Intro to Modern Type Design Online Workshop

During this 10-week online workshop (Thursdays from 5 to 8PM PST on zoom), you'll learn what it takes to create your own original typefaces and gain an understanding of the methodologies and software used to produce high-quality digital type.

While focusing on the techniques and best practices for designing and spacing type, Kel will introduce you to the conceptual foundations of type design, including proofing and testing work. Throughout the workshop you'll learn various lessons about type, history, sketching, and get weekly feedback on your projects.

This workshop is suitable for designers starting to think about type and for designers with some type design experience, hoping to improve upon their skills and processes. Some experience with drawing Bézier curves (in Adobe Illustrator, for instance) and with typography is recommended but not required.

If you are interested in joining Type West, our yearlong certificate program in type design, taking this workshop is a great way to build your type design portfolio for its competitive application process.

All participants will receive a free temporary license for Glyphs App to use during the workshop. The number of participants is capped at 15 to allow for individual instruction.

Learning Outcomes

• Learn how to design latin typefaces from start to finish
• Understand the history of type that shapes our fonts today
• Develop an eye for letter shapes and spacing
• Make your first working typeface through instruction/homework/critiques.

Required Materials

• Computer running MacOS 10.11 or later
• Access to design software (Adobe Illustrator and InDesign or equivalent)
• Bold black markers (Sharpies or equivalent fine point bold markers)
• Chisel tip markers (Sharpies or equivalent)
• Correction pens (White out, Presto or equivalent)
• Pencil, Ruler, Marker Paper (Canson XL or equivalent)

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, and worked at Monotype. Kel is one of the co-teachers in the year-long Type West at Letterform Archive certificate program. His company Overlap Type focuses on type design based on the theme of overlapping letterforms. Kel was a co-curator of the exhibition “Subscription to Mischief” at Letterform Archive, showcasing the 1990s graffiti community and the independent publishing that documented it. He started writing graffiti in 2000 and has continued to add letter-based interests ever since. In short, Kel is a letter person.