Typography and type design are two different things....

T

Seems too sophisticated for 2nd graders.

Come on Thomas, she was asking for help and support not delineations and scolding. Second grade! Please?

Show them some different alphabets.... Cyrillic, Hebrew, Greek, Chinese etc. Show them some outrageous calligraphy. Show them some manuscript pages. And then show them some abstract work.

Michael

Jan

You would be surprised what second graders can latch on to. When my daughters were growing up I went into the school system all the time to demonstrate calligraphy and letters. Kindergarten to fifth grade!

You underestimate their sensitivity to the graphic environment. My daughter started reading at 3, my son started signing at 18 months, so to say that they are not savvy is erroneous! My kids were the only ones who knew the difference between a 1 and two story a or g.

Michael

Yipes, Thomas.

Jan, I was trying to think of ways to keep it on their level. I don’t expect them to design anything professional—just to think about letters in a different way. My son has atrocious handwriting, but when I told him to think about his letters as works of art that say something about the writer, he improved vastly. That’s what gave me the idea. Also, I’m sure none of the kids in my son’s class have ever even thought of type design (much less, typography) as something that anyone actually does—so it seems like it would be fun to open their minds to that.

Thanks, Michael. Those are great ideas.

I would guess some of you have kids who have asked you about your work. What have you said to them?

I think you’re reading too much into what Thomas said. Thomas has zero attitude. He was simply sayin’. You know. Just sayin’. =)

Sarah

There are tons of books in the children section of your local Barnes and Noble. I check them out all the time. Amazing illustration and concepts.

One of my favorite memories of my girls growing up was doing covers for childrens books for Random House. The AD of childrens books would let my children chose from my roughs the final for the covers. What trust!

My girls once told me I was nothing until I had done a Berenstein Bears cover. I was on the phone in a minute to secure a cover. When it came out I was the cat’s meow!

Good luck

Mostly I was sleep-deprived and ran out of steam to explain. My last night in Europe, and I have a nasty cold.... But now I’m home and have had a nap.

I am curious as to other’s opinions, but I think I would try to pick just a couple of typographic concepts to teach them and use as examples, and also to let them know that there are many more such things. Maybe curly quotes vs dumb quotes for one? Serif, sans, script and symbol categories for the other?

I thought of hyphens, en dashes and em dashes, but I think I’d save that for later on.

Cheers,

T

Art is for the young. We beat it out of them by the time they hit Junior High. So, I applaud this. The more art and design they get exposed to while young, the better off.

Agreed...let them have it. Even if it only resonates with one kid (that kid might have been me...the one who really liked to draw letters and was ready to move beyond cursive), you’re doing a great service. I like the idea of showing them different alphabets, but a variety of type faces would be equally as fascinating. From romans to grotesques to calligraphy to displays...and then show (quickly, don’t dwell on it) that there are even differences between the roman letters in their textbooks. Just to illustrate that there are 100s of ways to draw something as simple as an a would open lots of doors in their imaginations.

Shoot...now I want to do it!

The ‘give each of them a letter to design’-part sounded a bit too far ahead. I think it’s a great idea, though.

Also, I’m sure none of the kids in my son’s class have ever even thought of type design as something that anyone actually does
This would apply to most adults as well.

Just teach them to draw cool ampersands. Or show them some of Ale Paul’s work and teach them about swashy letters. The teachers will hate you for it, but the kids will be writing like that for weeks!

You could even use one of the school computers and sign on to Typophiles and show them the “What are you working on?” type thread or the calligraphy thread.

I think they are both PG rated.

edit: Should have said G rated!

Michael

Compare Univers, Futura & Helvetica. Kids can see the difference better than adults can . . . the alphabet is still a novelty to them.

How ’bout a little history? Explain the basics of old-school typesetting. Go over hot type or how text was set by hand with individual letters blocks, etc.

Maybe show how tracking effects legibility in road signs.

Have them look at the books they already have in the classroom.

Concepts they might enjoy: single- and double-story a’s and g’s; teardrop terminals; serif vs. sans-serif.

Have them write in block letters with a thin marker then add contrast with a fatter one.

Also...teach them to identify Comic Sans and emphasize that they should feel free to ridicule everyone that uses said font.

That’s the only way we’ll get these teachers to stop sending home the newsletters set in comic sans.

http://www.amazon.com/Letter-Jesters-Cathryn-Falwell/dp/0395668980

From the linked review of “Letter Jesters”:

Sidebars on many pages give special information, e.g. why capital letters are called capitals (they were carved on the tops, or capitals, of Roman columns).

?!

Hello —

Sorry to barge in on your thread, Sarah, but Michael Clark’s first response hit very close to to answering a question I have and since it’s not completely off topic, I’d like to ask it here. My son just started kinderga