As part of the Visual Arts Program the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague offers a master’s degree in Type Design and Typography. 

Founded in 1885, the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague has evolved from being the first of its kind in the Czech lands to a modern, dynamic, and outward-looking institution, which now has over twenty studios in which to study. Ranging from Typography to Intermedia Art to Fashion Design to Glass, the AAAD studios are led by eminent authorities in their respective fields, whose passion for teaching matches their dedication to their respective fields. Competition for acceptance into the school is fierce, with the result that the students who are lucky enough to make up its student body are highly-skilled and highly-motivated individuals, who proudly continue the storied legacy of the institution. Though the VA program is a recent addition to that legacy, the contribution made by VA students so far has already made a big impact both on the school, the city, and country in which it is located.

The Studio of Typography has belonged to the traditional schools at the Department of Graphic Arts from its very origins up until the current times, had it been called The Studio of Book Culture or The Book and Lettering. In the period after WWII the Studio was headed by František Muzika, Milan Hegar, Jan Solpera and František Štorm. Karel Haloun, Tomáš Brousil and Radek Sidun are its current instructors. Proportianally, merely a small group of students focuses on the creation of lettering per se, the field of study being the whole spectrum of graphic design. 

The Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst (HGB) in Leipzig (Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig) is one of the oldest art schools in Germany, dating back to 1764. The school has four colleges specialising in fine arts, graphic design, photography and new media art with around 500 students.

The class for type-design at the Acdemy of Visual Arts Leipzig is run by Fred Smeijers and Stephan Müller and currently the only class with its main focus on typefaces taught at a German art academy. The academy upholds its tradition for teaching typefaces established in 1904, with the positioning of the typeface designer in today’s world as its primary concern. Work in the class for type-design will deal with “production possibilities” of typefaces, as well as research and consider current typeface usage, thereby covering typefaces used in publications and on the screen. Here the history of typography is also important. Research and analysis of historical models, the study of typeface history, typeface designers and typography illustrate the link between typeface usage and society, highlighting production possibilities and helping to determine the positioning of typefaces in today’s world. 

Study is divided into weekly general lessons spread over two days, in which smaller exercises, accompanying tasks and a key semester project are the main focus. Appointments for individual and group consultations can be made. In addition to the general lessons, each student chooses his/her own project on which he/she working and researching throughout the whole semester. Subject-specific excursions and workshops will also take place outside of the academy. 

(Image: Leander Seige, 2006, GNU FDL)

Crafting Type is a 3-day workshop where beginners learn how to design typefaces and intermediate type designers boost their skills. It is run around the world at cities large and small to bring a solid start in type design. The instructors include Dave Crossland, Eben Sorkin, Octavio Pardo, Alexei Vanyashin, Thomas Phinney, Aoife Mooney, and Blondina Elms Pastel. 

Esad Amiens offers a postgraduate course in “Typography and Language”. The main objective is to train the typeface designers of tomorrow. Each session lasts for 16 months from September to February and enrolment is open till July. The course covers typeface design, the history of typography and an introduction to linguistics. The students carry out a typeface design project linked to their research topic on which they write a paper. The research cycle encourages the study of multiscript typefaces and typographic families.

The permanent teaching staff are bilingual (French—English). Most of them are working professionals who continue to pursue their careers in France and abroad and also lead research projects. They contribute to Esad’s Research Centre for graphic design, typography and language.

The school offers a specialist environment for graphic design with access to a collection of documents and archives (historical and theoretical studies, specimens, catalogues). It organizes themed exhibi- tions, study days, conferences and master classes. It also works in partnership with a specialist publishing house. Students participate in workshops and take part in at least one foreign study trip a year. 

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The European Lettering Institute, set up by a team of professional lettering designers, is a unique place, combining education and creative entrepreneurship. The school is directly linked to Studio XII, a lettering design agency, run by Lieve Cornil, with over 20 years of experience. The programme offers students a full training in lettering & graphic design, aiming to develop a thorough practical knowledge of written, carved, handdrawn and digital letterforms, in a historical and contemporary graphic context.

The Plantin Institute of Typography, tea­ches Expert clas­ses on Typography and rela­ted design. As an inde­pen­dent orga­ni­sa­tion it offers a uni­que pro­gram com­bi­ning the­o­re­ti­cal insi­ghts and his­to­ri­cal bac­k­grounds with tech­ni­cal knowledge and prac­ti­cal skills. The prac­tica expert clas­ses Type design and Book design are given annually and take place in the auditorium of the Plantin Institute of Typography in the Museum Plantin-Moretus/ Prentenkabinet in Antwerp. In adddition there are short the­o­re­ti­cal modu­les Basic typogra­phy, History of the prin­ted cha­rac­ter and Letter design.

