Introduction to design and typography («GET»)

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.

Info about the room equipment

Our courses take place on Windows or Apple devices. On request, we will be happy to provide you with an Apple computer in Zurich, Bern and Basel. Please let us know in advance by sending an e-mail to info@digicomp.ch. You can also bring your own laptop.

For virtual participation, we recommend the use of an additional monitor (not just a laptop) so that you can fully follow and participate in the lesson.

Adobe CC Software

The Adobe Creative Cloud software will be made available to you during the course times, whether on site in our course rooms or via remote access for virtual participation.