Chinese Language on the Web (2016)
6 days ago
- #CSS Writing Modes
- #Chinese Typography
- #Web Design
- The author is Chinese, born in Malaysia, studied and works in Singapore, fluent in English and Chinese.
- Exploration of Chinese typography on the web led to a deep dive into Chinese writing systems and history.
- Chinese is a logographic writing system, unique in its widespread modern use.
- Traditional Chinese layout was vertical right-to-left, shifting to horizontal left-to-right due to the New Culture Movement.
- Simplified Chinese glyphs were introduced during the New Culture Movement, now used in China and Singapore.
- The CSS Writing Modes Level 3 module supports various international writing modes, including vertical text for Chinese.
- Chinese fonts contain around 20,000 glyphs, making file sizes large and web usage challenging.
- The author built a demo showcasing Chinese typography with vertical and horizontal layout toggles.
- Reflection on the importance of seeking diverse cultural perspectives in typography and web design.