Fraser Muggeridge Paul Stiff wrote in 1996 that “Typographic knowledge is not formally stated, is given to aphoristic expression, and is in this sense relatively inarticulate. It is got through a form of apprenticeship and is passed on more or less intact from one generation of practitioners to the next.” [1] A quarter of a century later, John-Patrick Hartnett put forward a different proposition. “Art and design pedagogy is generally agreed today on the imperative for educators to facilitate independent learning instead of instructing students, but there remains wide debate about the most effective ways to achieve this goal. How best to impart knowledge without imposing a point of view?” [2]
This presentation will discuss the shift in typographic teaching since 1995, from a apprenticeship (tacit) learning model to independent learning. From the viewpoint of a typographer, teacher and employer (running my own studio since 2001) I will attempt to describe these changes, how, why and the consequences of these changes for graduating students. I will include cases of recent graduates. I will make suggestions as to how the teacher teaches. How does the student learn? What are the assignments and how is typography taught through them? What is the criteria to evaluate the work produced?
- Paul Stiff, “Instructing the printer: What specification tells about typographic designing,” Typography Papers 1 (1996): 29.
- John-Patrick Hartnett, “Read and destroy: Review of A ‘New’ Program for Graphic Design” by David Reinsert, Eye no. 101 vol. 26, 2021. 113-4