We bring the craft of typography back to design education.
Our mission is to educate designers, students and practitioners on the fundamental skills of typography, build a typographic foundation of understanding and practice, improve the quality of communication, and preserve the integrity of design.
Photography by Jen Parker
TypeEd is a typography education program developed to teach communicators how to design for readers with a mindset that lasts a lifetime and skills that transforms designers into directors.
The program was founded by Rachel Elnar and Michael Stinson in their studio, Ramp Creative, while practicing annual report, brand identity, and interactive design since 2003.
Rachel started teaching again after a 9-year hiatus and noticed that many of the college foundation classes were replaced with software classes. Michael observed that when typography was taught, it was not with the depth and detail in which he learned it, back when type was sent out for galleys and design was sent to printers on mechanical boards. When he juried design competitions for Graphis and the One Show, the repeated comment he heard among the jury about the entries was the lack of type sensitivity. Apparently, type skills were also absent in the professional world.
Out of the need to help employees, friends and mostly their own college students, TypeEd was born. In 2012, the founders began to formalize their typographic fundamentals and Michael’s production method into practical applications. In 2013, workshops and clinics were added as a hands-on extension to the classes.
COFOUNDERS
Michael Stinson
Michael Stinson is a cofounder of TypeEd and Creative Director at Ramp Creative. His identity and annual report work has been recognized by CommArts, Mohawk Paper, TDC, Graphis, and more. Conversely, he’s served on the juries for the Ad Club, Graphis, One Show Design and the Young Ones. In 2008, Michael was named as one of Graphic Design USA’s “People to Watch.” He currently teaches typography at Laguna College of Art + Design (LCAD) and has previously taught design and type at College of the Canyons, Santa Monica College and University of Southern California (USC). See his personal portfolio.
Rachel Elnar
Rachel Elnar is a co-founder, community manager and producer of the TypeEd typography education program and the Interactive Director at Ramp Creative. In 2008, Rachel was named as one of Graphic Design USA’s “People to Watch.” She teaches typography and advanced interaction design at Cal State University Los Angeles and is an Advisory Board member for the AIGA Orange County chapter. Her side projects include running the Los Angeles is Just My Type Meetup Group, organizing TypeThursday Los Angeles, and hosting the Typography Dojo webcast and podcast interview series.
Michael Stinson and Rachel Elnar have been working together in their firm Ramp Creative since 2003. Within that time, they have been establishing brand identities and brought visual clarity to such brands as CWS Capital, The Counter Burger, Canon Development Americas, UCLA, Landsby Hotel, Specific Media, Cambria Inns, Wet Seal, Agostonic Chocolate, Edwards Lifesciences, Kona Village, Toshiba, United Way of Greater Los Angeles, Universal Electronics, Koa Kea Hotel & Resort, American Heart Association, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals and many more.
PRESS PHOTOS (for more photos, please email rachel@type-ed.com)
TypeEd Final Crit at General Assembly Santa Monica | Photograph by Jen Parker
TypeEd Final Crit at General Assembly Santa Monica | Photograph by Jen Parker
Type 2 Class with AIGA Honolulu | Photograph by Jen Parker
Type 2 Class with AIGA Honolulu | Photograph by Jen Parker
Whisky Type Crit at CreativeLive with AIGA San Francisco | Photograph by Rachel Elnar
Marks of Desire Workshop at General Assembly with AIGA Los Angeles | Photograph by Jen Parker
