Minimal TU Delft PhD Thesis Template in Typst

This is a minimal version of the TU Delft PhD thesis template. The template was derived from the LaTeX template: https://github.com/Inventitech/phd-thesis-template. It was originally designed for a A5 book (170 mm x 240 mm), featuring double-sided with the chapter number on odd and even pages.

This minimal template only implements:

• The ribbon showing the chapter number on odd and even pages
• Two formats (defined in style.typ):
  • format=print: for the book publisher. The exported PDF includes extra offsets and cutting marks.
  • format=digital: for a digital PDF.
• The heading section of the page automatically shows the current chapter name on the even pages and the current section name on the odd pages.
• The chapters always starts at the odd page.
• The second page after the chapter cover page shows the abstract.

Note

This is the minimal template. Some features still need to be implemented, such as reference and bibtex.

Motivation

The motivation for this project was to identify a modern, budget-friendly typesetting system capable of handling a complex document structure (e.g., a thesis with detailed design and artwork).

Typst vs. LaTeX: Since both systems were new to me, an evaluation was conducted. A complex LaTeX template was challenged to be converted into a working Typst equivalent within one week. The successful completion of this test confirmed that Typst possesses the requisite power and flexibility for sophisticated document design.

Examples (format=print)

Odd page	Even page

Installation

• VScode and the extension: Tinymist Typst
• Typst >0.13
• Download or clone this repository
• Open Vscode > Open Folder... > Select the downloaded folder > Open main.typ
• Click "Typst preview: Preview opened file (Ctrl K, V)" at the top-right

Template

• main.typ Main file that includes all chapters and pages
• ./preface/* a preface
• ./postface/* a postface
• ./chapters/* chapters

Styles

• style.typ All defined colors, font size, paragraph setting, and page size.
• heading_utils.typ The utility functions to extract the texts of the current section and sub-section.
• graphic.typ The graphic functions to draw the ribbons showing the current chapter's number.

Good resource for learning Typst

• https://typst.app/docs/
• https://sitandr.github.io/typst-examples-book/book/packages/layout.html