RESERVE MY SPOT
Ksenya Samarskaya is the founding member of Samarskaya & Partners, drafting type to push against
the limits of technology, radiate legibly on small screens, and trigger nuanced algorithms of emotion and history.
Clients and collaborators include Adobe, Apple, Best Made Co., Birnam Wood, Design MW, Font Bureau, Google, Frere-Jones, Hoefler & Co., Ideo, JaegerSloan, Light+Ladder, McCann, MCKL, Monotype, Snoop Dogg, Trollback + Co., WeWork, and YouTube.
2015-2017 AIGA/NY Board of Directors. TDC63 Judge. Communication Arts 2017 Judge. 2017 TISDC TW Judge.
• Learn about the nitty gritty of type design
• Navigate the creation of fonts as an individual project or as a relay
• Explore different areas of the unicode
• Complete a workable, functional typeface
SKILLS:
- Type Design
- Calligraphy
- Art Direction
- Brand Strategy
- Cyrillic Type Design
- Greek Type Design
- Latin Type Design
- Team Leadership
- Visual Design
DATE: 12 - 30 Mar 2018
DURATION: 3 Weeks
LECTURES: 3 Hours per day
LANGUAGE: English
LOCATION: Barcelona, Harbour.Space Campus
COURSE TYPE: Offline
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
ABOUT KSENYA
BIBLIOGRAPHYHARBOUR.SPACE 
THE STEPPING STONES OF TYPE DESIGN
After immersing ourselves into the world of existing typography, and honing our skills in discussing, classifying, and hunting for fonts, sometimes we reach a dead end: the typeface that meets our objectives doesn’t yet exist.
In this module we’ll start the descent into the tower of making our own typeface. Working individually or in small groups, participants will fast forward through the process of dictating a project brief, sketching ideas, drawing, correcting for proper point structure, spacing, and kerning their typeface. Additionally, each participant will conduct research and be responsible for a presentation on a chosen segment of the unicode.
At the end of the module, the participants will come away with an operable OpenType font they can apply to their other coursework and future design projects.
KSENYA SAMARSKAYA
HARBOUR.SPACE UNIVERSITY
DATE: 12 – 30 Mar, 2018
DURATION: 3 Weeks
LECTURES: 3 Hours per day
LANGUAGE: English
LOCATION: Barcelona, Harbour.Space Campus
COURSE TYPE: Offline
THE STEPPING STONES OF TYPE DESIGN
All rights reserved. 2018
COURSE OUTLINESession 6-10
Type Design Phase II
- Building out the alphabet
- Individual work-sessions
Discussions & Presentations
- Field trips & visiting guests: what’s it like to work as a type designer?
- Group critiques of in-progress projects
- Unicode presentations
Session 11-15
Type Design Phase III
- Finalizing the alphabet
- Touching on spacing, kerning, and typesetting
- Using our freshly made fonts in a layout, and celebrating its completion
Discussion
- Group critiques of in-progress projects
Unicode presentations
- What next? How to keep learning and perfecting your skill after this module is over.
Sessions 1-5
Lectures & Discussions
- Select a typographic style or category to work on
- Select an area of unicode to research and design
- Select your team for the term of the module
Assignments
- Setting objectives for the typeface: you
can’t score without a goal
- Individually sketch type ideas and concepts
- Select roles for the group (art director, unicode x expert, typographer, etc.)
Type Design Phase I
- Initial sketches, and isolating key characteristics
- Bezier curves and software primer
- Drawing the controls: HODnop
After immersing ourselves into the world of existing typography, and honing our skills in discussing, classifying, and hunting for fonts, sometimes we reach a dead end: the typeface that meets our objectives doesn’t yet exist.
In this module we’ll start the descent into the tower of making our own typeface. Working individually or in small groups, participants will fast forward through the
process of dictating a project
brief, sketching ideas, drawing, correcting for proper point structure, spacing, and kerning their typeface. Additionally, each participant will conduct research and be responsible for a presentation on a chosen segment of the unicode.
At the end of the module, the participants will come away with an operable OpenType font they can apply to their other coursework and future design projects.