Cooper Union

Typography

An introduction to the core principles of typography. Students will explore how typography influences language and communication, and gain a foundation for purposeful and expressive typography. This course will emphasize the formal qualities of typography, the implications of typeface selection, adapting to various contexts, visualizing concepts using only type, and attention to detail.

Fall 2025/Spring 2026. 3 credits. Pre-Req: GD I and Pre/Co-Req: GD II. May not be repeated.

Course Code: FA-215

Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.
“My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”
From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.
Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.