Teaching type design online.

Ofir Shavit

FontArk  is looking for type design teachers, to teach all levels of type design to small-medium groups of designers - Online!

Fontark is a fresh and sophisticated browser-based type design platform, oriented to graphic designers with type design enthusiasm. It simplifies significantly mostly the early stages of type design and attracts a large world wide audience of designers, most of which with minimal to no formal type design education and knowledge.

FontArk's high accessibility, environmental wise (web environment), technical (no platform dependency) and methodical, creates an expanding need in quality and flexible (by time, location and language) type education, this is a really nice opportunity to skilled type designers.

We are setting the foundations to run several one-month-long online type design courses, to be conducted mostly in a forum like platform (that means that the teachers (and students) are not limited in time and location) for 10-20 students simultaneously, basics and advance levels.

We are looking for type designers with good communication skills to teach type design basics, and in-depth type design in the following languages: English, Spanish, German, French and Portuguese.

The courses are 100% online (not webinar, so no limited time hours and equipment (webcams, type design software etc')) and can be easily conducted at your free time from wherever you are.

For more details please contact me personally here.
 

Dave Crossland

How much will you pay such teachers?

Ofir Shavit

It's going to be very fair.

We will get to details in person but to give you an idea, the calculation will be based on an estimation of the teaching hours required per student, multiplied by the teacher's fee per hour, so it's going to be fair and paying, but most important is the fact that the courses nature will be very close to how things work in this forum... each course will have a defined route and targets, the students will upload their works in progress and will receive guidance and inputs in a closed and supportive environment and in everyone's free time.
 
The teachers will focus mostly on the type design aspects, Fontark's team will take care of all the software teaching, technical support, publications and management.

This will also expose the teachers to an important target audience, graphic designers. I assume there is a certain amount of suspicion regarding teaching graphic designers type design and by that causing a possible increment in competition and things like that, but I really think there is no reason to worry, on the contrary, this is a win-win-win situation because, A - Graphic designers will never be real competitors to type designers, their need in type design skills is required mostly for special personal needs that doesn't and can't be fulfilled normally by type designers. B - Most of  "type design abuse", as probably any other kind of abuse, is mainly the result of ignorance which leads to lack of appreciation. Many people and graphic designers don't realize the amount of investment, skills and talent involved in good type design, and what is better to make them realize it than teaching and letting them experience it themselves? That's the only proper way to "fight" ignorance, which will result in appreciation that will only improve the situation not make it worst.

The teachers should run their own accountancy and will be paid against providing a legal invoice

Ofir Shavit

We're lunching the first (of it's kind) online Type-design course with @Russell_McGorman as instructor!

We've ran a pilot course in Hebrew and it goes pretty well! most of the course is maintained in a closed Facebook group to which we upload the tasks to, and the students upload their work in return and receive direct guidance, and when needed we make a one on one screen sharing sessions to guide with the software and specific assist.

This course formation is very flexible and allow almost anyone to participate from his location and according to his schedule and most important... get a very high quality type design skills and education.

The current course (one month long!) is for beginners, so it is irrelevant for the most of you here, but it is designed to cover up pretty much (from concept to a working font family, it is possible with Fontark in one month) and you get to learn to work with Fontark all together, so if you know someone that this course might interest we'll appreciate telling him about it.

The course starts on Monday next week, and there're only few places left!

Full details and subscriptions here 

Oh, and we're still looking for French and German speaking type-design teachers to run the same course in these languages, send me a message if you are one!

Russell McGorman

We start Monday the 14th.  It'll be a challenge - With much to do in a short time. I think we're all looking forward to it. I know I am. There is still room if for anyone interested...