A project aimed at creating a new font type for traditional Chinese characters is attracting sizeable interest in Taiwan, raising more than NT$19 million (US$579,710) through a crowdfunding platform in just two days.
Launched Sept. 8 by Taipei City-based webfont service provider Justfont, the undertaking is named jinxuan after the popular locally grown milk variety of oolong tea. The new font type, which is expected to go on sale next year, comes in five weights and is a mixture of commonly used Ming and Hei fonts.
According to company co-founder Winston Su, Taiwan was once a design center for traditional Chinese fonts during the 1990s, but saw its leadership position dwindle after the dotcom crash in 2000 and rampant Internet piracy. “We see all kinds of type fonts everywhere we go, but most of them are either creations from decades ago or came from Hong Kong, Japan or even mainland China,” he said.
In the past 15 years, only five sets of font types were created in Taiwan, while the numbers from Japan and mainland China are around 3,000 and 300, respectively. “It is a shame that this country, as a proud champion of traditional Chinese characters, has to rely mostly on foreign designs when it comes to font types.”
Although the company has completed 3,000 characters after one year of effort, Su said the design team is satisfied with only 500. “Chinese font design is a particularly challenging task given the complexity involved and the need to capture the characters’ unique aesthetics.”
Going forward, Su expects the initiative to enhance public awareness of the significance of font design while re-establishing Taiwan as a standard bearer of traditional Chinese characters. (SFC-JSM)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw