Tile Calligraphy Washuli: A Unique Font Experiment by Jingfeng Huang

Reviving the Charm of Chinese Characters through Graphics

Unlike traditional font designs, Washuli is a graphic visualization of Chinese characters. With limited computer font information available for Chinese characters, this design study explores the unique charm of Chinese characters through graphics. By fusing the essence of movable type printing with the element of tiles, a new structure of Chinese characters is realized, allowing the Oriental elements to tell the story of the East and find modern meaning.

The creation of Washuli involves the fusion of soil, the material used for tiles, and the block material of movable type printing. By extracting the shared attributes between the two, the design experiment combines the essence of movable printing with the tile element to create a new species of font. This innovative approach not only showcases the beauty of Chinese characters but also preserves the structure of tile materials.

The design process of Washuli poses several challenges. One of the difficulties lies in balancing Chinese character recognition, graphic control, and font art charm. Constant adjustments to stroke structures are required to maintain the font's information transmission while reflecting the artistic charm and tile material form. Finding a harmonious balance between these three aspects is crucial for the success of the design.

The Washuli project was completed in January 2016 in Guangdong, Shantou, China. It went through multiple stages, including an initial experiment and subsequent publication and recognition. The design was featured in Design521 and selected for the Chinese Graphic Designers Association's "Chinese Design Yearbook" in its tenth volume.

Jingfeng Huang's research for this design focused on supplementing the Chinese character library. By exploring the "pictographic" nature of Chinese characters, the design aimed to enhance the convenience of their modeling and writing while preserving their original recognition function. The perspective of graphics was employed to effectively convey text content information.

Recognized for its ingenuity and creativity, Tile Calligraphy Washuli received the Bronze A' Design Award in the Graphics, Illustration, and Visual Communication Design category in 2017. This prestigious award honors designs that exhibit strong technical and creative skills, contributing to improvements in quality of life and making the world a better place.