GİT204

School of Architecture and Design \ Visual Communication Design

3

6

Compulsory

Turkish

yok

Visual Communication Design

This course covers the fundamental principles, history, and development of typography. Students will explore the anatomical structure of typefaces and structural differences between fonts, understanding typography's role in readability and design aesthetics. The course includes typography applications in both physical and digital environments, focusing on typographic arrangement principles and composition techniques. Students will learn to use typography effectively in graphic products such as posters, editorial design, and digital interfaces. The course aims to enhance students' ability to use typography strategically and creatively.

1. Robert Bringhurst – The Elements of Typographic Style
2. Ellen Lupton – Thinking with Type
3. Erik Spiekermann – Stop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Works
4. Emil Ruder – Typography: A Manual of Design
5. Jan Tschichold – The New Typography
6. Josef Müller-Brockmann – Grid Systems in Graphic Design
7. James Felici – The Complete Manual of Typography
8. Simon Garfield – Just My Type: A Book About Fonts
9. Karen Cheng – Designing Type
10. Stephen Heller & Philip B. Meggs – Texts on Type: Critical Writings on Typography

This course aims to teach students typography concepts, history, and fundamental design principles. It helps them understand the anatomical structure of typefaces, font differences, and the role of typography in visual communication. Students will experience typography applications in both physical and digital environments, learning readability, balance, and composition principles. Hands-on projects will be conducted using Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. The course aims to develop students' ability to use typography effectively, approach design processes strategically, and create innovative solutions.

1. Explains letter anatomy, the historical development of font families, and the fundamental principles of typographic theories.
2. Effectively uses industry-standard vector-based and typesetting software to create typographic arrangements in digital environments, such as kerning, tracking, and leading.
3. Transforms letterforms and text blocks into creative and original typographic expressions by structurally constructing or manipulating them.
4. Establishes typographic hierarchy in designs by balancing tonal value, readability (function), and visual composition (aesthetics).

*The following weekly plan and topics may vary depending on the year and semester of the course:

WEEKS 1 and 2

LESSONS 1 and 2: “WHAT IS TYPOGRAPHY?” presentation

Assignment 1: Pangram Design

A pangram will be written vertically and horizontally in a way that uses the entire surface of an A4 sheet.

The pangram writing exercise will be repeated by folding the A4 paper in half, thirds, and quarters in order to reduce the page size.

By repeating the pangram writing exercise for 4 different page sizes, a total of 8 pages of work will be completed.

WEEK 3

LESSON 3: FONT COMPATIBILITY

Application: Business Card Design

In a vector-based environment, two different fonts will be used by writing the student’s name, surname, and profession on an 8 × 5 cm artboard.

Assignment 2: Layout Sketch

Draw 10 different page layouts in the sketchbook.

Complete different layout designs using 10 A4 sheets.

WEEK 4

LESSON 4: TYPOGRAPHIC INSECT DESIGN

Application: Transforming a photograph of an insect into a typographic design.

Select an insect photograph from the internet.

Recreate the insect using typographic sections in a way that reflects the anatomical characteristics of the insect in the photograph.

Use only black and white.

Assignment 3: The work must be submitted in 1080 × 1350 px, 150 DPI, RGB, AI and PDF formats.

WEEK 5

LESSON 5: FONT POSTER

Application: Designing a poster for a selected font in 50 × 70 cm format, using AI or PS file format.

Assignment 4: The work must be submitted in 70 × 100 cm, 300 DPI, CMYK, PDF format.

WEEK 6 – MIDTERM PRESENTATION 1
Presentation of all applications completed up to this week.

LESSON 6: ALBUM COVER RE-DESIGN

Application: Redesigning the visual design of an existing music album selected by the student, considering typographic aesthetics.

Assignment 5: The work must be submitted in 150 DPI, RGB, PDF format.

WEEK 7

LESSON 7: EVENT POSTER RE-DESIGN

Application: Redesigning a poorly designed announcement poster or brochure selected from the internet or the physical environment, taking typographic aesthetics and visual communication principles into consideration.

Assignment 6: The work must be submitted in 150 DPI, RGB, PDF format.

WEEK 8

LESSON 8: GİT / VCD POSTER

Application: Designing a typographic poster by writing “GÖRSEL İLETİŞİM TASARIMI” or “VISUAL COMMUNICATION DESIGN” in a readable way.

Assignment 7: The work must be submitted in 70 × 100 cm, 300 DPI, CMYK, PDF format.

WEEK 9

LESSON 9: TYPOGRAPHY COURSE PORTFOLIO – MIDTERM PRESENTATION 2
Presentation of all applications completed up to this week.

Lecture: InDesign

Application: Turning the designs produced in the course into a presentation using Adobe InDesign.

WEEK 10

LESSON 10: TYPOGRAPHY COURSE PORTFOLIO

WEEK 11

LESSON 11: TYPOGRAPHY COURSE PORTFOLIO

WEEK 12

LESSON 12: TYPOGRAPHY COURSE PORTFOLIO

Submission in InDesign and PDF formats.