SAMPLE CURRICULUM - Webflow

SAMPLE
CURRICULUM

             Updated 1 June 2022

T YPE ST YLIN ’ PROJECT COURSE OVERVIEW

                                                                              OVERVIEW
Through engaging lectures, informal round table discussions, and hands-
on projects, students will recognize street art’s influences on design
and popular culture. Students will utilize multiple graffiti art techniques
to harness the power of expressive typography. To deepen their
understanding of the ties between street art and visual communication,
students will employ observational research that analyzes how graffiti
writers use spray can art as a vehicle for self-expression and social
responsibility. The summer course will conclude with students organizing,
designing, and executing a large-scale, group project that demonstrates
the synthesis of graffiti art and visual communication.

Course Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
After this class, students should:

1.       Differentiate between illegal graffiti and graffiti art.
2. Understand the difference, and similarities, between street art and
         graphic design.
3. Learn how graffiti writers and graphic designers shape the world
         around them.
4. Gain a foundational understanding of typography.
5. Explore best practices for executing various graffiti art styles
         and techniques.
6. Develop individual artistic competencies.
7.       Increase their abilities to work in a team environment.
8. Improve verbal communication skills.

1    |    TSP SAMPLE CURRICULUM

NAME:            TA G S – YO U ’ R E I T !

                                                                                 ASSIGNMENT 1
LENGTH:          2 WEEKS

Assignment Overview
The most elemental—and pervasive—form of graffiti is the tag. Regardless
of the writer’s artistic style, the lettering skills gleaned from tagging are
critical for developing more complex graffiti art executions, including
hollows, throw-ups, straight-letters, blockbusters, and pieces. When seen
as stand-alone works, tags are a way for writers to state, “I was here.”
Additionally, writers may also use tags as a signature to show ownership of
a piece or affiliation with a crew.

Tagging is also the aesthetic inspiration for many popular brands, from
apparel to musical acts. Drawing parallels between street art and design
begins with understanding the historical origins of graffiti and design, their
functions, questions of legality, and cultural acceptance.

For assignment descriptions, deliverables, student learning outcomes,
exercise sheets, and grading rubric, contact the Type Stylin’ Project.

2   |   TSP SAMPLE CURRICULUM

NAME:            INSIDE OUTLINES

                                                                                   ASSIGNMENT 2
LENGTH:          1 WEEK

Assignment Overview
Tags are made of letters created from lines. However, throw-ups
(also referred to as T-ups or throwies) are a higher form of graffiti art
characterized by letters made from outlines. In other words, graffiti writers
draw the edge of the letters which may be filled or hollow. While most
throw-ups—and to a greater extent, pieces—are complex and distorted,
the basis for creating letterforms is rooted in the Plank Rule. Using this
methodology to generate letterforms involves visualizing a letter’s straight-
line elements as rectangular boards that overlap one another.

The Plank Rule allows graffiti writers to imagine a letter’s straight-line
elements as rectangular boards. While the rule is a powerful tool for
building the outlines of letterforms, it serves a more critical function. The
Plank Rule also helps graffiti writers with the correct placement of the
openings in letters (i.e., “counters” in design terminology), which are critical
for the recognition and legibility of typographic characters.

For assignment descriptions, deliverables, student learning outcomes,
exercise sheets, and grading rubric, contact the Type Stylin’ Project.

3   |   TSP SAMPLE CURRICULUM

NAME:           3-D IS 2 COOL

                                                                                ASSIGNMENT 3
LENGTH:         1 WEEK

Assignment Overview
Writers (i.e., graffiti artists) often embellish throw-ups, blockbusters, and
pieces with shadows and three-dimensional effects to help them stand
out from the crowd and the surfaces where their works appear. Three-
dimensional blocks increase both mass and lend a concrete quality. On
the other hand, shadows create the illusion of letters floating over their
background. Adding dimensionality to a throw-up requires careful planning
and line work. For example, a writer may execute a 3-D effect in parallel
blocks or by using a vanishing point. Similarly, writers may apply shadows
to their work using multiple techniques such as hard shadows, fade effects,
ground shadows, or 3-D blocks.

For assignment descriptions, deliverables, student learning outcomes,
exercise sheets, and grading rubric, contact the Type Stylin’ Project.

4   |   TSP SAMPLE CURRICULUM

NAME:            O N O M AT O P O E I A . W H AT ? !

                                                                                       ASSIGNMENT 4
LENGTH:          1 WEEK

Assignment Overview
Ian Barnard, a lettering artist and calligrapher, said that “Lettering is the art of
drawing letters; calligraphy is the art of writing letters; typography is the art
of using letters.” Plainly stated, letters are everywhere, from the ads we see
online to the stickers on fruit in the grocery store. We group letters into words
that function as vehicles for meaning. Yet beyond their meaning, the way
artists draw letters conveys sensory information. By manipulating, adding
movement, or abstracting letterforms, graffiti writers and designers can
transform nouns, verbs, and adjectives into customized graphic compositions
that communicate emotions, tone, sounds, or physical properties.

For assignment descriptions, deliverables, student learning outcomes,
exercise sheets, and grading rubric, contact the Type Stylin’ Project.

5   |   TSP SAMPLE CURRICULUM

NAME:            MAKING A (MASTER)PIECE

                                                                            ASSIGNMENT 5
LENGTH:          1 WEEK

Assignment Overview
With a foundational understanding of graffiti and typography, students
are ready to embrace type as a powerful tool for change. Expressive
typography gives letters a “voice” that represents an individual or
expresses an attitude, idea, or unique perspective. Designers can
render type with perfect fidelity using computers. However, handmade
letters communicate the ideas of activism and a willingness to question
institutional authority. As typographer and activist Marlene McCarty puts
it, “No one wants their voice to be framed in the visual language of big
business, mega-corporations, banks, or commerce.”

For assignment descriptions, deliverables, student learning outcomes,
exercise sheets, and grading rubric, contact the Type Stylin’ Project.

6   |   TSP SAMPLE CURRICULUM