The Type Design intensive (TDi) course is an intensive course in typeface design. It is aimed at experienced designers, those who manage typeface projects, and all researchers and educators. In 2024, we are running two one week courses in July.
One domain, two approaches
What will you learn?
This course is designed to teach you methodologies for effectively working with and interpreting primary sources, including unconventional material, ephemera, and digital evidence.
You will develop practical thinking skills, such as holding, looking at, and observing material. The sessions support new narratives that combine materiality and reframe existing concepts.
Research sessions
The research sessions begin with description and analysis, which helps develop the balance between contextualisation and focus. They also locate typographic research within related disciplines. These sessions are particularly relevant for those working with underrepresented scripts, languages, or communities and those working to address biases in existing literature.
Course focus
This course is suitable for academics, researchers, and individuals preparing for PhD study who are developing a research project, publication, or proposal.
Additionally, for those with broader interests, the course will help build skills for qualitative work with archives and constructing narratives from material evidence.
Course details
The week is structured around staff-led sessions with archival material and case studies in the morning and practical feedback/research actions in the afternoon.
In the morning
Morning sessions heavily rely on our Collections and Archives, which include manuscripts, rare printed books, ephemera, and various objects related to type-making technologies, such as fully operational presses, lithography and a hot metal caster.
We provide access to unique material, distinguished by its intensity and expertise, which is rarely found at other institutions globally.
In the afternoon
We work in dedicated spaces with direct access to world-class materials and resources. Key staff are always present so that we can give ample time to small group and individual consultations and discussions.
This course offers opportunities for participants to engage in discussions and learning about paradigms in typeface design and to reframe “ways of thinking” about the discipline and their work in the field. Our staff represents a broad range of perspectives and experiences in typeface design and are all experts in their respective fields.
Our staff
Staff on the course represent a broad range of perspectives and experiences in typeface design and are all experts in their respective fields.
Key persons on the course include:
- Gerry Leonidas, Professor of Typography
- Borna Izadpanah, Lecturer in Typography & Graphic Communication
- Geoff Wyeth, Lecturer
- Dr Emma Minns, Archivist
- Fred Smeijers, Professor in Type Design (week 1)
- Fiona Ross, Professor in Type Design (week 2)
Additional contributions by Abeera Kamran, Cheng Xunchang, and others.
About the Department
The University of Reading has been at the forefront of typography's evolution into a fully-fledged discipline – from the theory of graphic language to research in visual literacy, from the history of typesetting technologies to designing typefaces for global scripts.
The Department of Typography & Graphic Communication boasts the first typography course within a research-intensive university. It is also the home of Typography Papers and a wide range of research, knowledge transfer projects, and consultancies with wide-ranging impacts across many scripts.
We are internationally recognised for our exceptional research output and the quality of our teaching.
Course schedule
- Date: 8 to 26 July 2024
- Time: 09:30 to 17:30 daily, with a break for lunch (provided).
Register for the TDi course
Registration is not open yet for the 2025 course. If you would like further information, please contact Gerry Leonidas at g.leonidas@reading.ac.uk.