Typography 3 | Fall 2019

Typography 3 – Syllabus

Course Description

This course provides instruction in creating complex typographic systems for page and screen, including grid structures, comprehensive style sheets, and complex compositional structures. Students learn more advanced features of software for typography and build compelling projects working with multi-layered information.

Learning Outcomes

  • Utilize and explore a variety of grid and compositional structures as they relate to content and medium, for both page and screen.
  • Develop ability to create and refine multi-level hierarchical systems.
  • Demonstrate proficiency working with large amounts of text in paragraphs, pages, and sequences.
  • Assess and critique typographic and design solutions in relation to the context of the project.
  • Generate content with typographic explorations.

Projects

We will be completing 2 major projects over the course of the semester that explore rigid typographic systems, flexible typographic systems, traditional applications, variety of media and experimentation. These projects are designed to further your comprehension and practice of utilizing type as a creative form, while broadening your personal definition of what is ‘typographic’ and how it can be utilized.

I will hand out project briefs as we move through the semester that clearly lay out the project goals, deliverables and constraints.

Supplies

There will be quite a bit of printed output required by this course. Plan for approximately 50-100 color / b&w letter-sized printouts and approximately 20 tabloid sized color printouts. A sketchbook is also required.

Course Structure

This studio class meets Tuesdays for 5.5 hours. We will use the time in various ways and expect you to be available for class activities, or to be working independently during this time. 

  • We will start every class with a group meeting to check in, share ideas and ask questions

  • Classes will encompass a variety of formats (large groups, small groups, one-on-one) and activities (critiques, lectures, in-class making, and discussion). 

  • We will schedule frequent breaks and a 1-hour lunch break each day

  • Additionally,  you will be given at least one break per hour. With that, please do not leave the classroom while the class is meeting without permission.

Communications and Office Hours

Project briefs, weekly homework assignments and resources will be posted on this website

A link to the class website, syllabus and attendance will be posted to Canvas

Questions are also encouraged! You are encouraged to seek feedback in person during my office hours. Students must schedule an appointment for office hours.

Response time to questions: Please allow Sandie and Marquis 12–24 hours to respond, Mon–Fri, but we will answer sooner if possible.

Requirements

WORK & CRITIQUE
  • If you are having difficulty understanding an assignment or completing your work, it is your responsibility to talk to me right away.
  • Be prepared for class every day that we meet. Please bring the necessary tools that will allow you to work in class, all sketches / layouts / studies / files for the development of your projects, any inspiration the class might benefit from seeing, and copies of any assigned reading for discussion.
  • You must meet all project deadlines. Late work will automatically lower your grade.
  • You are only to work on class projects during class sessions; No personal email, social media, phone calls, texting or chat during critiques, demos or presentations. While I may not mention each time I observe you violating this policy, it will affect your final grade.
  • You will be given at least one break per hour. With that, please do not leave the classroom while the class is meeting without permission.
ATTENDANCE & TARDINESS
  • Attendance and participation is mandatory. Arrive on time at the start of each class and after each break. Failure to return from break will be considered an absence. Students who have the equivalent of more than 3 absences are not eligible to earn credit for the course. If you are absent, it is your responsibility for gathering any material and completing any in-class assignments missed.
  • Tardiness will not be tolerated. If you arrive 10 minutes past the scheduled class start time, this is considered tardy. 3 tardies equal 1 absence.
DOCUMENTATION
  • Make it a habit to back up your work frequently. Organize and save all presentations, sketches, alternate solutions and research for all work completed.
  • You must provide a full archive of all print-ready digital files, digital archives and/or screen grabs completed during the semester to me by the last day of classes for the semester. Failure to submit final files will result in a reduction of 50% credit for the course.

Assessment

Your work in this class with be assessed based on the following criteria: PRODUCT, PROCESS and PROFESSIONALISM. I will provide you with an assessment of your work for each project and a final grade which takes into account all the projects of the semester.

Following is a break down of grading criteria and their overall proportion that determines your semester grade for this class:

PRODUCT (1/3)
  • Meeting project constraints
  • Inventiveness of the solution
  • Proficiency of graphic design concepts
  • Craft / presentation
  • Communication to intended audience
PROCESS (1/3)
  • Quality and quantity of research
  • Conversion of research into ideas
  • Development of ideas (project & semester)
  • Translation of problem into a personal response
  • Improvement of work
PROFESSIONALISM (1/3)
  • Attendance
  • Meeting deadlines
  • Being prepared and productive during class
  • Verbal and written presentations
  • Participation in class critiques

A

SUPERIOR: exceeds requirements of course with highest level of conceptual and technical skill

B

VERY GOOD: meets requirements of the course with above average conceptual and technical skill

