29LT Zarid Sans Hanzi is a member of the Zarid Sans multi-script superfamily, which currently also supports Arabic, Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, and Devanagari scripts.
The Hanzi part was designed by Mallikātype, with adaptation guidance from Lisa Huang.
Hanzi script – Short history
The Chinese language uses a particular writing system based on logogram characters called Hanzi, which is the Pinyin* phonetic transcription of 汉字, with 汉 [hàn] meaning “Han people” (the principal ethnic group in China) and 字 [zì] for “character.”
Its working is based on individual characters with their own meaning and monosyllabic pronunciation, combined to create more complex words and sentences. Most of them are a combination of other characters built together, with some new ones created through the same system, but each and every one of them is nested in a squared frame of the same proportions, no matter how many strokes they have.
The Hanzi system has not changed much since its very beginning some thousands of years ago, and has been mostly used for the Chinese languages. Just like any other contemporary language, Chinese evolves with its civilization, and more words are created whenever needed. Today, the total number of characters that exist in Hanzi hits around the 100,000 mark.
*(Hanyu) Pinyin is a phonetical transcription of Chinese language officially in use in PRC since 1958.
Connections between Hanzi and Arabic Scripts
Both Arabic and Chinese cultures have rich and sophisticated calligraphic traditions, considered the highest art forms in their respective civilizations. Both civilizations have had a significant impact on the world, such as the House of Wisdom of the Abbasid Dynasty (8th to 9th centuries) and the profound influence of Chinese civilization in Asia and beyond.
Throughout history, the Chinese people have been familiar with Arabian culture. Ibn Battuta’s travelogue “A Marvelous Journey” (written during the early 14th century) mentions people singing in Arabic in Hansa (خنساء), which is present-day Hangzhou, China. Matteo Ricci’s (1552 – 1610) “China Chronicles” also mentions the existence of tens of thousands of Saracens (a term used by Christians to refer to Arabs) in almost every province and large city in China. However, since the late Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644), China has gradually retreated to the Han territory, and its understanding of Arabian culture has become increasingly scarce.
Adapting a design from Arabic to Hanzi
For any brand name, it is highly complex finding a translation in another language or script keeping the same vibe as the original one. To translate the 29LT Zarid Sans name into Chinese, we had to think of a solution drawing together three different aspects: it had to be similar in sound, be related in meaning, and sound good to Chinese ears.
With “Zarid” (already a Latinized transcription of the Arabic word) meaning “strong” and “robust,” we thought about the characters 札 [zhá] and 理 [lǐ] respectively for “writing” and “rationality.”
As for the word “Sans,” the related word for Chinese sans serif-style typefaces is 黑体 or Heiti, which we kept for the Chinese version to be more familiar and relevant to Chinese users. The Chinese name of 29LT Zarid Sans is therefore “29LT 札理黑体.” But to be also legible to non-Chinese users, we chose the name “29LT Zarid Sans Hanzi,” with Hanzi being the name of the Chinese script.
Designing 29LT Zarid Sans Hanzi
29LT Zarid Sans Hanzi is a sans-serif typeface (or Heiti for sans-serif Chinese typefaces) that draws inspiration from calligraphy, revisiting its roots with a modern twist. Arabic is a cursive script, with a more rhythmic and dynamic flow compared to Latin letters. However, presenting this writing style in 29LT Zarid Sans Hanzi was challenging because the rhythm of the Chinese text is relatively stable, and we could not simply move the structure of the Chinese cursive script to match Arabic. Arabic and Chinese have different skeletal structures and cognitive associations, which makes it difficult to apply the same design principles. While 29LT Zarid Sans Arabic breaks the traditional Naskh proportions, Chinese text is relatively conservative, and even slight changes may impact readability. Design elements may shift under different character forms, and this is especially true when translating between two vastly different scripts like Arabic and Chinese.
Metrics
Even if the files for 29LT Zarid Sans were already complete for Arabic and Latin scripts, the metrics for Hanzi had to be reconsidered from scratch, since we wanted to have the three scripts in harmonious sizes when set together.
