TYPEFACE: Chinese Calligraphy

We study the typographic styles of the West and translate these into their equivalent style for use in the East!

Choosing and Recognizing Typefaces

To be able to choose the appropriate typeface for the job, one must first know something about how typefaces are constructed and classified.

Each face has its own personality, and typefaces are described by typographers in the same hallowed tones used by connoisseurs to talk about wine. Garamond is said to be "quiet"; Bodoni "sparkles".

Each has its place in the graphic designer’s toolkit: for a bank's annual report, for example, you may wish to use a well established "classic" face like Garamond to convey tradition and solidity; a music magazine aimed at young people will look better with a fashionable type like Futura. Some typefaces are chosen for practical reasons. Newspapers tend to use faces with large x-heights and open counters, because the ink spread on low grade paper would fill in less robust faces.

Serif or Sans Serif?

The most obvious distinguishing feature of a typeface is whether it has a serif or not. Serifs are marks or flourishes around the extremities of letters, on the baseline and at the top, usually at right angles to the direction of the stroke. They help to make type more readable, and take several different forms: bracketed, with a smooth curved "fillet" between the serif and tem; slab, with sharper corners and almost the same thickness as the stem; hairline; or wedge. Take the following examples from the Goudy Old Style font. First an example of Serif type:

A typeface without serifs is called sans serif, or just sans, and looks like:

Other issues include Earmarks, Text typography, Readability and Legibility. Take a look at the range of our Chinese fonts in PDF format.

Conclusion:

For type to remain consistent within a document, our typesetters will complete a style sheet or type specification before starting a job. This will define the size, typeface, and measure of the body text, captions, headlines, and so on, to ensure that we always provide the best results for you.

Above is an example of precision typesetting where the Chinese tracks the English exactly. It also demonstrates how the choice of an appropriate Chinese font to match the English font produces a harmonious final product.

Our Promise

At ChineseTypesetting.com 'Understanding Is Everything'

Understanding Language:
Language is not just words. Language is about culture & place & time. Just think — to a younger English-speaking audience the word 'wicked' now means exactly the opposite of what it did 17 years ago!

Understanding Design, Page Make-up, Typesetting and Typography:
The written word needs to flow and be easily read. This is why the skills of our Chinese typesetters are so important in interpreting your design.

Understanding Your Audience:
At ChineseTypesetting.com, we'll listen to you until we fully understand your requirements.

Understanding Your Budget:
We know the importance to you of keeping your costs under control and will always quote a realistic price.

Understanding Your Time Constraints:
We appreciate the need for schedules and time-scales and we will keep the deadlines we agree with you.