Presentation

At the start of the 2016 academic year, ECAL is proud to have introduced a new Master’s degree in Type Design. Unique in Switzerland, this two-year program gives graduate students with a Bachelor in Graphic Design an opportunity to develop projects in the long term. This training provides privileged access to one of the flagship disciplines in Swiss graphic design, relying on ECAL’s expertise in this field as the first Swiss school to have integrated digital typography as part of its curriculum.

With the support of renowned professionals and academics, students explore fields ranging from corporate typography to experimental research, focusing on creativity. They work on techniques specific to typeface design (calligraphy, work on curves, construction, digital drawing), including the development of multi script font families. They acquire and develop a sharp and thoughtful eye, technical and methodological skills and an ability to produce quality digital fonts with efficiency and rigour (mastering, scripting) as part of courses and workshops where their projects are assessed and commented by experts invited for conferences and individual interviews. Finally, they attend lectures and research sessions around concepts ranging from the prospective to the historical, including aesthetic and legal aspects, which are given concrete form through dissertations, online or paper publications and even exhibitions.

The skills and projects developed throughout the curriculum serve to produce a portfolio that meets the highest standards. At the end of their curriculum, having acquired a solid typographical culture, students will have the  opportunity to apply their skills either as part of a company or in a self-employed capacity.

Language

English

Qualification issued

Master of Arts HES-SO in Design, major in Type Design

Yearly fees (materials included)

Fees detail

Length

4 semesters

Credits

120 ECTS

Useful links

Admissions Contact ECAL Typefaces

Equipments & infrastructures

Open Space MA Type Design Printshop Digital printshop

Learning Objectives

First year
Sascha Bente - Semester project, 2020
Laura Zsófia Csocsán , Samira Schneuwly - Semester project, 2021
Julia Born - Visit in Zurich
Radim Peško - Workshop
Alexandre Lescieux - Semester project, 2020
Individual reviews with Jan Horčik
Non-Legitur class with Noheul Lee
Kai Bernau - Tools makes shapes, class

1/8

  • Work on transposition from one medium to another, from the communication of ideas to sensations (e.g., transposition of a piece of music into typography).
  • Question type design processes according to the tools used, whether analogue or digital.
  • Contextualise letter drawing in its history.
  • Work in a group with the aim of creating a functional typeface based on specifications provided by a client.
  • Include typography in the wider context of graphic design (Editorial Design).
  • Develop research on writing that none of the students are able to read with a guest lecturer throughout the 2nd semester.
  • Enhance your knowledge through lectures given by lecturers from the MA in Type Design or guest lecturers (history of graphic design and typography, technical issues, design problems and presentations of their work by lecturers).
  • Write a Master’s thesis based on the knowledge acquired throughout the course and in line with the professional field.
  • Benefit from technical assistance to learn and solve technical issues that arise in type design.
  • Take part in weeks of workshops supervised by practitioners from all over the world with the aim of carrying out collective or personal projects.
Second year
Study Trip - Museum Plantin-Moretus
Archive Visite - Museum Meermanno
Diploma Jury 2023
Anne Seseke - Diploma 2021
Chiachi Chao - Diploma 2021
Sophie Wietlisbach - Diploma 2020

1/6

  • Develop three self-initiated projects (type design, use of typography in an editorial context and free project); for each project, the student chooses a teacher who will monitor the project.
  • Write a Master’s thesis based on the knowledge acquired throughout the course and in line with the professional field.
  • Put into practice the know-how acquired in a graduation work.

Projects

This section contains a selection of emblematic or recent projects related to the disciplines taught in the Master's degree.
See all projects

Studio projects

Wallace

TYPE DESIGN

Wallace

with Kai Bernau

Wallace is a semester project by Gabriela Jaime and Pauline Heppeler, developed during the course “Tools Make Shapes”, led by Kai Bernau. “We worked with the metaphor of dancing and how our body behaves when it moves. This led to experimentation with two types of mechanisms; the first prototype followed the scissors logic, while the later one (and final) followed the compass logic. This typology of object allowed us to translate dance movements like spin and pivot, drag and drag across (sliding along the floor) onto an open typographical stroke and structure. It was important for us to show the coordination and movement of two that becomes one – hence we chose to maintain the final output as an open stroke typeface.”

Rasa – 2023

TYPE DESIGN

Rasa – 2023

with Marie Lusa

Rasa is a modular stencil typeface designed by Mac Wang. It consists of two masters, Roman and Alien, with the possibility of complementing each other by overlaying them. Semester project mentored by Marie Lusa.