While Latin has a baseline, ascender, descender, and body height, and Arabic typography has about the same typographic guidelines logic although different naming, adapting the proportions for these two scripts was visual. But Hanzi are all set in a squared frame that has to sit in between the ascenders and descenders of these two scripts, to seem coherent sizes.
To be comfortably legible in a text setting, Hanzi are usually set at a size that appears larger than Latin or Arabic characters. For that reason, the Latin part in 29LT Zarid Sans HZL had to be adjusted to be 125% bigger than in 29LT Zarid Sans Latin.
Zhonggong & Proportions
As mentioned earlier, Hanzi is a script that differs in many ways from most others. Multiple concepts are irrelevant to Hanzi, such as the consistent cadence of the vertical strokes in Latin achieved with consistent spacing between letters.
Among the type design concepts specific to Hanzi, there is the center space (Zhonggong). Its proportions in relation to the overall character determine the typeface’s legibility, expression, and personality. Zhonggong can be be similar in appearance to Arabic or Latin scripts. A larger one is suitable for small texts, and a smaller one can be aimed at display typefaces.
As 29LT Zarid Sans is a versatile typeface fitting any size, we went for conventional Zhonggong proportions to keep Hanzi’s legibility, even at text size.
Furthermore, we used slightly smaller character sizes to create a sense of airiness and match the agility of the Arabic script. This approach successfully preserves the flow and rhythm of the script, while also giving it a contemporary and refined appearance.
Strokes & Contrast
The Arabic and Latin parts of 29LT Zarid Sans have an obvious connection with calligraphy, as both scripts are traditionally written with a broad nib pen made of a hard material keeping a consistent stroke width. Chinese calligraphy uses a soft brush that allows a high modulation of thickness given by pressure and movement of the hand. We had to search for modernity for the Hanzi portion of 29LT Zarid Sans, using a sans serif style without losing its historical roots, with curved strokes and turning points that are softer than most sans serif Chinese typefaces (Heiti), without being simply rounded or geometric.
Hanzi characters’ conventional contrast have a horizontal-thin and vertical-thick distribution, an essential aspect of displaying the humanistic qualities of Chinese characters. However, recent Chinese sans serif fonts tend to prioritize geometric neutrality and forego this feature. In 29LT Zarid Sans Hanzi, we sought to incorporate this structure in a balanced manner. Specifically, we maintained the rhythm and reading experience in the thin and medium fonts, without placing too much emphasis on stroke contrast. For the bold fonts, we utilized this humanistic contrast to create a more dramatic effect. This approach presents a challenge for designers, as they must strike a balance between ensuring sufficient thickness and creating a compelling contrast.
“Zaridness” with Chinese script
One unique feature of 29LT Zarid Sans Arabic is its cut, resembling a hard pen-nib style created while writing. We also adopted this style in Chinese strokes, although it is almost impossible to write such a shape in Chinese. Nonetheless, this new idea is unique and adds a distinctive touch to the overall design.
Sample
For a Chinese typeface to be usable in real situations, it has to contain way more glyphs than any other script. While some hundreds of glyphs in Latin script are more than enough to cover multiple languages, the Chinese language requires about 4,000 characters at least, not counting punctuation symbols (that are different from those used in Latin script).
When 29LT approached Lisa Huang asking about how a Chinese version of 29LT Zarid Sans might be designed, she thought to ask Mallikātype to join in and complete the insights into adapting each and every feature specific to 29LT Zarid Sans (Arabic and Latin) into Hanzi script, while keeping its integrity and familiarity to Chinese users.
Considering the enormous costs and time that such a project usually requires to be achieved in full (several years with multiple designers), Lisa suggested designing a small group of characters rather than a full set, enough to show a concrete result for eventual customers to look at and help them in their decision-making.
If you are interested in a complete character set of 29LT Zarid Sans Hanzi, do get in touch with us. You can request a list of required words necessary for your project, or ask for a certain character set.
29LT Zarid Sans Hanzi Specimen
Visit 29LT Zarid Sans HZL webpage on www.29LT.com website and download the type specimen for full information about the typeface.
