TYPE AS IMAGE: FALL 24
Prof. Mary Banas
School of the Museum of Fine Arts at
Tufts University

Tu 8:30AM–2:00PM
230 Fenway: B211A

When contacting me, copy my personal email for best results:
mbanas01(at)tufts.edu
mary.banas(at)gmail.com

Office Hours:
Fridays from 12–1pm, on zoom
203.641.5386

How to make an appointment:
https://calendly.com/mary-banas/office-hours
please book this by 9am on Fridays, email me to give me a heads up that you have booked it.

Graphic Arts Area Instagram
Permissions doc for GRA IG is here

Syllabus
01 Description
02 Learning Outcomes
03 Assignments
04 How We Work
05 Studio Culture

Tufts University Policies

Calendar

Briefs01 Alphabet Book
02 Studio Experiments
03 Poster
04 Sequence

Readings

Tutorials (including how to print!)

Resources

Review Boards: Advice

Talks

Drive

Index

Type as Image

SYLLABUS

01 What is this course about?

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Barbara Kruger, 2020

Jenny Holzer, 2021

Ed Ruscha

Robert Indiana

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, 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

Fall 2023

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

Mary Banas

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 stake holders, and important dates and deadlines.

How do I submit assignments?
Into our course Google Drive Folder, you will submit research, sketches, drafts, final work as digital flats (e.g. a PDF) as well as photograph 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 occassions 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 accomodation request.

04 How will I work?

DESIGN PROCESS

Fall 2023

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

In this course you will adopt and experiement 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 they 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, 2018

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, or obtain a medical issue that may affect your attendance, 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 of freedom from discrimination, which is afforded 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. Your performance evaluation is informed by these three things:

—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 may 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

Your enrollment in this course is an agreement to follow this attendance policy. Please read this policy carefully.

If you miss 3 classes you can not pass this course and will receive a “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 Responsibilities

Faculty 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.

︎︎Accomodations 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:

Classrooms 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

School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University

smfa.tufts.edu