Advanced Typography: Task-Based App

Written by Emma Prushan, VCD, ’25

During their spring semester, sophomores in the Visual Communication Design program take Advanced Typography, which builds upon and enhances the typography knowledge gained during their fall semester. Students explore typographic form and function and tackle complex typographic problems to gain skills applicable to a wide range of projects. In order to practice this, students complete both printed and digital typographic projects, including a collection catalog and a task-based or tracking app. 

For this assignment, students designed the interface of a mobile tracking or task based application for iOS, including a sequence from the home screen to a task/tracking screen and a screen of their choosing (such as a profile or unique feature). The user interface of a mobile application or website combines a lot of various spheres of design, including imagery, iconography, typography, color theory, interactivity, logic, and analysis. The designer must combine these elements in a systematic way that makes using the app or website easy, clear, fast, and pleasant. This job is full of responsibility and demands a lot of knowledge, inspiration, and research, while also exploring the nuances of type on screen. 

Inspired by her experience on the Jefferson University Ultimate Frisbee team, Joelle Klouda (Visual Communications Design ‘25) created Ultimate Atlas, a tournament planning app for Ultimate Frisbee teams. The app makes the current disorganized and stressful system of planning tournaments more efficient and simple than ever. Teams are able to easily find, keep track of, and sign up for tournaments, as well as communicate with other teams. To encourage team development, the app allows the user to keep track of the team’s game scores and other valuable information. The app’s design features a wireframe animation of a frisbee being thrown on the home screen and a monochromatic indigo design with yellow highlights.

Emma Prushan (Visual Communications Design ‘25) created By the Book, a book tracking app that allows the user to track their reading progress, as well as what books they have read or want to read in the future. The user can also see what others think of different books, while viewing the reading activity of their friends on the app. The app primarily uses sans-serif type to communicate in headings and buttons, including decorative initials, while a serif is used for larger pieces of body text, such as descriptions, reviews, and profile bios. Maintaining the neutral color palette of the app, users are alerted to when something acts as a button or link by its green color and underline, as well as other commonly used clues, such as images acting as buttons for user and book profiles.