Learning From Underware

More than once, I’ve had Euro friends project their tongues and neener-neener at me when I complain about the lack of dedicated type design schools and courses in the States. Underware’s Applied Type workshop is an example of the kind of immersive typographic learning that only seems to happen east of the Atlantic. The two-week course for Finnish design students focuses on developing and adapting type and lettering for specific uses — excellent training for real-world typography.

The workshop is well-documented in jocular Underware style by the instructors. Content is added daily until the event concludes on 25 Oct. Some of the work suggests that we may see more type designers coming out of Finland in the near future. Look out, Tomi.

Posted by Typographica | October 18, 2002 | LINK

Comments

I'm interested in studying type/graphic design in Europe (particularly the Netherlands, Belgium, or France) on a sort of graduate level - can anyone make some recommendations or relate their experiences?

rb | Oct 18, 2002 08:30 AM

the grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence.

it may look like the typographic hell is going on here over the atlantic - the truth is: many of the universities got a black hole where there's supposed to be a well-founded education in typographic skills. many of the courses in type are held by old guys with hugh calligraphic skills, but they got no idea of whats going on out there in the world of graphic design and advertising.

i've held a type workshop in early 2001 for 3 days with 16 students and it was fun to watch them making funny and interesting stuff. some of them had no experience with using type but they all wanted to get into that subject.

maybe i find some time to finish the documentation of this workshop - i'll let you know.

dirk uhlenbrock | Oct 18, 2002 08:47 AM

what means 'jocular'?

Bas, Sami & Akiem | Oct 18, 2002 11:15 AM

RB, there are only a very few postgraduate courses that i could recommend -- ANRT in Nancy (it used to be called ANCT Paris), Reading University, in UK, and KABK, Royal Academy in The Hague. They all have online presence, so find yourself out what you prefer.

Peter | Oct 18, 2002 11:17 AM

what means 'jocular'?

Playful and amusing.

Stephen | Oct 18, 2002 12:08 PM

To following Peter comments, I will ad that I came to Anct/Anrt the first year with the new direction, dating back 1990. And I learned nothing there. Its the worst place to learn type design. No contents, no program, no focus, no soul, not open minds, nothing at all in the courses. My students who came there are most of the time disapointed too. Anyway, the place is good for typographic layout and to have time when you know what you want. Go to the Hague, Reading, or in France, the Scriptorium de Toulouse, or the special section at Ecole Estienne (nor really open to non frenchs this one), there is better places all over the world, really.

The workshop in Finland seems an enjoyable and great event! Congratulations to all.

Jean F Porchez | Oct 18, 2002 04:24 PM