Kim Soo-jung

Part 0. Designer Introduction

Q. Hello, could you briefly introduce yourself, Designer Kim Soo-jung of Happy New Type?

Hello, I'm font designer Kim Soo-jung from Happy New Type. I create fonts with a light and cute impression by incorporating my interests like travel, restaurants, cooking, cats, street calligraphy, growing plants, interior decorating, and vintage clothes.

Q. Happy New Type! The name alone gives a bright, cute, and hopeful feeling. What made you start font design?

In my first year of university, I took a Hangul design class by Professor Han Jae-jun. While studying the structure of Hangul, we had to create 20-30 letters using font creation software, making either a combination type or complete type font.
The more I learned about Hangul, the more fascinating I found the endless variations possible through combining its structures and designs (gothic, myeongjo, graphic). When the professor introduced the "Hangul Lady" Hangul calligraphy club, I experienced the joy of making fonts and doing lettering activities outside of class.

Q. What would be the keyword to introduce your brand?

Like the brand name, it's "happy" and "new".

Q. [Balance Game] If you had to choose between only using fonts you created for life OR only using fonts created by others, which would you choose?

You know, as a font designer, I actually don't have too many occasions to use fonts.
I buy fonts because I want to own pretty ones.
Since I already have my own fonts, I'd choose to only use fonts created by others for life. Haha.

Part 1. Introducing Happy New Type Fonts

Q. I'm curious about how "HNT Carrot Cake" got started.

The story of this font started from the memory of eating delicious carrot-based foods like juice, macarons, and cakes using carrots as the main ingredient during a trip to Jeju Island last year. When creating a font, at the sketch stage I think of a specific word, write it out by hand, and start sketching the framework. Once I get a satisfactory look, I move to the digital working stage. For "HNT Carrot Cake", you could say I found a suitable look by writing out the word "carrot" many times.

Q. How interesting that it was inspired by Jeju carrots! It shows even mundane everyday ingredients can be applied to fonts. So what does the name "HNT Carrot Cake" mean?

I ate a lot of carrot cake while making this font! I named it hoping the sweetness and happiness I felt would be conveyed to those using the font too. Visually, the short but solid strokes with rounded starts and ends reminded me of a carrot's shape. Letter by letter, it gave the impression of carrots clustered together like a carrot cake. Since the initial name matched the letter sketches well, I ended up using "Carrot Cake" for the font name.

Q. What are the key features of "HNT Carrot Cake"?

Since "Carrot Cake" was made aimed at mobile use, its charm really comes through at small sizes. I felt having weight variants would make it more versatile beyond just mobile though. I thought a bolder version could give an even cuter vibe than the light version. So I'm working hard on releasing "Carrot Cake" with two styles - Bold and Regular. My goal is to finish the Bold this year for release. Please look forward to it!

Q. So the Bold version is coming out this year too, exciting! You'll be releasing it on SandollCloud as well right?

Of course I'll release it on SandollCloud!

Q. What area did you focus on the most when designing the letterforms?

The toughest part was definitely establishing the initial impression for "Carrot Cake". I think for fonts, the impression from the combination of letters into words, sentences and paragraphs is more important than the individual strokes. So as I worked, I imagined what kind of mood and situations people would use this font in, what feelings it would evoke.
More specifically, as mentioned earlier, I put a lot of thought into what kind of mood mobile users would want to use this font for. I tried to imbue it with a cute and bright vibe. I enlarged the initial consonants over the vowels to create a cuter look. I elongated the first vertical stroke of ㅐ and ㅔ to give an unexpected quirky feel. If you look closely at consonants like ㄱ, ㄷ, ㄹ, the vertical strokes are tilted to create a swaying rhythmic impression. I also set fluid stroke widths fitting the letter-spacing to avoid an overly cramped look and give a sense of spaciousness and stability.

Q. How would you recommend using "HNT Carrot Cake"?

First, I highly recommend it for font customization and decorative text!
Second, it would be perfect for YouTube or broadcast captions. Once weight variants are derived, the versatility will increase even more.

Q. Could you also introduce some of your other fonts?

I'd like to introduce "HNT Study Genius" that I'm releasing on SandollCloud this time. I put a lot of affection into making this font with the diligence of studying hard. You can feel a soft rhythmic flow from the rounded stroke corners, and it has a stable structure providing good legibility. I think it would be great for writing by hand!

Part 2. Designer's Thoughts

Q. Thank you for sharing the story of "HNT Carrot Cake". I'd also like to hear your personal thoughts as a designer. What makes a good font?

Initially when making fonts, I thought a good font was one designed precisely for a specific medium like publishing, web, or video. When the font's intended purpose and the mediums people used it for aligned perfectly. Rather than calling it a 'good font', it's more accurate to say it was 'appropriately used'. But now my thinking has expanded a bit. The original intent is important, but I feel if a font can be helpful for the design work of those using it, then that font benefits everyone and can be considered a good font.

Q. If it helps the work of those using it, then any font can be a good one! That's a great point. In that case, what does it take to become a font designer? If you could give fellow and junior designers a word of advice?

These days, even if not through a university, you can readily access font design classes online or offline platforms. You can try making your own font or lettering pieces and potentially join a font company. By using platforms for independent designers like SandollCloud, you can become a font designer anytime. 🙂

Q. Is there anything you hope for as a font designer?

I want to make fonts even better! Haha.
I think the more diverse quality fonts are released, the more naturally the user base for fonts will grow.

Q. Could you share any upcoming font release plans?

I'm working on the Bold version of "HNT Carrot Cake". My goal is to complete and release it well this year.

SandollCloud Release

Q. Why did you choose to release on SandollCloud, and a few words on your impression?

I thought enabling individuals to create and sell fonts would only be possible 10 years from now, but when SandollCloud said I could join as an "independent designer", I had no reason not to. I wanted to join as soon as possible, so I was able to complete the Happy New Type fonts faster than planned!

Q. A word for the users expecting your font on Sandoll?

Future customers, welcome! 🙂