Release Date 04 October 2012

A graduate of the University's renowned Department of Typography & Graphic Communication has praised the education they received at Reading and made a donation to support the next generation of talent.

The donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, received an alumni-funded scholarship to study an MA in Typeface Design at the University. Now the donor has established a successful career and has chosen to continue this philanthropic gesture by making a donation to fund another talented Typography student through her studies.

The scholarship, known as the Alumni Typeface Design Studentship, will fund the tuition fees for a new student enrolling on the MA Typeface Design course this October 2012.

Speaking of the decision to support the second scholarship of this kind, the donor said:

''My experience at the University of Reading was overwhelmingly positive. Through the generosity of former students I was able to study for my MA in Typeface Design. Without their support I could not have attended Reading, so in the back of my mind I always thought that I may eventually pay my studentship forward to support someone else's ambitions in typeface design.

''Typeface design affects people's lives in a subtle way. It has far-reaching consequences, and can even mean survival for some minority scripts, languages and eventually whole cultures. I hope the recipient of the next Alumni Typeface Design Studentship will love their time at Reading and that the scholarship will enable them to pursue doing what they love.''

The scholarship is awarded to an individual who has demonstrated a specific interest in typeface design and a desire to make a difference to the typeface industry. This summer, Louisa-Helen Fröhlich from Germany was delighted to hear that she had been selected as the recipient. Louisa-Helen is looking forward to beginning her MA Typeface Design course at the University at the start of the autumn term.

''As a designer I have always enjoyed working with well-designed fonts," she said: "Now it is my dream to enlarge their number and smooth the way for a beautiful intercultural exchange. I decided to apply for the MA Typeface Design because a solid educational base for my work is of great importance to me. 

''Studying at the University of Reading will be a wonderful opportunity. The Alumni Typeface Design Studentship will enable me to concentrate without distraction or worries on my studies and I am most grateful for this. I am looking forward to putting all my efforts into my Masters.  

''I would like especially like to thank the alumnus who is funding my scholarship. It means a lot to me and I hope that someday I will be able to support another student in the same way.''

This scholarship is in addition to the established award funded by Monotype Imaging Ltd, which provides tuition fee support for a student on any of the MA programmes in the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication.

ENDS

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Notes for editors:

For over 30 years the University of Reading's Department of Typography and Graphic Communication has been the only one of its kind in Britain. It offers a unique approach to design through a combination of practice, theory and history. The high standard and diversity of research in the Department are recognized by the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, with 80 per cent of research being rated world-leading or internationally excellent. They are also reflected in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, as well as in works published by the Department, such as Typography Papers. In November 2011, the Department was awarded a Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education. The Prizes are the most prestigious form of national recognition open to a UK academic or vocational institution. 

If you are interested in supporting future students in the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication, or in providing financial support to students in any other department across the University, please contact: annualfund@reading.ac.uk or visit www.reading.ac.uk/alumni/support