Type as Image

GRA 132FALL 2026
8:30 am – 2:00 pmHow to contact Mary:

Email: When contacting me, use both my Tufts email and my Gmail; I will see my Gmail on my phone
Office Hours: Tuesdays from 12–1 pm, on Zoom. Please book this by 8 am on Mondays.SYLLABUS

PROF. MARY BANAS

TYPE AS IMAGE / FALL 26

01

What is this course about?

Course Description

Barbara Kruger, 2020

Best known for laying aggressively directive slogans over black-and-white photographs that she finds in magazines, Barbara Kruger developed a visual language that was strongly influenced by her early work as a graphic designer. Here, Kruger interrogates the American subject, demanding they examine the conditions of their contemporary capitalist lives, and consider what it is that their flag actually stands for.

Jenny Holzer, 2021

Action Causes More Trouble Than Thought (2021) features one of Jenny Holzer's iconic Truisms. The print employs a highly decorative, cursive font which has been rendered in hand-applied palladium leaf onto a screen-printed silver-grey background. At first, the words remain somewhat elusive, merging into an overall elaborate pattern of flowing curls, but once discerned, their meaning becomes clear and the simple message is richly communicated.

Robert Indiana

Ed Ruscha

Ed Ruscha: Drum Skins debuts a new body of more than a dozen round paintings made between 2017 and 2019 by the pioneering American artist known for his use of language. The presentation features text Ruscha painted on found drumheads that he has collected over the past forty years. Informed by memories of the distinctive slang he grew up hearing in Oklahoma, the phrases consist of double and triple negatives such as “I Ain’t Telling You No Lie” and “I Never Done Nobody No Harm.” As Ruscha explains, “I grew up with people that spoke this way.… I was very acutely aware of it and amused by it. It seems like you’d run from incorrect English, but I embraced it. I like seeing it and exposing it.”Robert Indiana

From the course catalog:

GRA-0011 is designed as an introductory course for artists from various disciplines who use text in their work. This course investigates typography as an expressive form. How can you create intentional meaning with your type, in addition to what the words say? How does form hold meaning? How might we interpret the meaning we gauge from text arrangements?

This course introduces strategies for creating type as FORM, PATTERN, TEXTURE/SURFACE, and IMAGE.

Slide lectures, references, readings, and project assignments will support students working with self-generated expressive text.

We will use the Adobe Suite and analog materials.

We will study vernacular type and the historical development of typographic styles. Students will develop a series of compositions using expressive typography.

The computer will be our primary tool but not the only one. You are encouraged to bring in skills in calligraphy, photography, and drawing. During the course of this class, we will use Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator as the main software applications. A basic course for all designers and all graphic artists using text.

02

What should I expect to learn?

Learning Outcomes

Lawrence Weiner, 2011

Gain a practical understanding of type as form

Gain a practical understanding of iterative making

Gain confidence in image-making and composition through a series of rigorous experiments

Make meaning through form, composition, and sequencing

Create speculative content

You will also:

Record and distill elements from your working process, aiming to gain new insight on your artistic practice

Work collaboratively with your peers

Experiment with the RISO printer

03

How are assignments delivered?

Project Briefs

Auspicious Tantra of All-Reaching Union Printed during the Western Xia (1038–1227), circa 1139–1193, it is thought to be the earliest extant example of a book printed using wooden movable type.

The Gutenberg Bible, also known as the 42-line Bible, the Mazarin Bible or the B42, was the earliest major book printed in Europe using mass-produced metal movable type.

What is a project brief?

In the professional design world, a designer and client usually meet and have a discussion about the needs of the project. From there, the designer will create a brief that defines what was discussed. The brief usually includes the scope of work, defines deliverables, defines audience, names the key stakeholders, and includes important dates and deadlines.

How do I submit assignments?
Into our course Google Drive Folder, you will submit research, sketches, drafts, and final work as digital flats (e.g., a PDF) as well as photographs and/or video (your poster on the wall, showing scale; a video of hands turning the pages of your book). You are responsible for submitting work into the folder on time.

Everything you need to know about this course is on this website—what is due, what is coming up, readings and references are linked here. Bookmark this website for your future use. It works best on desktop (not best on your phone). There will be a few occasions when I email you something, but typically I aim to document everything here for convenience and clarity.

If you have a particular need in terms of how you best process information and require another type of delivery, please notify me by the 2nd class meeting. This may or may not be accompanied by an official accommodation request.

04

How will I work?

Design Process

How do designers make stuff? The short answer is, there are lots of ways. There are some tenets that come up again and again for designers, like visual research and sketching.

