Well, for a select group of students at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in NYC, that’s exactly what happened.
On Saturday, Jan. 25th, masters students from the Products of Design program had the opportunity to join a virtual classroom with Chris and take the Typography 01 course alongside him.
While Chris phoned in from Santa Monica, SVA students huddled into the classroom for a watch party of the course, followed by a practice session, live critique, and deeper instruction on the material.
This pilot program introduced a course outside of the school’s curriculum in a new and engaging way—without cutting into students’ tuition, schedules, or the university’s budget. In just one day, students turned an unfamiliar concept into a skill they can incorporate into everything they create going forward.
The Products of Design program at SVA focuses on three main fields: making (physical designs), structures, and storytelling. So…why did we teach Typography?
Unless you’re new around here, you know that Typography is essentially one of our secret sauces. It’s a design fundamental that, to us, is absolutely crucial to learn, understand, and implement into our work.
Everything about Typography’s roots—contrast, scale, composition, repetition—impacts every facet of design. Applying the fundamentals of type into our work definitely raised it to a higher caliber, and we firmly believe it can do the same for designers of any industry.