The Arabic script has been a long developing writing system, and its diacritics constitute a visually rich and complex in dimension. There are points that differentiate consonants that have similar forms known as niqāṭ, vocalization marks known as tashkyl, Qur’an accents to aid in recitation, and decorative marks. What is the history and relevance of… Continue reading Diacritics in the Arabic Script
Hanzi Graphy focuses on the history, architecture, and physical characteristics of Chinese characters while establishing a common set of vocabulary. Kanji Graphy takes it further and tells the story of how Chinese characters settled in Japan and became the root for a hybrid writing system. The book is divided into two sections. In the first… Continue reading Carrying on: Kanji Graphy and Hanzi Graphy
Hibizcus is a suite of free and open-source font proofing and debugging tools for South Asian and South East Asian languages. Most of the languages in these regions are written in a script that belongs to the Brahmic family, in which consonant-vowel sequences are written as a unit. This differs from a complete alphabetic script… Continue reading Proofing and Debugging Fonts with Hibizcus
Buddhism, as one of the major religions in China, has had a profound influence on various fields, including calligraphy arts. Even before the invention of printing technology, monks and believers started to copy Buddhist scriptures while reading them, both to show proof of faith and to spread Buddhism. Some of the scriptures were written on… Continue reading Type Design in Chinese Buddhism: Digital Revivals of Chinese Buddhist Manuscripts and Wood-plate Printings
Word is a celebration and no script holds that emotion more than the Ranjana life. During their calligraphy demonstration, Ananda Maharjan, Sunita Dangol, and Anshu Shrestha will be showcasing Ranjana script and Kutakshar while also writing the participants’ names and mantras in Ranjana – creating artful demonstrations and keepsakes for the ones who attend.
Five-pixel height is all you need to deliver the entire English alphabet, but what size canvas is needed, and how many pixels are required to construct a Chinese character, called a Hanzi? The strokes in each Hanzi vary in number, direction, width, contrast, and style. At the first sight, it seems impossible to fit Hanzi… Continue reading Bitmapping Chinese
This workshop will be conducted in two two-hour sessions over the course of two days. You must sign up for both sessions in order to confirm your participation. Part 1 will take place at 9:00 am Eastern on Tuesday, October 27, 2020. Part 2, the essential feedback session, will take place at 9:00 am Eastern… Continue reading Get a Taste of Hangul Type!—Part 1 of 2
Huai is a bilingual typeface which stands in between Thai script, Latin script, Thai Latinized and conventional. Most of the contemporary loop-less Thai typefaces obtained some Latin letterforms when crafting Thai alphabets. If Thai alphabets can borrow the form from Latin letterforms, what might happen when Latin alphabets are influenced by those original Thai letterforms?… Continue reading Inversion of Thai Latinized
Chinese, Japanese, Korean (CJK) characters’ ancestors had a lot in common. However, CJK areas now have their own typographic history, context, and sense of type design. This presentation will look at a number of typographic terms that are being used in East Asian countries. It will also consider how they became so different and what… Continue reading CJK Typefaces: Friendly Neighbors Far, Far Away