Introduction to design and typography («GET»)

• Creating appealing printed matter according to design and typographic principles
• Deepening and realising accumulated design experience
• Understanding the interplay of colour and colour effects in detail
• Applying clearly formulated tips and tricks
• Answering the following questions:
  • What colors and shapes are available? 
  • How is a page divided? 
  • How and which font is used? 
  • How does a publication become more readable and especially more interesting? 
  • What are the stylistic and visual recipes for an appealing design? Which basic rules are important?

The course is independent of programs used because the majority of the time you will be working without a computer. The following topics will be covered in this two-day course:

1 The visual human being

• What does our eye see?
• How does our brain work?
• The visual language
• How we read images

2 Basics of design

• Ideas and their implementation
• Target-oriented design
• From sketch to draft
• The design grid
• The secret of a good layout
• The visual weight
• Abstractions (logos and symbols)

3 Integrating an idea into corporate design

• Page format and layout
• Basics of design
• Effect of the paper format
• Application of the golden section
• Interaction of type area and image format
• Business cards, flyers, advertisements, posters
• Multi-page publications

4 Color

• The interplay of colors
• Psychology and symbolism
• Color meaning, color systems and contrasts
• Color on the Web

5 Basics of typography

• Design of text
• Basics of typographic design
• Font selection and typesetting
• When do I use which font?
• Readability, typesetting and pagination rules
• Baseline grid
• Differences between print and web

6 Conversion

• Preparing the work
• Developing common ideas
• Workflow
• Printing process

• Informative, exemplary and practice-oriented teaching sequence
• Assignment
• Your own practical examples are welcome

This course is intended for marketers, those interested in design and graduates of the following courses: PHOTM1, INDEM1, ILLUM1

Knowledge of a corresponding creative program such as Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop or similar programs is an advantage.

Information about Classroom Equipment
Our courses are usually held on Windows devices. However, we are happy to provide you with an Apple computer in Zurich, Bern, and Basel upon request. Please let us know in advance by emailing info@digicomp.ch.
Of course, you are also welcome to bring your own laptop.
For virtual participation, we recommend using an additional monitor (not just a laptop) so that you can follow the lessons and participate fully.

Adobe CC Software
Adobe Creative Cloud software will be made available to you without restriction in the course rooms during the course.
If you are participating virtually, you can work on your own device. Please let us know if you do not have your own «Adobe Creative Cloud» license. In this case, we will be happy to provide you with the software via remote access for the duration of the course. 
The remote environment will be set up on a Windows device; Apple devices are not an option here. Unfortunately, it is not possible to use this environment beyond the course period.