C

AVERAGE: conceptual, technical or conduct flaws, but meets requirement of course

D

POOR: barely meeting course requirements

F

FAILING: did not meet course requirements

Schedule

31 Aug.

Project 1 Assigned

7 Sep.

14 Sep.

21 Sep.

28 Sep.

5 Oct.

Project 1 Due
Project 2 Assigned

12 Oct.

Project 1 Files Due

19 Oct.

Midterm Reviews

26 Oct.

2 Nov.

9 Nov.

16 Nov.

Project 2A Due

Project 2B Assigned

23 Nov.

NO CLASS—THANKSGIVING BREAK

30 Nov.

7 Dec.

14 Dec.

Project 2B Due

16 Dec.

Project 2 Files Due

Academic Policy Statements

Academic Policy & Title IX

All faculty are required to share with students the following full statements. Accessibility and Disability Services MICA makes reasonable accommodations for qualified students with documented disabilities. The Office of 

Accessibility and Disability Services (ADS) facilitates equal access for students who self-identify as having a disability and provide appropriate documentation. All accommodations must be approved through ADS. If you are a student with a disability who needs accommodations in this class, please contact ADS to schedule an appointment. ADS is located in Bunting 110 and can be reached at 410-225-2416 or ads@mica.edu. Once accommodations are authorized by ADS, please provide me (your instructor) with your approved accommodation memo as soon as possible. It is the student’s responsibility to make an accommodation request in a timely manner. Accommodations are not retroactive. 

Environmental Health and Safety (EHS)

Students are responsible to follow health and safety guidelines relevant to their individual activities, processes, and to review MICA’s Emergency Operations Plan and attend EHS training. Students are required to purchase personal protection equipment (PPE) appropriate for their major or class. Those students who do not have the proper personal protection equipment will not be permitted to attend class until safe measures and personal protection are in place.

Plagiarism

Each discipline within the arts has specific and appropriate means for students to cite or acknowledge sources and the ideas and material of others used in their own work. Students have the responsibility to become familiar with such processes and to carefully follow their use in developing original work. 

POLICY

MICA will not tolerate plagiarism, which is defined as claiming authorship of, or using someone else’s ideas or work without proper acknowledgement. Without proper attribution, a student may NOT replicate another’s work, paraphrase another’s ideas, or appropriate images in a manner that violates the specific rules against plagiarism in the student’s department. In addition, students may not submit the same work for credit in more than one course without the explicit approval of all of the instructors of the courses involved. 

CONSEQUENCES

When an instructor has evidence that a student has plagiarized work submitted for course credit, the instructor will confront the student and impose penalties that may include failing the course. In the case of a serious violation or repeated infractions from the same student, the instructor will report the infractions to the department chair or program director. Depending on the circumstances of the case, the department chair or program director may then report the student to the appropriate dean or provost, who may choose to impose further penalties, including expulsion. 

APPEAL PROCESS

Students who are penalized by an instructor or department for committing plagiarism have the right to appeal the charge and penalties that ensue. Within three weeks of institutional action, the student must submit a letter of appeal to the department chairperson or program director, or relevant dean or provost related to the course for which actions were taken. The academic officer will assign three members of the relevant department/division to serve on a review panel. The panel will meet with the student and the instructor of record and will review all relevant and available materials. The panel will determine whether or not to confirm the charge and penalties. The findings of the panel are final. The panel will notify the instructor, the chairperson, division, the student, and the Office of Academic Affairs of their findings and any recommendations for change in penalties.

Title IX Notification 

MICA faculty are committed to helping create a safe and open learning environment for all students. If you (or someone you know) have experienced any form of sexual misconduct, including sexual assault, dating or domestic violence, or stalking, know that help and support are available. The College strongly encourages all members of the community to take action, seek support and report incidents of sexual misconduct to the Title IX Office. Please be aware that under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, I am required to disclose information about such misconduct to the Title IX Office. If you wish to speak to a confidential employee who does not have this reporting responsibility, you can contact the Student Counseling Center, counseling@mica.edu, 410.225.2367. For more information about reporting options at MICA, please visit here

Students with Extended Illness or Absence 

In the case of extended illness or other absences that may keep the student from attending a class for more than three meetings, undergraduate students must contact the Student Development Specialist in the Division of Student Affairs or have an official disability accommodation letter issued by the Learning Resource Center that specifically addresses class absences. For students who have not been approved for academic disability accommodations, the Student Development Specialist will work with the student to determine the cause and appropriateness of the absences and subsequently notify instructors as necessary. 

Graduate students must contact the instructor, director, and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies. Students in professional studies programs must contact the Associate Dean for Open Studies. The appropriate administrator will facilitate a conversation with relevant faculty to determine whether the student can achieve satisfactory academic progress, which is ultimately at the sole discretion of the faculty member.