Expand your typeface and your perspective on type design.
Immerse yourself in the world of type design while surrounded by the support of industry professionals and a community of like-minded typophiles. This live, online program is for designers who already have the beginnings of a typeface, but want to build it out into a multi-weight family. Students will work towards creating two compatible masters that are ready to interpolate into a larger family.
Participants who do not have a Glyphs license yet receive an extended trial license and can purchase their own full license at a discount.
Practica Latin Two: Expansion
15 January through 7 May 2025,
Wednesdays and Thursdays 10:30 a.m. CST (Chicago)
We’ll focus on developing a more reflective design process and a more thoughtful typeface — one that is an expression of your unique outlook but also meets the needs of readers and users of type. Through the work of your classmates you’ll be exposed to a variety of typeface genres, giving you a window into approaches and styles outside of your own. We’ll weave these elements together and build a strong foundation in typeface design, not only for your current typeface but for future projects as well.
Through lectures and feedback sessions, we’ll explore these topics and dive into type design as a living, evolving discipline. By the end, you’ll be ready to tackle more complex projects with more confidence, and will have a better understanding of contemporary type design practice.
What you’ll learn:
- Designing according to the intended use of your font
- Building a strong visual system
- Structuring font families and their design spaces
- Creating new weights or styles through interpolation
- Developing a more efficient and reflective type design process
- Expanding character sets and designing diacritics
- Keeping yourself motivated throughout development
- The importance of writing systems outside Latin
- Insight into the professional world of typeface design
What’s included:
- 53 course hours
- Live classes held over Zoom on Wednesday and Thursdays
- Lectures, feedback sessions, font file reviews, focused instruction to push your ideas further
- Ability to watch lectures again (lectures are live, but recorded)
- Individual feedback on your typeface
- Five guest lectures and one guest critique from industry professionals
- Access to our private Discord community
- Free trial Glyphs license
- Certificate of completion (80% attendance required)
Schedule:
- Jan 15: Course introduction + lecture
- Jan 16: Lecture: the brief, making useful type
- Jan 22: Project introductions
- Jan 23: Lecture: systems in typeface design
- Jan 29: Mini lecture: designing proofs for feedback + feedback session
- Jan 30: Lecture: planning your typeface family, intro to interpolation
- Feb 5: Feedback session
- Feb 6: Lecture: interpolation and its possibilities, design space ideation
- Feb 12: Review of students’ font files
- Feb 13: Special session: Q&A
- Feb 19: Feedback session
- Feb 20: Guest lecture: case study
- Feb 26: Feedback session
- Feb 27: Guest lecture
- Mar 4—6: Individual feedback sessions
- Mar 12: Feedback session with visiting critic
- Mar 13: Guest lecture: the design of diacritics
- Mar 19: Feedback session: diacritics
- Mar 20: Special session: Q&A
- Mar 26: Feedback session
- Mar 27: Guest lecture
- Apr 2: Feedback session
- Apr 3: Lecture: the design of punctuation, numbers and more
- Apr 9: Feedback session: punctuation
- Apr 10: Guest lecture
- Apr 16: Variable fonts workshop
- Apr 28—30: Individual feedback sessions
- May 7: Final presentations 🎉
Where?
Live Zoom sessions
Who?
Nicole Dotin
Sol Matas
For Whom?
You are expected to have designed a typeface before or have finished Practica Latin One. Read more.
How Much?
Multiple tiers between USD 1600 and 2300, more info on the Practica site.
Language
English
Prerequisites
Mac with Glyphs preinstalled. Internet connection, a layout program like Affinity Publisher or InDesign. Zoom and Discord accounts (both free).
Registration
Applications open Nov 25, 2024. Prepare a cover letter and a PDF specimen. More details on the Practica Latin Two site.
