Welcome to Typography!
MACD Pre-sessional information
Things to buy
Computer buying guide
All postgraduate students are required to have their own laptop with relevant software. The file on the above link has detailed recommendations on hardware and software – not all of this is a must, but good to have in mind.
Computer software and fonts
Students require a subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud, but we advise you do NOT buy this in advance of your arrival. During Welcome Week, we will walk you through the process of buying a heavily discounted subscription through the University (usually around 1/3 of the official Adobe student rate). This subscription will also give you access to Adobe Fonts, which will cover the majority of your typeface needs for the duration of the course. More details will follow during IT induction sessions in Welcome Week.
Preparatory reading
Our recommended pre-sessional reading for MA students is Paul Luna’s Typography: a very short introduction (Oxford University Press, 2018). This book will help you develop familiarity with some of the typographic terminology and perspectives we draw on during the course.
Other reads to check out:
Anything in Typography Papers, conceived and published by the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication between 1996 and 2013. It published high-quality articles spanning a range of subjects within typographic history, theory and practice. Most volumes are available online.
If you want more, the documentary Graphic Means: A history of graphic design production is fascinating. It can be rented to watch on Vimeo for about £4 (might differ in your local currency)
Software skills preparation
Once you start the MA course, you will be expected to design effective multipage documents in InDesign, using, for example, master pages and stylesheets to streamline your work.
A medium level of proficiency in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and XD or Figma is also desired.
For students who haven’t used the program before, are coming to us from another discipline and/or have not used InDesign for detailed typographic projects like book, magazine or newspaper layouts, then self-directed learning in Indesign is crucial before the start of the course. Here is a suggested list of courses from Linkedin Learning if you think you will need to pick up software skills. Undertaking these courses (or courses from other providers) is optional, and not a requirement to start the MA.
Figma (an alternative to Adobe XD for UX work)