feature / artcenter-extension / faculty / graphic-design
November 20, 2023
By Solvej Schou
Images courtesy of Scot Moss

ACX course Essential Typography teaches using typography with confidence

In the ArtCenter Extension (ACX) course Essential Typography, taught by ArtCenter alum Scot Moss (BFA 89 Graphic Design), students learn to use typography with greater confidence to communicate and reinforce the content of their work.

“Essential Typography is, well, essential, as it provides the history, the why, the tools, the vocabulary and the structures to succeed,” says Moss, whose experience includes more than two decades as a graphic designer at Walt Disney Imagineering. “I promise, taking this course, that you will never look at typography the same again!”  

With a strong emphasis on the typographical grid, the course is a vital foundation for editorial design and multipage layout, says Moss.   Students learn about the details of typographic form, paragraph format, page layout dynamics, type characteristics and nomenclature, and the expressive potential of type.  

Aspiring designers and working professionals get the opportunity to boost their typography skills and build a portfolio for professional development or to apply to ArtCenter’s degree programs.  

“Because typography has diverse applicability across creative disciplines, I get students from not just graphic design, but also from fashion, illustration, user experience (UX), cartography and creative direction,” Moss says. “With that range, I tailor the class to each of their needs.”  

Experimentation and discovery lead to students thinking about typography in their future.  

“I push students to try things they would never think about,” says Moss. “As I tell them, I can’t teach you everything in a 14-week class, but I can teach you that when you see bad typography, you will have a driving urge to fix it!”