In the streets of Hong Kong, we can often find traces of handwritten characters on many old-fashioned signs. However, as these signs gradually disappear, those fonts full of local sentiments also vanish. The selection of Chinese characters on the internet is not as diverse as English, and there are even fewer traditional Chinese characters. Many of them are designed in Taiwan, so there are certain limitations in terms of font selection and style.
In recent years, there has been an increasing demand in Hong Kong for the development of Chinese fonts. Many brands also seek originality in their designs. As some street fonts are gradually disappearing, it has attracted a group of people who are passionate about digitizing these fonts or redesigning fonts with local characteristics, giving us more options.
Recently, the coffee shop located in Cheung Sha Wan, Contrast, held the “Seeing Words, Drinking Coffee” exhibition, featuring 8 local font creators and a total of 9 Hong Kong-produced fonts and calligraphy works, allowing everyone to see different styles of fonts.
The exhibit fonts include: the handwritten font “Li Han Kong Kai” by a local street calligrapher, the road sign font “Prison Body” made by inmates in prison, the “Powerful Protest Body” derived from social movements, the “Explosive Northern Wei Body” continuing the traditional Northern Wei sign font, the “Thought Rebirth Body” combining Song and Black styles, as well as “Hard Black Body”, “Graceful Mulan”, “Innovative Science Body”, and “Yang Jia Northern Wei Body”, a total of 9 styles.
Traditional Chinese characters in Hong Kong number around 17,000, which is a large amount. Designing a complete Chinese font takes time and is costly, so it is not easy. Many fonts are still in the fundraising stage, hoping to gather the efforts of the public to successfully launch the fonts on the market.
Through this exhibition, we see that there is still a group of dedicated typographers in Hong Kong who are working hard to preserve Hong Kong fonts. You may as well visit in person and appreciate how they blend local characteristics into their designs, using words to defend and innovate local culture.
“Read while drinking coffee” Font Exhibition
Date: From now until April 24
Time: 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
Location: Shop on the ground floor of Yee Fai Building, 512-518 Fuk Wing Street, Cheung Sha Wan
Learn more: contrast, streetsignhk
Image source: instagram@streetsignhk, contrast_hk
