Typography & Graphic Communication
The Department
For more than thirty years the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication has been the only one of its kind in a British university. We have developed a unique approach to the subject through a combination of practice, theory and history, which we characterise as 'Design for Reading'. Our special strengths lie in editorial and information design, in electronic publishing, in the history of graphic communication, in book design and in typeface design. All full-time and part-time staff engage in research. We aim to promote a wide-ranging, multi and inter-disciplinary approach to the subject, and thus to continue to shape and influence the study of typography as a university subject. We offer a stimulating environment for postgraduate study, which can take the form of research degrees (PhD and MPhil) and taught programmes leading to an MA..
Quality, Ratings and Research Traditions
The Department has an international reputation for the scope and quality of its research and teaching. This was recognised in the last national Research Assessment Exercise, which rated 45% of Typography's research as world-leading (4*) and a further 35% as internationally excellent (3*). This superb result means that Typography at Reading is ranked 2nd overall in Art and Design in the UK..
Facilities and Study Environment
Reading, which is situated half-way between London and Oxford, is very well-placed for postgraduate study. It has excellent library facilities on its main campuses and within the Department. The University has a number of outstanding collections relating to typography and graphic communication.
These include:
• the Rickards and John Lewis collections of ephemera
• the Otto and Marie Neurath Isotype Collection
• the Alec Davis collection of packaging
• the national collection of archives of British publishing houses including Bodley Head, Hogarth Press, Longman, Macmillan, Routledge, Chatto and Windus
• the Cole collection of zoological books
• the Hans Schmoller collection of twentieth-century type specimens
• the Hermann Baron collection of lithographed music
• the Soulby collection of printed ephemera from the 1820s.
We have particularly close links with the St Bride Printing Library and Oxford University Press. Within
the Department there is a lively research culture and opportunities for discussion and debate, both
informally and through regular postgraduate seminars and staff research briefings.
Careers
Our graduates take up positions in type design studios, publishers and general design studios; many
develop their own businesses.
Funding Opportunities
Grants from research councils and other bodies are usually available on a competitive basis. The Faculty of Arts and Humanities and the University offer studentships for higher degree study each year, again on a competitive basis. For international students, UK government-funded scholarships are available under the Overseas Research Students' Award Scheme (ORS).
More details can be found on the Fees and Funding pages.
Research interests
All members of academic staff carry out research, whether in history, theory, or practice of typography and graphic communication. A synopsis of research interests, and a list of staff publications, can be found on our website www.reading.ac.uk/typography
Research degrees
Research degrees involve independent study under the direction of a supervisor. The minimum
period of full-time study for a PhD is three years. A full-time MPhil can be completed in two years. Either degree can be pursued on a parttime basis.
A good first degree (equivalent to at least 2.1 Honours in the UK) is normally required for both MPhil and PhD study, although other qualifications or industrial or professional experience may be considered. Applicants whose first degree is not closely related to Typography & Graphic Communication, or who lack the relevant theoretical background, may be required to undertake preparatory work. This may be a formal requirement to successfully complete the MA (Res) Typography & Graphic Communication or a less formal arrangement to follow parts of the undergraduate programme.
All research students have a research advisory group to monitor and advise on their work, in addition to individual supervisors. We teach research methods by providing tutorials with supervisors, a doctoral training programme organised by the Graduate School, and by encouraging participation in postgraduate research seminars.
Students present their work once a year at one of these seminars. Below are listed areas or more
specific topics that reflect the interests of staff. These give an idea of our approaches and orientations, but enquiries or applications need not be restricted to those in the list.
• Empirical investigations of typographic and graphic material
• Legibility of printed or screenbased material
• Perceptual judgments in design
• Research with specific user groups (e.g. literacy problems, dyslexia, older readers, visual impairment)
• History of lettering
• History of informal printing, lettering and production methods
• Reconstruction of printing and lettering methods • Isotype / Vienna Method, 1925-1970
• Designing information in the 19th century
• Development of information design in the 20th century
• The interplay of typography and politics
• Graphic representations of place in 20th century publishing
• British design and publishing during and after the Second World War
• 19th-century printing history, in particular colour printing and printed ephemera
• Typography in film
• Typeface design in the phototypesetting period
• Influence of composing practices on typeforms
• Designing type for cross-media publication
• Role of type design in improving literacy
• Proprietary typefaces in corporate identity
• Aspects of the design of non-Latin typefaces (e.g. Greek, Cyrillic, Arabic, Indian, Asian)
• Relationship between typefaces and calligraphic practice
• Type design for vernacular newspaper typography
• The design of complex texts, especially works of reference
• Design of children's reading and information books
• Prescription and practice in everyday graphic language (e.g. in letter-writing)
• Typography and language
• Design of instructional text
• Graphic support for wayfinding and graphic representations of spatial experience
• Graphic representations of risk perception
• Data visualisation and diagramming
• Public sector communications
• The design of text-intensive documents in digital media
• Design for multi-channel communications or interfaces
• Graphic explanation for specific user groups (e.g. children, poor readers)
• Publishers' design processes
• Design by non-experts
• The interplay of design and print production
• Design education and training
• Information architecture
• Genre studies
Taught Programmes
We currently run four MA programmes:
• Book Design
• Information Design
• Typeface Design
• MA (Res) Typography & Graphic Communication
Our first three programmes are practice-based and these are ideal for students with a general first
degree in design who wish to specialise and also develop their knowledge of the theory and history
that underpin typographic design practice. Our MA (Res) provides an ideal transition into research. All our courses equip you to use and evaluate primary and secondary sources, make sense of
a complex body of material, and present coherently argued oral and written presentations.
Our teaching is based on individual and small group learning. We are a compact department, allowing us to teach relatively informally with small numbers of students rather than through large classes. This applies equally to the three practice-based MAs and the more research-oriented MA(Res). All our teaching draws on the research and practice interests of our staff, which provide the topics for many of the seminars and tutorials.