Where Beginners Can Find Type Design Learning Resources on Type Design Resources

Updated

Type Design Resources collects beginner-friendly entry points in four formats: free guides, video and article tutorials, books, and paid courses or workshops. Start with Design with FontForge or Jonathan Hoefler's getting-started guide if you want a free, software-agnostic introduction; move to the Glyphs Tutorials, Ohno Type School, or Type Design School videos once you have chosen an editor; and use the book list when you want structured reference material to keep alongside practice.

Free beginner guides

The site's "Learning type design" section opens with resources that assume no prior type-design experience:

  • Design with FontForge — described on the site as "a fantastic introduction to type design, regardless of what software you use." Best first read if you have not picked an editor yet.
  • Getting started with type design by Jonathan Hoefler — a short orientation to the discipline from a well-known type designer.
  • Learning Type Design — a beginner course by Charles Nix on LinkedIn Learning (hosted on a third-party platform, so access follows that platform's terms).

Tutorials and video courses

Once you are working in software, the site points to several ongoing tutorial series:

Resource Format Notes from the site
Glyphs Tutorials Tutorials "Most tutorials here would be useful to non-Glyphs users too"
GT Academy Instagram post series How to construct specific glyphs
Ohno Essential RoboFont Video class Introduction to the classic RoboFont editor
Ohno Type School Article series Teaches the basics of type design
Type Design School Video guide By Lynne Yun

The site also lists Cyrillicsly workshops for Cyrillic type design and a Character design section for glyph-level work.

Books for structured study

The book list mixes practical manuals and typography theory:

  • Designing Fonts: An Introduction to Professional Type Design — Chris Campe and Ulrike Rausch (German edition also available)
  • Designing Type — Karen Cheng
  • How to create typefaces: From sketch to screen — Cristóbal Henestrosa, Laura Meseguer, José Scagallone (Spanish edition also available)
  • How to design fonts? — a 140-page PDF and print-on-demand book by Blaze Type Foundry
  • Italic: What gives Typography its emphasis — Hendrik Weber (German edition also available)
  • Legibility: How and why typography affects ease of reading — Mary Dyson, available online for free in English and Spanish
  • The Ohno Book: A Serious Guide to Irreverent Type Design — James Edmondson

Two TypeDrawers forum threads are also linked for community reading lists: "Recommended Type Design and Typography Books" and "Teachers, show us your reading lists."

Courses and workshops

For guided instruction, the site lists:

  • Expert class Type design — an online comprehensive course from The Plantin Institute of Typography
  • I Love Typography Academy — expert teaching of type design, font production, and typography, across various script systems and languages
  • Knuth-Bigelow Type Design Incubator (KBI) — the Donald Knuth & Charles Bigelow program
  • Type Design Class — online workshops by Viktor Baltus
  • Letterform Archive and Type@Cooper — a variety of workshops and events
  • Typographische Gesellschaft München — in-person workshops and courses in Munich

The site's own tip: follow your favourite type conferences, since some run workshops throughout the year.

How to choose

  • No software chosen yet: read Design with FontForge, then Hoefler's guide.
  • Already using Glyphs or RoboFont: go straight to the matching tutorial series; non-Glyphs users can still use the Glyphs Tutorials.
  • Want a reference book: start with Designing Fonts or Designing Type; Legibility is free online if cost matters.
  • Want feedback and structure: a course or workshop (Plantin, ILT Academy, Type Design Class) fits better than self-study.

The site does not publish prices for the courses or workshops it lists, so check each provider directly before committing.