Lettering: Hand to Digital 2022

Typography is a vehicle for information, and subtly reflects the ideas/personality of the person who designed it. The methods by which type was produced historically were shrouded in mystery, not only because it was a niche profession, but also because of fierce competition between type designers. This workshop, “Lettering: Hand to Digital” will demystify modern methods of lettering and type design. The workshop will focus on techniques for hand drawing uppercase and lowercase letters and will provide tools and skills in translating those drawings into digital formats using Glyphs software.*

This workshop will demonstrate how to draw Roman Capital and lowercase letterforms with a variety of drawing tools, while providing a brief overview of the terminology and structure of type. We’ll provide time for students to draw their own letterforms with critique and feedback from the instructor, and we’ll teach participants how to transfer their own unique designs to the computer and create digital type designs from hand-drawn examples. At the end of the workshop, students will have a digital font of the letters they’ve drawn and the ability to use their letterforms in a variety of applications.

Not only will participants learn how to refine their ability to draw and understand the design of letterforms, but they will also learn ways to apply this knowledge to book design, visual branding, and other projects that utilize type. We welcome anyone interested in fonts, typography, and design to this workshop – no special skills are required, but you should arrive with a desire to draw!**

*a free trial of the Glyphs software is available for download.
**supplementary materials will be provided at no additional cost.

If you cannot comfortably pay tuition but are interested in taking this class, please consider filling out our financial assistance application here. We will notify you of your scholarship status before the start date of the class.

Required Materials:

Software:

• Glyphs license (trial)

• Required: students must bring a laptop and/or tablet to Center for Book Arts for this workshop.

Students may wish to purchase extra drawing materials for themselves. The bare minimum is paper and something to draw on the paper with, or a smartphone and a computer with a font editor. The instructor will demonstrate drawing with the bare minimum, and with recommended tools.Recommended Supplies:

• 1/2 inch flat brush
• White poster board
• Rhodia notebook 5mm grid
• Pilot Parallel pen 6mm, 3.8mm
• Walnut Ink