Typography on the web

with Scott Kellum

The most fundamental mode of communication on the web is text. Whether we are conscious or unconscious of it, we are all practicing typography when we put text on a page. Understanding both the unique medium of the web and the impact our typographic decisions are critical to communicating with our audiences effectively. In this class you will learn about how text behaves within the fluid medium of the web, along with the tools, techniques, and technologies to ensure typographic excellence.

This class requires HTML and CSS knowledge. At the end of the class you will have a personal blog or other typographically rich website. We will build your website with Figma, CSS, HTML, Astro, Github, and Netlify.

This weekly ten part class is for people who are familiar with website design and want to hone their typographic skills. You might have just graduated from a bootcamp or you might be interested in revisiting what web typography can offer you today.

Required materials

• A desktop computer or laptop computer
• A reliable internet connection
• Node.js
• VS Code
• GitHub desktop (if you prefer command line that is ok!)
• Free accounts on the following services
• GitHub
• Netlify
• Figma

Topics covered in this class

After initial exercises, each student will have a personal blog as the final project for this class. Throughout the class we will touch on the following topics:

- Typographic proportion within a fluid medium
- Managing typographic hierarchy on the web
- Font selection and pairing
- Accessible typography
- Internationalization
- Selecting fonts that have both the right utility and voice
- Web fonts
- Variable fonts
- CSS typesetting properties and how they work
- Where typesetting is going on the web


Registration for this class opens January 4, 2022. Class enrollment will be limited to 16 students. For reminders and updates about upcoming events and classes, please join our mailing list.