10 Free Online Typography Classes to Learn New Skills in 2022

Discover the fundamental principles of typography and learn to create unique lettering designs full of personality

Typography, at its core, is “the style, arrangement, or appearance of typeset matter”, and it’s an essential part of any designer’s toolkit. There’s much more to the art than attractive letterforms though; creative lettering has the ability to communicate emotions, messages, and so much more in a matter of seconds. What’s more, it’s been proven to have a significant impact on people’s cognitive performance, general outlook, and even their judgment.

From traditional compositions to animated quotes, the possibilities are quite literally endless when it comes to typography. Whether you’re a designer looking to learn a new skill or a creative with an interest in discovering a new favorite pastime, these free lessons are a great place to start.

These classes will be free until March 26, 2022. If you want to access the classes after this date, you can sign up for each teacher’s full course and dive into their topics in detail.

1. Free Class: Basic Concepts and Visual Codes of Typography

If you’re new to the world of typography, an understanding of the fundamentals is essential. In the lesson, Basic Concepts and Visual Codes of Typography, graphic designer Daniel Barba López of Monotypo Studio (@monotypo_studio) guides you through the anatomy of letters and their relationship with a brand by exploring the key concepts of typography everyone should know.

As a designer who specializes in corporate identity design and branding, Daniel begins this lesson by diving into the basic structure of letters, before moving on to the role they play in branding. Take a look at some of the biggest brands in the world including Burger King, Dell, and Google, and see how they use typography in their logos to communicate their brand’s personality. Plus, analyze the way certain elements have been exaggerated to create unique and dynamic identities.

2. Free Class: The Three Levels of a Font

Typeface designer Thomas Jockin’s (@thomas_jockin) lesson is ideal for beginners looking for an introduction to working with fonts.

In The Three Levels of a Font, you'll discover the three-element process to take into consideration with all lettering designs and make a start on your creative journey into typography.

First explore the “bones” of a letter: the internal structure that all the other components depend upon. Then learn about building “muscle”: the weight and contrasting parts of a font, before looking at “clothing”: the finishing touches like texture and materials that can enhance your design.

3. Free Class: Expressive Attributes of Typography

Graphic Designer Eréndida Mancilla runs design and creative consulting studio BlueTypo (@bluetypo) alongside her partner Manolo Guerrer in Mexico. Her work has been published by Women designers, Graphic Art News, International Amnesty, Inspiration Design, Typographic Posters, Women Designers, Women Designing, LATAM, RGB magazine, and Typodarium.

In the lesson, Expressive Attributes of Typography, she takes you on an in-depth exploration of how lettering can impact an overall work of art and support your finished design. Discover the effects of the size, shape, color, thickness, weight, and position of your letters, and how you can use them to emphasize a message, create contrast, and more in your work.

4. Free Class: Typography Size

Dive deeper into the impact of typography size in this class, led by Gemma Busquet.

Having worked as a graphic designer and freelance art director for over ten years, it’s something she is highly experienced in. Gemma (@gemma_busquets) has had the opportunity to collaborate with major brands such as Dell, Novartis, San Miguel, HuffPost, Coca-Cola, Nike, Rosetta Stone, and Peugeot. She also teaches her expertise at BAU, University Design Center of Barcelona.

As part of her course Typography Concepts for the Screen, the lesson guides you through typography recommendations for screen size. Explore the differences between measuring typography in relative or absolute values and learn all about the most used units of measurement: pixels and rems. By the end, you’ll have the tools and knowledge needed to choose the perfect typography for any digital project, taking into consideration device, reading distance, and more.

5. Free Class: Spacing and Rhythm

The space between letters is just as important as their size. Damià Rotger Miró is a graphic designer who specializes in typography and he compares it to the relationship between sound and silence in well-produced music. He is a professor of typography and editorial design at the Edib school in Palma de Mallorca, the organizer of Glíglifo (@gliglifo), and he teaches workshops and conferences on typography and editorial design throughout Spain.

With Damía as your guide, in this free spacing and rhythm class, you'll learn how to create lettering that is not only designed well but flows in terms of its rhythm. Discover the “glass of water” theory for spacing your letters, taking into consideration the thickness and size of the type you’re using to make sure the end result is legible.

