Fee
10 sessions (15 hours) $990
Session Time
6-7:30pm EST (New York)
3-4:30pm PT (San Francisco)
9-10:30am AEST (Brisbane)
Registration
Start Date: February 4, 2025 →
Start Date: April 29, 2025 →
Start Date: July 8, 2025
Start Date: September 30, 2025
Overview
Learn the principles of typeface design and gain hands-on experience creating your own typeface.
Learning the skill of typeface design is not only a great addition to a graphic designer’s skill set, but also a rewarding way to express yourself through your work. A hands-on experience will train your eye to see space, proportion, and weight—enhancing lettering projects, logo design, and custom type.
Join Troy Leinster for a ten-week deep dive into the systems and processes of making a text or display typeface. You’ll be introduced to the basics of calligraphy and how we can use the construction of calligraphic letters to build a type system. We’ll explore different contrast models, idea generation techniques, sketching methods, and how to use a font editor to professionally draw and space your font.
Upon completing the course you will have a good understanding of the key elements of typeface design and be on your way to completing your first typeface. Bring your own font editor, or we’ll provide you with a free 90-day license for Glyphs App.
Beginners with a good knowledge of Bézier drawing tools are welcome, as are more experienced designers, and those interested in developing a type portfolio for application to further type design studies.
Materials
Calligraphy materials can be purchased here: John Neal Books
- Black water-based calligraphy ink
- Pointed nib and nib Holder
- Broad nib 3mm (left-handed nibs are available)
- Transparent bleed-proof marker paper (A4/Letter)
- Black Sharpie (Thick and Thin)
- White-out correction pen
Software:
- Mac with Glyphs App installed
- Adobe InDesign
- Zoom & Slack
Hardware:
- B&W laser printer for worksheets and templates.
Syllabus
Session 1: Understanding contrast, proportion, and stroke relationships
Session 2: Idea generation and sketching techniques for different contrast models
Session 3: Developing your sketch and preparing for digitisation
Session 4: Introduction to a Font Editor and how to start digitising your sketch
Session 5: Spacing your font and reviewing digitisation
Session 6: Studio time and group critiques
Session 7: Studio time and group critiques
Session 8: Studio time and group critiques
Session 9: Presenting a typeface and developing a type specimen
Session 10: Project presentations and Q&A on real-world typeface design
Meet Your Coach
Hi there, my name is Troy Leinster, and I’ll be your coach for the Typemasters Type Design 101 program. I’m an Australian typeface designer and founder of Leinster Type, and I currently live in Jersey City, just across the river from New York City.
Over the last ten years, I’ve studied under many typeface designers around the world, collecting and refining my type design process, which I now share with others like yourself. In 2021, I founded Typemasters.xyz, and have now coached over 500 designers through the process of developing a typeface from concept to release.
From 2014-2021 I worked at the Hoefler&Co Type Foundry and taught typeface design at Cooper Union in New York. I’m a graduate of Type & Media program at KABK in The Hague and the Type@Cooper program at Cooper Union in New York.
I look forward to working with you to develop your very first typeface.
Troy.
Feedback & Reviews
It’s rare to find someone who is an accomplished typeface designer and an exceptional teacher at the same time. Simply because someone is knowledgeable about a subject doesn't mean they will be successful in a classroom. Craft and instruction are two different skills. Troy is one of those truly unique people who have both. Kevin Smith - Product Design at Facebook, New York, NY
Troy‘s class started from the basics, but quickly and methodically got us into a technical space of seeing our sketches becoming a working reality. My experience was therapeutic, informative, and immensely gratifying. Jesse Reed - Order / Standards Manual / Standards / Chip Slip, Brooklyn, NY
I always highly recommend Troy’s class to anyone who’s just curious about type design or even to someone who has already had some experience with designing type. For beginners, he makes type design understandable and accessible. For more advanced students, he sharpens your skills by offering the experience and perspective of a professional working type designer. Elyanna Blaser-Gould - Senior Designer at Pentagram, Brooklyn, NY
Troy’s class is a great intro for those who are interested in learning more about the world of type design. Jake Giltsoff - UX Design Manager at Adobe, New York, NY
Troy’s class was compelling in its uncovering of the methods involved in creating a typeface. What I was able to create during Troy’s course also contributed to my desire to continue learning about type design, and populated my application for Type@Cooper with work I could be proud of, ultimately resulting in a certificate in type design from the Cooper Union, and typefaces on Google Fonts and in the Updike Collection in Rhode Island. Liam Spradlin - Interaction Designer at Google, New York, NY
This course was the perfect experience to get started designing type. I am a student, and the plan is to create a typeface for my upcoming undergraduate thesis. I was hoping to get some knowledge under my belt before the approaching semester. This class certainly achieved that goal– and more. I am most grateful for the weekly individual feedback from Troy. Every refinement he suggested elevated my type proof, and with every mistake, I learned how to advance my type skills. Bonus: the last project is developing a type specimen, which I can now add to my portfolio for graduation! Lacey Hamann - Graphic Design Student, Chattanooga, TN
Initially, I wondered how a hands-on topic like type design would fare in an online format. However, I felt fully supported as I worked through the challenges of my type, without being pushed in any particular direction. Support for technical questions and advice on troublesome letterforms was readily available from Troy. Michelle Webster - Design / UX / Development / Typography Minneapolis, MN