Type & Image
Design for Illustrators Course Series
Rhode Island School of Design
Department of Illustration
Spring 2026 • 4-Week Undergraduate Course
This course falls under my 3-part Design for Illustrators workshop series taught at RISD.
This workshop familiarises Illustration students with basic principles of graphic design while using Adobe InDesign as its formal playground. Exercises are centred around the confluence of type and image, with a particular focus on editorial/publication contexts. The workshop helps students better understand the designerly contexts in which illustrated material often exists, how typography critically impacts those contexts and how the illustrations within them are perceived as a result. Assignments range across a variety of print applications such as publication/editorial spreads, posters, zines, etc, in the form of guided in-class exercises that familiarise them with layout design principles while training them in the technical use of InDesign. They gain hands-on experience with InDesign’s key features—including master pages, typographic styles, grids, export settings, etc—to build print-ready layouts. The course also places emphasis on print production literacy—introducing students to the technicalities of preparing files for print—colour profiles, scale, resolution, paper stock, binding, large-format printing etc—and the logistics of working with print technicians. Students are required to engage with the RISD Print Center to develop fluency in the practical processes and constraints of producing their own print-ready work, demystifying production workflows early in their professional careers.
This course is still running. Check back after Spring ‘26 for a full course recap.
