and layout. This module and the typographic module that follows enables you to communicate with type in an effective way.



You’ll gain further awareness and solidify your ability to understand and use the essential methods and processes (both technical and experiential) underpinning the subject.



You’ll continue to study and work alongside your peers in a studio environment which aims to replicate the creative industry workplace as closely as possible. During the module, work and social bonds that you form during this Semester will continue to deepen and new connections with peers will be formed. Further student collaboration and group work with your peers in class reflect the working experience of professional designers.



You will be supported through the module by technical staff who will provide introduction and support in areas including:

Introductions to digital tools.

Introductions to prototyping in the Making Space

Introductions to analogue photography.





Technical staff will provide specialist workshops and on-going support throughout the module. You will also have access to the technical resource centre who can loan you any specialist equipment needed for your project outcomes.

Support and feedback will be provided throughout the module as follows:



Academic staff contact

Module tutors provide you with ongoing academic support / feedback and will always provide an initial overview presentation of the module and its assessment.

Informal staff / student critiques will help you to discuss, understand, develop, and inform design project specifics in a collaborative way.

Formal group critiques, mirroring industry practice allow for detailed project crits, evaluation, and feedback on the development of creative responses.

Project or task requirements are normally introduced via a briefing presentation session, subsequently available for review on Blackboard.

Blackboard will be used to communicate and release all relevant module information, including updates / modifications, attendance, and assessment.



Studio contact time

Delivery is through a blend of lectures, studio-based critiques, practical demonstrations, and independent learning.

Studio Culture is an important aspect of your development as a graphic design student. It also mirrors industry practice.

Independent study hours should be utilised to continue the development and progression of your studio-based practice.



Technical support

Experienced technical support staff will provide demonstration and technical knowledge through timetabled on-line and / or workshop-based sessions.



Peer and independent support

Studio culture and independent study also supports personal development and fosters an appreciation and evaluation of your own and your peer’s working practices.



Course support

You’ll have the support of an exceptional library, access to Adobe Creative Cloud, LinkedIn Learning, a well-stocked Technical Resource Centre, and student support services.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Knowledge & Understanding (KU)

Demonstrate knowledge of typographic skills, methods and processes, using critical judgment to understand creative applications using typography.(KU 1)





Evidence elementary knowledge of typographic materials, technologies and skills through practical typographic layout and experimentation.

(KU 2)



Intellectual/Professional Skills & Abilities (IPSA)

Document, annotate and reflect on design research, typography-rich ideation, experimentation and development through layout pads and working journals.

(IPSA 1)



Demonstrate awareness and understanding of typographic detail at the micro/macro levels, materials, technologies and processes in typographic design practice.



Personal Value Attributes (PVA)



Evidence typographic risk-taking, curiosity and exploration in studio and self-directed study.



Demonstrate ability to understand and communicate fundamental typographic processes in relation to graphic design concepts and outcomes.

You will be assessed against a creative response to a set brief with consideration given to the creative processes deployed and evidenced and against the assigned learning outcomes highlighted in this module descriptor.

 

The assessment and feedback strategy is:

Formative assessment

You will receive verbal formative feedback both individually and in groups throughout the module. This feedback will facilitate the development of your assignment. This feedback will allow you to reflect upon your own work and act upon feedback prior to final submission.



Summative assessment

The project brief driving the module will identify the

assessment ask and criteria including submission requirements (deliverables) appropriate to the topic of the project.

 

You will generate throughout your project a physical document we call a Working Journal. This documents your creative journey, understanding and authorship of the creative response. It also demonstrates the originality and provenance of your work, as well as your understanding, through the appropriate application of processes, methodologies and technical/craft skills developed throughout the module.

 

 

 

Final project submission will be as a physical portfolio of work. You may also be asked to complete some form of self-reflection as part of the submission, this could take the form of a written or video rationale/reflection. Whilst this component is not assessed as a deliverable, it may serve to support or inform Personal Values Attributes.

 

This module is exempt from the Anonymous Marking Policy. The nature of working closely and directly with the student in class makes anonymity impractical.

 

As you move through the programme, the emphasis on attaining a higher level of engagement in each of the learning outcomes will also adapt to reflect your subject advancement to focus on the production of highly sophisticated and professional levels of proficiency in thinking and making.

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Through this module you’ll be introduced to the lexicon, principles, architecture, theories and practical skills needed to understand THE key component of the contemporary graphic designer’s arsenal - typography. This core component of our practice has a rich tradition and history that continues to inform and shape the future of the practice. Nuanced and often misunderstood or underappreciated by many, understanding the basic principles or form, composition, legibility, format, architecture, hierarchy and semiotics really do separate the accomplished graphic designer from the layman desktop publisher.



The ability to work and craft expertly with typography to a professional standard is a core skill that the profession consistently tells us they seek out in graduate graphic designers.



You’ll develop a deeper appreciation and understanding of typography and its many creative applications. You’ll be introduced to the lexicon of typography, and the methodologies and processes necessary to work with it to a professional level. We’ll introduce you to its history, present and future, to foster a deeper appreciation of its visible form, semiotics, and communication.