Labour Tool Product

TYPE DESIGN

Labour Tool Product

with Julia Born

“Labour, Tool, Product” is an editorial project, self-initiated by Samira Schneuwly. The book explores the universal profession of farming, its evolution and the technologies and possibilities associated with it through carefully curated images from ETH Zürich’s online image archive and excerpts from her great-grandfather’s and grandfather’s inventory books.

Max Fett

TYPE DESIGN

Max Fett

by Weichi He

MaxFett is a free interpretation of the typeface Fette Grotesk, widely distributed as a single cut among former German type foundries under different names. Fette Grotesque, Breite fette grotesque, Fette Steinschrift, Zeitung-Grotesque, Ganz fette Groteske. This interpretation of the source by Herrlinger & Schmidt from 1881 is taking a contemporary approach on heavy squarish grotesks.

Typetitle, projet de semestre par Quentin Coulombier

TYPE DESIGN

Typetitle, projet de semestre par Quentin Coulombier

with Kai Bernau

Typetitle is a condensed typeface designed for newspaper headlines which was inspired by American wooden type models.

Didot Vafflard semester project by Dávid Molnár

TYPE DESIGN

Didot Vafflard semester project by Dávid Molnár

with François Rappo

Inside-Out semester project by Dávid Molnár

TYPE DESIGN

Inside-Out semester project by Dávid Molnár

with Radim Peško

Tools make shapes. Semester Project by Malte Bentzen et Kaj Lehmann

TYPE DESIGN

Tools make shapes. Semester Project by Malte Bentzen et Kaj Lehmann

with Kai Bernau

Modern Gothic, Semester Project by Malte Bentzen

TYPE DESIGN

Modern Gothic, Semester Project by Malte Bentzen

with François Rappo

Diploma projects

Maria Kosheleva – Selime

TYPE DESIGN

Maria Kosheleva – Selime

by Maria Kosheleva

Selime is a contemporary humanist serif typeface designed for comfortable, immersive reading. Developed with a focus on long-form texts in the Chuvash language — a Turkic language spoken primarily in the Chuvash Republic of Russia — it combines cultural specificity with wide usability across both Cyrillic and Latin scripts. Drawing inspiration from the earliest Chuvash typefaces and 20th-century Dutch humanist serif design traditions, Selime reimagines these influences through a contemporary typographic voice. The family includes five weights with matching italics, providing flexibility for editorial, literary, and multilingual publishing.

Stephanie Wilson – Iconic

TYPE DESIGN

Stephanie Wilson – Iconic

by Stephanie Wilson

Iconic stands at the intersection of typography, social research, and inclusive design. It addresses a growing concern: making reading more accessible for senior readers. Through the development of a typeface named Iconic, the project aims to enhance reading comfort while offering an aesthetic, functional, and adaptable typeface suited to the changes associated with aging. The project was created in collaboration with senior-lab, a Swiss platform dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for seniors. Grounded in a participatory methodology, this collaboration enabled a reality-based approach: available in serif, sans serif, sans semibold, and italics, Iconic was designed based on feedback and testimonials gathered from seniors during sessions held at ECAL.

Jamie Michiki – Dutyfree

TYPE DESIGN

Jamie Michiki – Dutyfree

by Jamie Michiki

Dutyfree is a bi-script sans-serif typeface that supports both the Latin alphabet and Japanese scripts. It includes eight weights and covers the full range of Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji characters. Designed to harmonize the atmosphere of both writing systems through shared skeletal structure, detail, and contextual nuance, Dutyfree bridges two distinct typographic origins: the Latin typeface Venus and the Japanese Ishi Chu-Futo Gothic. With a theme of overlap and crossover between writing systems and design cultures, the project was developed under the concept of "logistics graphics." Beyond just a typeface, Dutyfree also includes symbols and signage elements designed for use in logistics and packaging contexts.

Lynn Birrer – Brienz

TYPE DESIGN

Lynn Birrer – Brienz

by Lynn Birrer

Important opinion: WE AINT BOYZ. Brienz examines “Swiss Style” in graphic and type design and its legacy which is learned and appreciated but doesn’t feel relatable to everyone. Brienz is a type family consisting of 4 styles ranging from Buch to Kursiv and from Schmal to Schmalfett. A typeface that feels more human, vernacular, and rooted in a different set of values. Like mash-up culture in music, it mixes contrasting influences to create something that feels familiar but new, responsive, moving and with its own voice. Construction, deconstruction, and then reconstruction. Kisses from Brienz. Type beat!