In September 2002 the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague started its post-graduate course in Type and Media, formerly the course in Type Design and Typography. It is a full-time one year course that gives participants the possibility of delving deeper in type design for different media: not only type for print, but also for film, television, video and interactive media.

At Type and Media, students work intensively in small groups of no more than twelve persons. They work under the guidance of expert and enthusiastic teachers from the permanent and visiting faculty. Although the student’s personal motivation is given primary place, collaboration with other students is of fundamental importance.

The many aspects of type design in relation to typography for different media are covered in various assignments. Assignments are both practical and theoretical and in some cases in co-operation with the media industry. Discussions with a number of leading graphic designers provide theoretical depth. The various excursions and conferences, like the yearly conferences of ATypI — Association Typographique Internationale — and Typo Berlin, are also worth mentioning. The master course also organizes different activities in the field of type design, like the three-yearly Gerrit Noordzij Award. Students Type and Media play an important role in the activities concerning this Award. 

TypeEd was founded by Rachel Elnar and Michael Stinson from their design studio, Ramp Creative, where they have been practicing annual report, brand identity, and interactive design since 2003.

The idea began early on. Rachel started teaching again after a 9-year hiatus and noticed that many of the college foundation classes were replaced with software classes. Michael observed that when typography was taught, it was not with the depth and detail in which he learned it, back when type was sent out for galleys and design was sent to printers on mechanical boards. When he juried design competitions for Graphis and the One Show, the repeated comment he heard among the jury about the entries was the lack of type sensitivity. Apparently, type skills were also absent in the professional world.

Out of the need to help employees, friends and students, TypeEd was born. In 2012, the founders began to formalize their typographic fundamentals and Michael’s production method into practical applications. In 2013, workshops and clinics were added as a hands-on extension to the classes.

The Continuing Education Department of The Cooper Union, in conjunction with the Type Directors Club, offers a Postgraduate Certificate in Typeface Design.

Top industry professionals lead a highly focused and comprehensive study of key typeface design principles: technique, technology, aesthetics, expression, history, and theory. Students explore the foundation of typography in depth by creating their own typefaces in hands-on classes, while developing a broad understanding of the field through lectures, discussions, and research. Electives are offered each term, focusing on topics such as pen and brush lettering, Python programming, and advanced tools for font development. A series of guest lectures round out the curriculum, allowing students deeper insight into specific relevant topics. 

Participants leave the program with the specialized skills to design professional-quality digital typefaces and lettering.

Type@Paris is a 5-week typeface design program, which started in 2015. 

Over the course of the program, industry leaders including Frank Jalleau, Jean François Porchez, Mathieu Réguer and Malou Verlomme (with more yet to be confirmed) will teach and mentor students in both traditional and modern craft techniques of typeface design.

Located in the center of Paris, students will be able to enjoy the culture of the city and will also receive access to historic materials at key libraries in the city. Renowned guest critics such as Lucas de Groot and Jeremy Tankard (with more to be confirmed soon) will compliment the daily program with unique perspectives around typography and design.

Additionally, a series of talks will be organized (and open to the public) in parallel to the formal typography program. Various renowned designers will be invited to share this opportunity to discuss the history, design, and the future of typography design.

The Department of Typography & Graphic Communication at the University of Reading is a small design school within a traditional, research-intensive university. Typeface design has been a teaching and research theme since the late 1960s. Today the Department hosts the preeminent Masters programme in the field, a high-end summer course, and a range of PhD and post-Doc researchers in typeface design. We are also setting up a distance-learning MA focusing on academic aspects in typeface design.

MATD

The MA Typeface Design (MATD, for short) was the first MA programme in the field, and the only one operating in a research-intensive university environment. Central to the programme is the idea that typeface design does not exist solely as an area of practice, isolated from its context, but is a quintessentially interdisciplinary field. The main activities of the typeface designer are easy to define: designing typeforms, and specifying typefaces. But these rely on a deep web or of historical, cultural, and technical understanding, as well as plain-old form-making skills. From the impact of traditional forms of writing, the developments in the technologies of type-making and typesetting, the typeface designer needs to be aware of how texts are transmitted and shared in each society, and respond to the editorial practices and conventions of each market. Some may even engage with the sprinkling of usability and human perception discourse (although, the impact of such studies on typeface design is probably minimal).

MRes TD

The MRes TD is a new programme, targeted specifically at experienced, practicing typeface designers who want to develop a deeper understanding of the historical and theoretical aspects of their field, and gain a research-intensive qualification that allows them to teach a postgraduate level. The programme is structured on a hybrid model, over two years of part-time study. This structure extends the core seminars of the residential MATD programme, and integrates intensive sessions modelled on the TDi short course.

The Zurich University of the Arts offers two type design courses.

• Certificate of Advanced Studies in Type Design (“CAS Schriftgestaltung”)
• Master of Advanced Studies in Type Design and Typography (“MAS Type Design and Typography”)