VIS280.1 Typography and Layout

Taught in Spanish at Pontificia Universidad Católica; may not be offered every semester. Layout is the act of materializing an order of thoughts as represented in a speech or story, visual or textual.

The act of writing subjected spoken or oral expression to a complex system of visual conventions long before Gutenberg created typography. In fact, Gutenberg’s printing in the 1400s visually emulated the hand-written page as it existed around the 12th Century. In the Renaissance, with the help of typographic technology, the written manuscript transformed into the printed page as we know it today.

Contemporary editorial design involves the editing of images and texts. Presenting texts and images so that they can be read and understood without difficulty requires command of a set of subtleties and adjustments that are not obvious to everyone.

This is both a theoretical and practical course. During the first half of the course, we will survey concepts of typography usage, with emphasis on micro- and macrotypography, readability, types of editorial formats, and the grid. Practical text manipulation exercises will be performed using InDesign. During the semester, students will develop two editorial projects.

(PUC #DNO2750)

Department: Visual Communications

Location: Santiago

Credits: 3