Ratchanon Boongsrithong – Sahn

TYPE DESIGN

Ratchanon Boongsrithong – Sahn

by Ratchanon Boongsrithong

Sahn is a solemn yet flavorful typeface designed to expand the possibilities within the Thai loop typeface family. In this project, both Thai and Latin scripts were developed simultaneously. Features from one script can influence and be integrated into the other, creating a cohesive visual language. While the Thai script may appear very different from Latin, both scripts share a similar repertoire of shapes; although they are disconnected, they seek moments of connection. Sahn aims to foster a dialogue between the two scripts by highlighting their commonalities in terms of tone and texture, while honouring their unique cultural differences.

Rebekka Hausmann – Equilibre

TYPE DESIGN

Rebekka Hausmann – Equilibre

by Rebekka Hausmann

Equilibre is a typeface inspired by depictions of fragile balance in 20th-century art. The project began during a residency at Kunstbibliothek Sitterwerk with a study of how artists capture moments of tension, just before collapse. To translate these observations into type design, the designer explored eight approaches including contradicting counters, extreme shapes and physical instability. The final typeface takes a subtler path: vertical stress, condensed proportions and tense curves provoke slight discomfort. The italic style’s harsh slant further reflects instability. Equilibre is not a neutral container, but a strong voice for long texts and expressive italic highlights.

Chandra Sperle – Gradual

TYPE DESIGN

Chandra Sperle – Gradual

by Chandra Sperle

How we perceive and interpret the world is influenced by scale—by the distance, size, and the spatial relationship between observer and object. This project explores how scale influences meaning and perception through an experimental dialogue of type design, photography, and visual art. At its core is Gradual, a typeface that remixes Ladislas Mandel’s Galfra and Adrian Frutiger’s Roissy, reversing their original scale of habitat. In collaboration with artist Pai Litzenberger and the design duo Scinema (Leidy Karina Gómez Montoya and Tonda Budszus), the project expands the typographic concept of optical sizes from nano to macro dimensions. Together, Gradual offer a multi-layered reflection on our spatial interactions with the world.

Giulia Zanzarella – Minut

TYPE DESIGN

Giulia Zanzarella – Minut

by Giulia Zanzarella

How long does a Minut last? Time is standardized, but its experience follows no rules, being mathematically equal for all, but felt differently by each. Minut explores this gap: a play on words between “minute” and “unit,” it is a type family built around four styles defined by width constraints—72 units (proportional), 9, 3, and 1 (monospace). Each style reflects a degree of mechanization, inspired by unit systems used in proportional spacing typewriters. Celebrating the beauty of constraint, the characters of Minut find their own rhythm, generating textures with subtle variations. Rather than being interpolated, each style of Minut is drawn individually, prioritizing the overall texture of each font—going against the limitless flexibility of digital design.

Jonathan Bruun – Sekvens

TYPE DESIGN

Jonathan Bruun – Sekvens

by Jonathan Bruun

Sekvens is a typeface family of five weights with corresponding italics shaped by a continuous dialogue between perceptions of time and the design of letterforms. Revisiting early digital aesthetics and humanist sans serifs, Sekvens balances a standardized structure with subtle, idiosyncratic details. It navigates the familiar, embracing defaults, norms, and conventions, while simultaneously questioning how the inherited connotations of these forms are aging within the current landscape of type design. Embracing this duality, Sekvens represents both a documentation of past tendencies and a search for new proposals.

Lucas Portron – Dialectic

TYPE DESIGN

Lucas Portron – Dialectic

by Lucas Portron

Dialectic is a multi-script typeface family supporting, Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, designed to allow different writing systems to coexist in harmony. Developed side by side, the scripts share a common design foundation, encouraging a visual dialogue that respects their individual identities. With seven weights and matching italics, the family explores a balance between controlled visual disruption, within the letterforms themselves, and a consistent text color. These subtle tensions challenge established norms of legibility and reading habits, opening a critical reflection on legibility and readability. In doing so, Dialectic invites us to reconsider our relationship with text and how we engage with written form.

Nir Zabari Yenni – Safra ספרא سفرا

TYPE DESIGN

Nir Zabari Yenni – Safra ספרא سفرا

by Nir Zabari Yenni

Safra ספרא سفرا is a trilingual typeface family comprising both serif and sans styles. Designed with a contemporary, low-contrast approach, it supports Hebrew, Arabic, and Latin scripts with clear and consistent typesetting across languages. Balancing structural differences while preserving the distinct voice of each script, it enables multilingual communication without forcing uniformity. The design functions as a bridge between writing systems, maintaining typographic integrity and visual harmony. Suitable for both extended reading and display use in cultural, educational, and public contexts.

