Steven Heller, Lita Talario and the gang at SVA's Designer As Author program have launched a program abroad this spring--a week in Venice and another week in Rome--in the form of a "Masters Workshop: Design History, Theory, and Practice." With an all-star faculty of local talent and a great combination of lectures, research and field trips, this program promises to provide a great immersion in cities that you'll definitely wanna be, um, immersed in.

Spend two weeks studying visual communication--especially typography--in Venice and Rome, the birthplace of Western typographic tradition. Visit the Trajan Column, the Pantheon and the Arch of Titus. Examine inscriptions on Roman buildings and monuments that have long been a typographic ideal. This workshop in design history, theory and practice will be an intensive period of study that enables students to research and analyze the roots of typography, while practicing contemporary design with Italian and American designers and design historians.

The workshop will foster multidisciplinary activities--through immersion--in architecture, fashion, literature, theater, and even cuisine. Collaborations with Italian design organizations and businesses will result in projects and products for publication and production.

Check out the site for the application form, schedule, and line-up.