Typography

Typography is the art of making written language readable, understandable, and attractive. It is a technique of arranging letters in different font sizes, styles, and spacing. To elaborate, Typography involves selecting a typeface, point size, line length, line spacing (leading), and letter spacing (tracking), and adjusting the space between pairs of letters. The style, arrangement, and appearance of letters, numbers, and symbols also come under typography.

The art of Typography is used for branding a product or service or to set the visual mood of an item with which it is associated. A typographer works on creating typefaces to graphically represent the story of a brand. For example, creating a typeface that reflects elegance for a wedding invitation, a typeface that reflects strength for a cosmetic brand, or a typeface that reflects feelings of fun and excitement for a children's book. Promising opportunities exist for typographers in the fields of printing, publishing, branding, marketing, and packaging. Candidates willing to make a successful career in typography can know more about the key skills, educational requirements, etc in the article below.

Typography Eligibility Criteria

Since the Typography course is a sub-division of Graphic Design, students pursuing Graphic Design can specialise in Typography. Here are some important points related to the eligibility criteria for this art:

• There are certificate, diploma, and degree-level courses in Graphic Design, which cover typography as a subject. These courses have different eligibility criteria.
• Candidates seeking a Bachelor's degree must have passed the class 12 board examination with 40%-50% marks from a recognised board.
• For a postgraduate degree, students must have a bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognised university with a minimum of 50% marks. Candidates who have got a basic education in art, design, and computer will be able to understand the basic points of graphic design or typography easily.

Typography Entrance Exams

Although employers tend to focus more on a typographer's abilities and skills than on his/her academic degree, but practical education is vital to learn the techniques and nuances of typography. Since there is no separate course for typography, students can pursue a degree in graphic design or desktop publishing. These programmes introduce students to the basics of the craft. Students majoring in graphic design can pursue courses in type design, letterpress printing, and package design, in addition to various levels of typography theory coursework. Students are provided direct admission in some courses, while for others students have to pass an entrance exam. The entrance examinations related to Graphic Design subject are being explained in detail below.

• NID Entrance Exam: NID Design Aptitude Test (DAT) is a national-level entrance exam through which aspirants are shortlisted for admission to UG and PG Design courses offered by the prestigious National Institute of Design (NID) campuses.
• Pearl Academy Entrance Exam: In order to secure admission in any programme offered by Pearl Academy, aspirants need to appear for Pearl Academy Entrance Exam (which is also commonly called – PAF Entrance Exam) followed by a Personal Interview round. 
• AIEED: Arch College of Design and Business conducts the All India Entrance Examination for Design (AIEED) to offer admissions to its undergraduate as well as postgraduate design programmes.
• IIAD Entrance Exam: IIAD entrance exam is conducted by Indian Institute of Art and Design in collaboration with Kingston School of Art at Kingston University, London to provide admission to aspirants in undergraduate and postgraduate design programmes offered by it.
• UCEED: Undergraduate Common Entrance Examination for Design (UCEED) is conducted by IIT Bombay under the guidance of the UCEED-CEED Implementation Committee every year for admitting candidates to the Bachelor of Design (BDes) program at participating colleges.
• CEED: Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT Bombay) conducts Common Entrance Examination for Design (CEED) to provide admission to aspirants in Master of Design (MDes) and PhD programmes offered at colleges accepting CEED scores.
• MITID DAT: MAEER'S MIT Institute of Design, a constituent of MIT Art Design & Technology University conducts MITID DAT to provide admission to candidates in various BDes and MDes programmes at Avantika University, Ujjain, MIT Institute of Design, Pune and MIT University, Shillong.

Typography Required Skillset

Some key skills are extremely important for typographers and it is only by mastering these skills that they can make their way in the midst of the increasing competition. Some of the important skills required to make a career in typography are mentioned below:

Typography Syllabus

Though the topics taught in Typography course vary but some of the topics which are included in the syllabus of all levels are given below:

Typography Job Profiles and Scope

The main responsibility of a typographer is the careful preparation of fonts and typefaces. Many companies insist on using fonts associated with their identity and hire typographers to create fonts unique to them. Typographers generally use advanced laptops to create designs. Here is a list of some of the job profiles at which Typographer can work:

• Picture Editor
• Graphic Communication Assistant
• Typesetter
• Visual Deigner
• Creative Designer
• Product Designer
• Art Director
• Creative Design Manager

Typography Top Recruiters

Talking about career opportunities, typographers can work for publishing companies, advertising agencies, graphic design companies, and printing establishments. The roles of typographers in different industries are highlighted in detail below:

• Publishing houses: Typographers design typefaces for book covers, book promotional materials, websites, and posters.
• Graphic Design Companies: Graphic designers design art for magazines, television graphics, logos, and websites. 
• Manufacturing Companies: Businesses that develop and manufacture products work with advertising agencies to create brand promotional materials for new or improved products, and for this they need typographers.
• Printing Companies: Printing companies take the help of typographers to prepare flyers, business cards, and special invitations.