Xiang-Xiang Lee – Revue

TYPE DESIGN

Xiang-Xiang Lee – Revue

by Xiang-Xiang Lee

Revue is an expressive, versatile typeface family inspired by the drama and typographic flair of 19th-century theatre posters. Its 12 serif styles—Romans and Italics—are grouped by contrast: High, Low, and Slab. Each shares a stem width within its weight, exploring contrast, serif shape, and proportion to evoke distinct tones and dramatic tension. The family also includes a Grotesk, based on the Slab’s structure and tuned to echo its rhythm in sans form, and a Hanzi Slab, an experimental serif-gothic hybrid that brings the same sense of character across scripts. An Open Ending is a photo-text book where a photographer and a type designer offer parallel interpretations of moment and mood. The reader is invited into a shared performance shaped by rhythm, reading, perception, and pause.

Workshops

Yearbook

TYPE DESIGN

Yearbook

with Nejc Prah

In October 2021, the Master Type Design welcomed Nejc Prah for a one-week workshop. Being in a masters program is a special time, both personally and professionally. To keep a memory of it, the students were invited to create a Yearbook. First years and second years were assigned into pairs and asked to make a contribution about their partner. Drawings, collages, letterings, doodles, patterns, 3D-modelling, … Experimentations and explorations were encouraged. It resulted into a colourful and joyous publication, displaying a diversity of characters and approaches. After a collaborative effort for the production on the last day, each student got a copy, as a memory.

Böcklin Zoo

TYPE DESIGN

Böcklin Zoo

with Karl Nawrot

Workshop with Karl Nawrot. Handpainted compositions inspired by the typeface Arnold Böcklin from Schriftgiesserei Otto Weisert (1904).

All Over

TYPE DESIGN

All Over

with MATD, Job Wouters (Letman)

Workshop with Dutch designer Job Wouters.

Indentity Of The Zone

TYPE DESIGN

Indentity Of The Zone

with Jan Horčík, MATD

Patches from workshop with Jan Horčík.

Workshop with studio NORM

TYPE DESIGN

Workshop with studio NORM

with Dimitri Bruni (NORM), Manuel Krebs (NORM)

Workshop with Zürich based studio NORM on the theory, the design and the use of stencil typefaces.

Workshop with Thibault Brevet

TYPE DESIGN

Workshop with Thibault Brevet

with Thibault Brevet

Workshop with Thibault Brevet.

Type Poster Workshop with Dafi Kühne

TYPE DESIGN

Type Poster Workshop with Dafi Kühne

with Dafi Kühne, MATD

Atlas of Letterforms, workshop with Radim Peško

TYPE DESIGN

Atlas of Letterforms, workshop with Radim Peško

with MATD, Radim Peško

Sign Painting Workshop with Alaric Garner

TYPE DESIGN

Sign Painting Workshop with Alaric Garner

with Alaric Garnier, MATD

Programme

This section lists the detailed modules and courses for each semester of the programme.

Semester 1 2 3 4

Type Design I
9 ECTS
  • Characters
  • Type (hi)stories
  • Custom Type
Typography I
6 ECTS
  • Tools makes shapes

  • Type in use workshop
  • Type lectures 
Pré-Memoire I
5 ECTS
  • MA Thesis preparation

Transversal Workshop I
3 ECTS
  • 5 days workshop
Training in research I
3 ECTS
  • Introductory course on design research
  • Interdisciplinary workshop
Cross lectures I
4 ECTS
  • Cycle of lectures
Type Design II
9 ECTS
  • Type hi(stories)
  • Non Legitur
  • Translation
Typography II
6 ECTS
  • Optical sizes
  • Type in use
  • Type lectures
Pré-Memoire II
5 ECTS
  • MA Thesis preparation
Transversal workshop II
3 ECTS
  • 5 days workshop
Training in research II – Experimentation
3 ECTS
  • 3-day week with lecturers

  •  
Cross Lectures II
4 ECTS
  • Cycle of lectures
Type Design III
5 ECTS
  • Self-initiated project
Typography III
5 ECTS
  • Self-initiated project
Open project
5 ECTS
  • Self-initiated project
Pré-memoire III
6 ECTS
  • MA Thesis preparation
Transversal workshop III
3 ECTS
  • 5-days workshop
Training to research III — Application
3 ECTS
  • Presentations and interdisciplinary workshop
  • Junior Research Conference
Cross lectures III
3 ECTS
  • Cycle of lectures
Master's practical project
21 ECTS
  • Development of a major personal project
Master's thesis
9 ECTS
  • Theoretical Master’s thesis

