Oliver Gareis – Master Typography & Layout

Master Typography & Layout is Oliver Gareis’ video course on making deliberate design decisions through typography and layout systems. It is aimed at intermediate designers who want a more structured approach to type, spacing, grids and page composition.

Typography and layout skills you’ll build

• Master type selection by analyzing typeface anatomy, context fit, and professional pairing techniques
• Build visual hierarchy systems using size, weight, color, and typographic scale ratios
• Apply column grids, baseline grids, and modular grids to create consistent, proportional layouts
• Develop modular spacing systems with vertical rhythm for clean, professional page composition
• Create editorial, web, and multi-page layouts using structured typographic frameworks
• Apply white space and visual flow techniques that guide reader attention through your designs

Why typography and layout matter

Font choices, spacing, hierarchy and the direction of a reader’s attention affect designs across websites, apps, presentations and social media graphics. Understanding how those elements work together gives designers a basis for making consistent decisions rather than relying on appearance alone.

What’s inside the course

The course begins with type selection and the characteristics that make a typeface suitable for a particular context. It examines anatomy, including x-height, contrast and terminals, before moving into pairing techniques such as combining serif and sans-serif faces, matching weights and using contrast purposefully.

A section on visual hierarchy brings size, weight, color and spacing together to guide readers through content. Typographic scales, modular spacing and vertical rhythm provide a framework for making those decisions consistently across a layout.

The grid lessons cover column, baseline and modular grids, including when to use each approach. Practical exercises apply them to editorial content, web pages and multi-page documents, with attention to alignment and proportion.

Page composition brings the course’s type, hierarchy, spacing and grid principles together. Layout exercises explore visual flow, intentional white space and balance through practical scenarios.

Course materials

Alongside the video lessons, the course includes guides for selecting and pairing type, grid templates and frameworks, and reference materials for hierarchy and spacing. Layout examples and exercises support the composition lessons.

A systematic approach to typography

Rather than choosing fonts solely by preference, the course uses typeface anatomy, context and pairing principles to inform selection. Modular scales and vertical rhythm give spacing a repeatable structure, while grids help organize layouts proportionally.

These frameworks can be applied across projects and provide a way to explain the reasoning behind design choices.

About Oliver Gareis

Oliver Gareis is a designer focused on typographic craft and visual clarity. He runs TypoMonday, a weekly typography exercise series with more than 100 editions, and shares design work on Dribbble and LinkedIn. His teaching emphasizes methods designers can apply consistently across projects.

Who the course is for

The course suits intermediate designers who want to replace intuitive type choices with structured methods. It is relevant to web and UI designers working on digital interfaces, graphic designers creating editorial, branding or print work, and self-taught designers looking to fill gaps in their typography knowledge.

Frequently asked questions

What does Master Typography & Layout cover?

The course covers type selection and pairing, visual hierarchy, spacing, grid systems and page composition. Exercises apply those principles to editorial, web and multi-page layouts.

Who is the course for?

It is aimed at intermediate designers, including web, UI and graphic designers, as well as self-taught designers looking to strengthen their typography foundations.

What materials are included?

The materials include video lessons, type selection and pairing guides, grid templates and frameworks, hierarchy and spacing references, and layout examples and exercises.

Do I need prior design experience?

Some basic design knowledge is helpful. The course is intended for designers who are already familiar with design software.

Who created Master Typography & Layout?

Oliver Gareis is a designer known for his typographic work and the TypoMonday weekly typography exercise series.