Sound symbolism—the non-arbitrary connection between sound and meaning—finds a rich form in Korean ideophones, words that vividly express actions, sensations, and emotions (1). With Hangeul, the Korean writing system, these sounds can be visually shaped, offering designers a unique way to explore how letterforms can reflect rhythm, tone, and movement.
This workshop invites participants to transform Korean ideophones—onomatopoeia and mimetic words—into typographic motion, designed for a non-Korean-speaking audience. We will move from understanding Hangeul’s phonetic system and visual logic to creating letterforms where weight, rhythm, and structure mirror the sensory qualities of words like 두근두근 (du-geun du-geun, heartbeat) and 반짝반짝 (ban-jjak ban-jjak, sparkling). Participants will listen to ideophones, analyze qualities such as pitch, frequency, and repetition, and translate them into dynamic, moving letterforms. Using accessible motion design tools like After Effects, they will create short kinetic studies where typography becomes a sensory language.
This workshop requires no prior knowledge of Korean or motion graphics. We focus on collaborative learning and playful experimentation. The workshop explores how language and letterform can move to inspire inclusive, cross-cultural design practice.
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(1) Imai, M., & Akita, K. (2024). Sound Symbolism. In M. C. Frank & A. Majid (Eds.), Open Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science. MIT Press.
Halim Lee is a multidisciplinary graphic designer and educator with expertise in typography, creative coding, and UI/UX. She worked for nine years at Samsung as a mobile UX designer, contributing to advances in the legibility and accessibility of digital typography across a range of devices. She lectured at the Korean Society of Typography on screen typography, addressing considerations of micro-typography in digital environments and spatial typography in VR.
She approaches creative coding and typography as both a pedagogical method and a manifesto-driven tool. Teaching at Boston University, she develops online software and scripts to make typographic learning environments more accessible and supportive. Her work often explores how type and the web can bring people together across borders, a theme she also presented at Inscript.
Her work has been featured in multiple media and international design competitions, including TDC, It’s Nice That, Contemporary Type, Vimeo Picks, Red Dot, and iF.
Moon Jung Jang is a designer, visual artist, creative director, and design educator. Using multiplicity as a visual concept, Jang explores visual narrative and design systems, metaphorical modules in typography, and sequential color. Her research includes Multiple Narratives in Visual Forms, Polyhedral-ness as Multiple Narratives, Color Value in Space-Time, and Hyperbolable Types Across a Triangulated Surface. Her research has been presented in solo exhibitions, Disturbed Boundaries (2009), A Minor Arc (2010), Percent (%, 2012), But the Clouds (2014), and Retro/Reflector (2024). Recently, Jang received the RISD Art + Design Educator Award and contributed to Ellen Lupton’s book, Thinking with Type (specifically, the chapter Multiplicity of Scripts: Korean Typography). Jang is an Associate Professor of Graphic Design and the director of the experimental design lab, C-U-B-E (founded in 2015), at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia (USA).
Soo Min Lee is a graphic designer, educator, and creative coder whose work explores typography's emotional dimensions while blending traditional design with emerging technologies. Her cross-disciplinary practice uses letterforms, color, and pattern to transform abstract experiences into visual language, approaching design as a medium for joy and connection through experimental merging of analog and digital mediums. She creates interactive installations and collaborative tools that challenge conventional boundaries, exploring how design can foster community and meaningful human experiences.
Currently teaching Digital Communication at Savannah College of Art and Design, Soo Min holds an MFA in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design. She has taught at Boston University, Northeastern University, and Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Previously, she worked as a graphic designer at Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology, SAIB & Co., and BBDO New York, earning recognition from Cannes Lions, FAB Awards, IDEA Design Awards, and Epica Awards.
Halim Lee 
Moon Jung Jang 
Soo Min Lee