In this course, you will adopt and experiment with a variety of methodologies to design. You will utilize and experiment with the following ways of working:

COLLECTION

CRITICAL REFLECTION

CRITIQUE

DESIGN PROPOSALS

PAPER PROTOTYPES + MOCK-UPS

READING

SKETCHING

VISUAL RESEARCH

WORKING ITERATIVELY

I have been designing professionally since 2003, and before that I was in college studying design like you. Most of the approaches I am sharing are things that work for me time and again, but know that there are many ways to design—you will find your own ways as you move through this work, and you will develop and discover new things as you continue with design beyond this course.

You can expect to do 4–6 hours of work outside of class.

05

How will we work together?

Studio Culture

Barbara Kruger, Savoir c'est Pouvoir (Knowledge is Power)

ENGAGED, RESPECTFUL PRESENCE

The nature of a studio environment is a bunch of artists learning and working together.

Being present in class is more than just physical: it includes, but is not limited to:

01. communicating with your peers

02. engaging in critique

03. witnessing lectures and presentations

04. participating in discussions

05. making presentations

06. using campus equipment

07. taking notes

08. submitting assignments into our class Google Drive folder

The technical and conceptual work in this class builds on the previous week. If you expect to miss class, find that you are missing classes, you will not be able to make up the work, and you should withdraw from this course.

Commitment to equity, inclusion, and a practice of freedom

By registering for this course, you are agreeing to a social contract. We recognize that in order to establish the conditions wherein we will collectively and individually develop a practice of freedom, we must confront and undo the work of oppressive indoctrination by challenging, unlearning, and relearning modes of thought and existence in a space of generosity, support, and mutuality.

In the context of this class, cultivating a practice of freedom refers to the right to freedom from discrimination, which is afforded to every member of this class, as it pertains to citizenship, race, ancestry, ethnicity, cultural expression, class, disability, place of origin, skin color, religious belief, sexual orientation, gender, age, record of offenses, marital status, and family status. This applies to all areas of shared space and related classroom activities, including interactions with faculty, visitors, colleagues, and the class as a whole. By registering for this course, you acknowledge that you will be an active and engaged member of this community. You agree to uphold, and when appropriate, advocate for the practice and maintenance of this freedom.

Evaluation

This class is pass/fail. These three things inform your performance evaluation:

—Presence + participation: quantitative (20%)

—Process: qualitative, including risk-taking, the quality of experiments/work, and your dedication to your work (40%)

—Final output: qualitative (40%)

If you come to class and do the work, you will pass. If you miss class or do not complete work, you might not. Midterm check-in emails will be sent to those in danger of failing this course.

Tufts grades will appear as:

CR, NC. Credit, no credit. Instructors should assign these grades to SMFA undergraduate students taking studio art courses. A grade of NC is not acceptable for degree credit.

The minimum score for passing (CR) is a 59 in the course.

Course Attendance Policy

By enrolling in this course, you agree to follow this attendance policy. Please read this policy carefully.

If you miss 3 classes, you can not pass this course and will receive an “NC” if it is past the drop date. There are no excused absences in this attendance policy. If you miss 3 classes, you can not pass. Check your calendar now to make sure you do not have any travel that conflicts with this course time.

This is a studio course; it is essential that our work is completed in community. You will work with and be in dialogue with your peers and the instructor. Engaged critique is an essential aspect of this course; we will review and discuss work in a public forum. The only way to engage with critique is to be present in class.

TUFTS UNIVERSITY POLICIES

Academic Integrity
Faculty ResponsibilitiesFaculty members and other instructors are responsible for creating an atmosphere of integrity and honesty in their courses, in their research, and in their other academic interactions. This is accomplished by:

Clearly defining expectations in course syllabi;
Communicating any course- or discipline-specific scholarly procedures to students;
Engaging students in robust ways; and
Reporting concerns about academic misconduct each time such concerns are known.

Student Responsibilities
Students are responsible for creating an atmosphere of integrity and honesty in all assignments, class discussions, research conducted, and other academic work. This is accomplished by:

Learning and using proper scholarly procedures;
Scrupulously following directions and asking for clarification when needed; and
Engaging with course material fully and meeting the spirit of the assignment.

︎︎Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
We support students with a range of physical, sensory, psychological, medical, and learning disabilities, including temporary conditions such as injuries or broken bones.

Depending on the nature of the disability and the particular needs of the student, a variety of supports are available. These can include, but are not limited to:

Classroom accommodations (e.g., furniture, materials in alternate formats).
Exam accommodations (e.g., time-based exam accommodations)
Auxiliary aids and services (e.g., notetakers, CART services, lecture recordings).
Non-academic accommodations (e.g., housing, dietary, and parking).
Introductions and referrals to other campus resources

If you are wondering if a specific kind of accommodation is possible at Tufts, please contact us, and we can work with you on your specific situation.

Food Resources

Mental Health Support