Find all the programme documents below

Alumni

Jacopo Aztori
Federico Paviani
Florence Meunier
Luca Pellegrini
Kim Sohee
Davide Tomatis
Rani Yasmine Putri
Career Opportunities

Type designer, Graphic designer, Motion designer, Art director, Creative director, Publisher, Illustrator, Web designer, Teacher…

Other alumni

(BA Graphic Design and MA Type Design) Leonardo Azzolini (Omnigroup), Ondřej Báchor, Sascha Bente, Harry Bloch (Studio Harris Blondman), Chaumont & Zaerpour, Guillaume Chuard, Matthias Clottu, Emmanuel Crivelli, Marietta Eugster, Eurostandard, Matthew Fenton, Louisa Gagliardi, Gavillet & Cie, Eliott Grunewald, Noémie Gygax, Weichi He, Robert Huber, Larissa Kasper (Kasper-Florio), Sean Ervan Kuhnke, Kaj Lehmann, Simon Mager (Omnigroup), Maximage, Adeline Mollard, Olga Prader, Aurèle Sack, Teo Schifferli, Haakon Spencer, Florence Tétier, Chi-Long Trieu, Nicole Udry…

Staff

Head

Matthieu Cortat

Assistants

Nicolas Bernklau
Raphaela Häfliger

ECAL Typefaces Manager

Malte Bentzen Bredstrup

Professors

Kai Bernau
Julia Born
Matthieu Cortat
Wayne Daly
Roland Früh
Anniina Koivu
Marie Lusa
Radim Peško
Alice Savoie
Chi­-Long Trieu

Lecturers

George Anton Kiraz
Gerry Leonidas
Hrant Papazian
Irene Vlachou

Visiting Lecturers

Sahar Afshar
Khajag Apelian
Roberto Arista
Etienne Aubert­-Bonn
Leonardo Azzolini (Omnigroup)
Stuart Bailey
Alexandru Balgiu
Chiara Barbieri
Paul Barnes
Sofie Beier
Selina Bernet
Bianca Berning
Eleni Beveratou
Alex Blattmann
Thibault Brevet
Vincent de Boer
Mirko Borsche
Johannes Breyer (Dinamo)
Dimitri Bruni (NORM)
Matthew Carter
Nadine Chahine
Mathieu Christe
Pippo Ciorra
Bart De Baets
Sara de Bondt
Lizá Defossez Ramalho (R2Design)
Maria Doreuli
Gary Fogelson
Tom Foley
Alaric Garnier
Gilles Gavillet (Optimo)
Emilio Gentile
Tanya George
Eliott Grunewald
Fabian Harb (Dinamo)
Jonathan Hares
Leila Hekmat
Franz Hoffman
Jan Horčík
Robert Huber
Thomas Huot­-Marchand
Larissa Kasper (Kasper-Florio)
Ueli Kaufmann
Simone Koller (Studio NOI)
Manuel Krebs (NORM)
Matthias Kreutzer
Dafi Kühne
Indra Kupferschmid
‍Phil Lubliner (Other Means)
Louis Lüthi
Bruno Maag
Simon Mager (Omnigroup)
Amir Mahdi Moslehi
Robin Mientjes
Yoann Minet
John Morgan
Reto Moser (Grilli Type)
Sandrine Nugue
Mitch Paone (DIA Studio)
Michele Patanè
Julie Peeters
Edwin Pickstone
Jonathan Pierini
Krista Radoeva
Mohamed Rafed
Artur Rebelo (R2Design)
David Rudnick
Aurèle Sack
Kristyan Sarkis
Jens Schildt
Isabel Seiffert (Offshore)
Wissam Shawkat
Izet Sheshivari
Fred Smeijers
Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès
Adam Szymczyk
David Jonathan Ross
Régis Tosetti
Nora Turato
Richard Turley
Linda van Deursen
Carlo Vinti
Ryan Waller (Other Means)
Job Wouters
Pascal Zoghbi

ECAL Typefaces

 

ECAL Typefaces has, since 2016, been the first online type foundry based within a university. Its initial remit was to respond to frequent requests to acquire the typefaces seen in ECAL corporate communications, such as posters, invitation cards and catalogues. The foundry is now fully embedded in the ECAL Master’s Degree in Type Design (MATD), and also features work from the ECAL Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Design. All fonts have been designed by students.

Go to ECAL Typefaces Website

ECAL_Typeface_01.png