6. Free Class: Introduction to Typography in Motion

Animating typography opens the door to a whole world of opportunities; by bringing movement to your letterforms, you can enhance the feelings they evoke in the viewer.

In the class, Introduction to Typography in Motion, graphic and motion designer Mat Voyce (@matvoyce) talks you through how typography and animation can be combined to create moving works of art that encourage an emotional response from your audience.

He specializes in 2D animation, and describes his work as “experimenting with kinetic typography, infusing letterforms with character, and creating animated GIFs, stickers and short films for clients globally.” His client list includes Adobe, Disney+, BBC, Nike, Netflix, Lacoste, The Los Angeles Times, Facebook, and Honda.

7. Free Class: Fundamental Orthotypography

Typography not only needs to look good, but it needs to be accurate in a grammatical sense. Orthotypography, also known as typographical syntax, defines the correct use of punctuation. It’s important for every designer to keep in mind and it’s fundamental to editorial designer and typographer David Kimura’s (@dkimura1) work. He has won a number of both national and international awards and has had his work published in various different countries.

With David as your guide, discover the key elements of orthotypography. Begin by learning the correct way to use hyphens, before moving on to upper case and lower case letters and quotation marks. Learn how to choose the correct punctuation for a variety of different contexts, from lists to tables, and for different purposes, to create emphasis.

David also discusses the importance of language in orthotypography and how the practice differs around the world.

8. Free Class: Drawing Typography Within a Template

In a world where technology has become an essential part of everyday life, taking time away from a screen to create with your own two hands has never been more valuable. Illustrator Sarah King (@sarahkingart) uses Photoshop to add the finishing touches to her pieces but primarily works with analog techniques to create unique illustrations filled with typography. Her recognizable style has seen her work for clients like The New York Times, National Geographic, and The Guardian.

In her free online class, Drawing Typography Within a Template, she guides you step by step through the process of filling in a portrait template of your choice with detailed lettering.

Begin by outlining your illustrations in pencil, before moving on to the words, experimenting with contrast and shade to make the piece legible. Not only does she show you the process of creating typographic illustrations full of character, but she also shares her tips and advice for enhancing your creative process along the way.

9. Free Class: Choosing the Right Type for Your Logo

A well-designed logo is a must-have for any brand and typography is an essential part of that design—something graphic designer Borja Holke (@holke79) knows all too well, having worked as a senior motion designer for Saffron Brand Consultants in Madrid, helping brands build their visual identities.

Through the lesson Choosing the Right Type for Your Logo, he shares his expertise starting with the basics of type classification and the key aspects that you need to consider when choosing one for your logotype. Then, explore the power of font when it comes to portraying different brand characteristics from sophistication to playfulness.

As part of his course, Animation for Typographic Logo Designs, you'll look at some of the biggest brands in the world and the typography they use for their logo, including adidas, and Giorgio Armani. Then see how changing the font impacts the brand images and what makes the original version successful. Finally, use everything you’ve learned to choose the typeface for your own logo using Adobe Fonts.

10. Free Class: Digital Retouching

Editing can be just as important as design when it comes to typography. In this lesson, graphic designer and art director Elías Mule (@elias_mule) covers the in-depth process of retouching your letterforms using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

He believes design is a powerful tool to communicate and connect with people on both an aesthetic and functional level and has worked on everything from logo to packaging design. As part of his course, Typographic Design for Logos, in this digital retouching class, he teaches you how to take your lettering to the next level by experimenting with contrast, shape, composition, and more using digital tools.

Discover his expert advice for erasing imperfections and designing professional-quality typography that stands out from the crowd.

These classes will be free until March 26, 2022. If they've stirred your interest in typography and you want to take your knowledge further, you can sign up for the featured teacher's full courses or explore all of Domestika's online typography courses.

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- 5 Tools to Design and Edit Hand-Drawn Fonts
- 8 Must-Try Calligraphy and Lettering Apps for iPad
- Procreate Tutorial: How to Create Your Own Alphabet
- Hand-Drawn Typographic Portrait, a course by Sarah King