Type ornament.
How to use letters to create patterns

About the workshop

 

The workshop is addressed to students willing to learn how to construct lettering patterns and use them as creative tools in the work of a graphic designer. Starting from calligraphy, students will be introduced to different techniques of flourishing and composing monograms. In the next step students will shift into the medium of typography, delving into the Renaissance phenomenon of Printer’s Flowers. After that, students will be acknowledged with creating typographical ornaments, which eventually will result in designing a final project. Our meetings are based on online exercises and corrections.

 

Objectives

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• students explore the ornamental potential in lettering

• students learn about typographical tradition in creating patterns

• students are introduced to the work of the Renaissance printers, contemporary calligraphers (eg. Gottfried Pott), and 20th-century graphic designers and studios using typographical ornaments as artistic means (eg. Giovanni Pintori, Insel-Bücherei Publishing House)

• students investigate the logic of the movement and plasticity of letterforms

• students develop their skills in composition and knowledge in typography

 

Course content

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Course content will be delivered in the form of: 

• class lectures

• class watching/studying and discussions on relevant material to selected topics presented in lectures, and case studies. 

• class discussions on workshop exercises, assignment ideas, or sketches.

 

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Tools / materials / equipment / software

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Broad edged pen or brush, pencils, paper, ink, scanner or phone camera, Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop.