The Irregular Font 「Sandoll Hoyoyo」
Preface
「Sandoll Hoyoyo」 is a title font released by Sandoll in October 2018. It was created with the primary goal of providing font users with new experiences and enjoyment. How did they achieve this goal through the font? Who came up with the name 「Hoyoyo」 and what was their intent? Let's delve into these questions one by one.
Variable Width
To create a font unlike any seen before, 「Hoyoyo」 was designed with highly irregular variable widths. Traditional Hangul fonts often maintain consistent widths across all characters or group similar shapes together with similar widths. In contrast, 「Hoyoyo」 features wildly varying widths for each character, regardless of their structural similarities. Some characters are very wide or narrow, and even characters with similar structures like '미' and '이', '느' and '는' can have completely different widths.
Even when the same characters meet, 「Hoyoyo」 aims to give the impression that they have distinctly different widths mixed in. To achieve this effect, each character has been crafted in two versions, designated as alternate glyphs. This means that when characters like '씩' or '나' repeat, different width characters appear, creating variations like '[씩씩]하게' or '바[나나]'. Currently, 「Hoyoyo」 includes over 200 pairs of alternate glyph combinations.
Have you tried typing with 「Hoyoyo」? Enjoy the unpredictable changes in width from one character to the next. While this feature doesn't enhance readability or serve a functional purpose, it adds an element of fun to convey your message without any special effort.
Chunky Strokes
Due to its unique feature of 'completely irregular variable widths', the overall structure of 「Hoyoyo」 is kept simple. It fills the character space with straight strokes that extend smoothly and uncomplicatedly. However, from a distance, the straight strokes appear to be bordered by gentle curves when viewed up close. This characteristic gives 「Hoyoyo」 a chunky and smooth appearance, allowing it to create a soft and playful atmosphere.
Latin Letters and Characters
To ensure that the fun seen in Hangul can also be felt in Latin characters, 「Hoyoyo」 has been designed with distinct features. Letters like M and W are made very wide, while letters like F and T are intentionally narrow. The bold design of the lowercase g is also a standout feature. Furthermore, typing words like 'BELL' in Latin will show contextual alternates similar to how Korean characters display alternate glyphs in 「Hoyoyo」. Don't forget to use punctuation and special characters that perfectly match the atmosphere of 「Hoyoyo」.
Naming Background
As a font that breaks conventions and forms, we wanted to create a name that was striking and unlike any other. However, "Hoyoyo" was originally just a temporary name written by the designer on a file. How did such a name come about? There's a rumor that another designer working nearby sighed and said "Hoyoyo....", and that's how 「Hoyoyo」 got its name. (Is it really true?)
Although it was spontaneous and initially without any special meaning, many felt that there was no name that suited 「Hoyoyo」 better than "Hoyoyo". When you say it aloud, it's easy to pronounce and quite fun. Try sighing "Hoyoyo...." yourself and see how it sounds!
Expanding 「Hoyoyo」! (Color Fonts, Mobile Fonts, Weight Expansion)
Since its winter release in 2018, 「Hoyoyo」 has garnered much love and has expanded into various formats. It was first released in the form of color fonts*. Each letter features different colors for each phoneme, with additional random colors added to overlapping strokes. This unique feature allows for creating a distinctive atmosphere with six color combinations, without needing additional effects. It resembles a mosaic or patchwork, enhancing the dense strokes of 「Hoyoyo」.
*Color fonts include color data along with the shape of the characters, allowing them to be displayed with colors and textures applied without further modifications.
「Hoyoyo」has expanded into the realm of mobile fonts, making it usable within smartphones and messaging apps. All 11,172 modern Hangul syllables have been created so that any conversation can be conducted using 「Hoyoyo」. Currently, responding to the need for various thicknesses of 「Hoyoyo」, weight expansion is underway.
Conclusion
With its introduction featuring unprecedented characteristics, 「Hoyoyo」 was met with both expectations and concerns about its reception. Fortunately (or unfortunately?), you can now find 「Hoyoyo」 being used safely in various places. Moreover, by establishing irregular and diverse letter widths within a single font as a distinctive style, 「Hoyoyo」 has played a significant role in paving the way for a variety of Hangul fonts to enter the world!
Written by: Sandoll Product Planning Team, Park Boomi