AXIS font topics in English
(Reproduce from AXIS magagine September/October 2001)
Creating the "voice" of a magazine-the new font design project at AXIS
By Yoshinori Inamoto
Did you notice? We have redesigned AXIS magazine and changed the main font. Dubbed "AXIS," this font the work of the freelance typographer Isao Suzuki. As suggested by its name, the font was created on the premise that it would be used in AXIS magazine.
The AXIS font project began in 1998 when Mr. Suzuki asked the AXIS design department for an opinion on the font that he was designing. As both parties exchanged ideas, the idea to design a new font premised on its use in AXIS developed.
In Japan, with the exception of the large newspapers, it's rare for a magazine to have its own font. This is because, unlike Europe and the US, one must create approximately 9 thousand fonts to cover through to the second level of the JIS standard. Nevertheless, there are merits to using a dedicated font. It is linked to having a new "voice."
The special characteristic of a font is akin to the quality of a person's voice. Just as a different vocal quality can give an entirely different impression, even though the words are the same, the nuances the reader assimilates through the font can be considerably different. Tranquil, non-decorative fonts, conspicuous loud fonts, strong, dignified fonts, light, unrestrained fonts..., it's difficult to tell if the reader takes clear notice. Yet, without really knowing it, that reader will unconsciously glean emotional information from that font. AXIS has been using Morisawa's Shingo font exclusively in the main Japanese text, which is related to the sans serif font (a font without a beard). Shingo is of course a great font. Furthermore, I believe that the designers of AXIS magazine have handled Shingo masterfully, incorporating imaginative approaches to typesetting and successfully blending it with the fonts of the European language text. However, Shingo has become a little too common. That's only natural since it is the most refined of the modern sans serif fonts used in DTP. But for that reason, the "voice" of our magazine has become like all those other frequently heard "voices." The new AXIS font is also of the modern sans serif type, but has a more subdued expression that does Shingo. A special feature of the AXIS font is that from the very beginning it sought a high-quality balance between Japanese and European language in a single sentence. It's a requirement of AXIS that both are integrated seamlessly. Although it may sound obvious, a large degree of the individuality of the AXIS font came from the individuality of AXIS magazine. How big should the main text be? And what about the titles and captions? What is the average ratio of hiragana, katakana, kanji and roman letters used in the text? "Since the conditions were set out beforehand it was easy to see how its design should be finalized," explains Mr. Suzuki. "A type designer usually has to design fonts under very vague conditions."The Japanese version of the AXIS font comes in seven weights, from the rare ultra light to heavy. It can cope with everything, the titles, text, captions, as well as English text. It's possible to compose an entire issue of the magazine using this font alone. How should we make use of this? What should we express with this new "voice"? Now it's the AXIS designers' turn to show their stuff.