︎

(1) Writing Systems
As a group (2–3 people), research your assigned / chosen writing system (signup *here* to select a writing system to work with, or to add to the list of options). Investigate the origins, use, ‘discovery’, evolution, form and structure of this system. This research will result in a 15–20 minute presentation to the class. The content, format, medium and style of the presentation is entirely up to you  —  allow your research to inform these decisions, and consider the ‘design’ of all aspects of the presentation.

Writing Systems Options:
1. Cuneiform
2. Futhark (runes)
3. Hangul
4. Semaphore Telegraph (shutters & towers)
5. Pitman Shorthand
6. Cree Syllabics
+ others to be added

→ *resource* Melvyn Bragg, In Our Time: The Written World
→ *resource* Omniglot (online encyclopedia of writing systems)
→ *resource* James Mosley, Typefoundry: Documents for the the History of Type and Letterforms
→ *resource* Ignace Gelb, A Study of Writing
→ *resource* Florian Coulmas, Writing Systems: An Introduction to Their Linguistic Analysis (VCU Library online access)
→ *resource* Judith Dillon, Alchemy of Alphabets: Including Hebrew, Runes & Ogham
→ *resource* Letterform Archive, Global Scripts
→ *resource* Scriptsource: Writing Systems, Computers & People
→ *resource* Decodeunicode


(2) Lettres à Jour 
(Letters Through Which You See Daylight)
‘Typography is the art of making a whole out of predetermined parts.’
(Karl Gerstner, ‘Designing Programmes’, 1964)

‘While stenciling letters is self-evidently neither writing nor typography, the work often reaches in these directions.’
(Eric Kindel & Fred Smeijers, ‘Between Writing & Type: the Stencil Letter’)

Design, prototype and produce your own stencil / matrix / interface / system from which to generate a custom alphabet (A–Z) and numerals (0–9). The alphabet your stencil / system generates could be uppercase or lowercase (or both), and may also extend to glyphs and symbols should you wish.


(3) System & Series
(or Self-directed Project)
Develop a typographic system or logic that plays out sequentially over a series of posters / pieces, for a lineup of curated / programmed events. Or, alternatively, propose your own self-directed typographically focused project for the culmination of the class.