A Type Designer’s Overseas Travel Diary
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With the skies reopening gradually due to the end of the pandemic, many people are starting to travel abroad again. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of traveling abroad? Delicious food, famous tourist spots, exotic buildings, and unique experiences… My cousin, who is a chef, can recite the representative dishes of each country as soon as the country’s name is mentioned. In contrast, as a type designer, I have a peculiar habit of thinking first about what language and script a country uses. I believe that language embodies the soul of each nation, and typography, which includes the script, reflects the nation’s history and culture. This summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to work abroad for a month, and I would like to share with you the streets and typography of Singapore, China, and Taiwan from the perspective of a type designer.
Airport
The first place you arrive at when traveling abroad is the airport, so let’s take a look at the airport signage. Airports are typographically interesting spaces. They are vast areas where people of various ages and nationalities move in different directions, making it crucial to have large, clear, and straightforward signs to guide everyone without confusion. From legible letters and layouts to clear pictograms that can be understood without knowing the language, observing the signs in airports can make the long journey from the plane to the arrival hall less tedious.
Airport signage typically includes a few key elements: (1) the official language(s) of the country, (2) English as the international common language, (3) intuitive pictograms, and (4) arrows, all working together. Let’s explore the differences in airport signage in various countries with this formula in mind.
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Korea - Incheon International Airport
Incheon International Airport in Korea uses a dedicated font for its Korean text. The rounded “ㅇ” (ieung), symmetrical “ㅅ” (siot), and the full-looking characters somewhat resemble the original appearance of Hangul in the Hunminjeongeum script. What do you think of this design?
In addition to Korean and English, signs at Incheon Airport also often include Chinese and Japanese, catering to the many visitors from these countries. This shows how the languages of frequent travelers to a particular airport are incorporated into the signage.
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Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Next, we have Kuala Lumpur Airport in Malaysia. I passed through Malaysia for a layover on my way to Singapore and noticed some interesting features. The signage prominently displays Malay, the official language, with English in smaller text. To help passengers distinguish between transit and arrival areas, transit signs are in green and arrival signs are in yellow, while facilities used by both groups, like restrooms and public phones, are indicated in white.
Given that 70% of Malaysia’s population is Muslim, the airport also includes prayer rooms known as “Surau.” You can see these Surau throughout Kuala Lumpur Airport, usually near restrooms and marked in a different color than the restroom signs. The distinct appearance of Surau signage makes it easily recognizable.
"Surau" signage in Kuala Lumpur International Airport
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Singapore - Changi International Airport
Yay! I arrived at my first destination, Singapore. What kind of signs await at Changi International Airport? Singapore is a melting pot of races, cultures, and religions, with Chinese, Malay, Indian, Peranakan, Armenian, Jewish, and Arab communities, among others. Thus, the official languages are English, Malay, Standard Chinese, and Tamil. The signage prominently features English, the primary language, with Chinese, Malay, Tamil, and Japanese listed sequentially from top to bottom on the right side. The harmony of these diverse scripts mirrors Singapore’s multicultural essence.
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China - Shanghai Pudong International Airport
Next, let’s move on to Shanghai Pudong International Airport in China. Mainland China uses Simplified Chinese characters. Simplified Chinese refers to the characters that have been modified for simplicity in form. These characters are different from the Traditional Chinese characters used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.
The signage in China features both Chinese and English. Both the Simplified Chinese characters and the English text are in sans-serif fonts, which lack protruding elements at the ends of the strokes.
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Taiwan - Taoyuan International Airport
Lastly, let’s visit Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan, where Traditional Chinese characters are used. Typically, public facility signage uses sans-serif fonts for all languages, but in Taiwan’s airport, English is in a sans-serif font while Chinese is in a serif font. I am curious about the reason behind this choice. If anyone knows, please feel free to share the information.
Public Transportation Signage
Leaving the airport, let’s explore the public transportation system. The signage in public transportation, used by people of all ages, must be clear and concise. Additionally, these places often display various advertisements due to the high volume of users.
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Singapore
Public facilities often feature sans-serif fonts like Universe or Helvetica, which lack distinctive features. However, Singapore's buses ans subways have a slightly different look. The vertical strokes are softly cut at an angle, giving a gentle impression. Perhaps it's because Singapore is a country rich in plants, and the cut strokes resemble leaves growing between the letters.
Rochor Rd. Bus stop.
A movie advertisement for at the Bus stop
Just like in the airport, you can see multilingual signs in the subway.
Botanic Gardens station written in four languages -
China
Let's move on to a subway statioin in Shanghai. Shanghai subway stations are enormous, requiring about 10 minutes of walking for transfers, so large signage is essential.
Entrance 19 at People's Square Station, a busy location in Shanghai
A bus stop in Suzhou. Bus stops near bustling streets or historical sites have a more traditional feel, while regular bus stops look simpler.
Shuangta Station, written in the clerical script from the Jin Dynasty period
A no-standing area inside a Suzhou bus. The spacing between "S" and "T", "A" and "R" is noticeably larger than other letters.
A bus stop in Hangzhou promoting the Asian Games to be held in September. -
Taiwan
Just like at Taoyuan Airport, Traditional Chinese characters are written in serif style, while English is in a sans-serif fonts with varying stroke widths. Even though they use the same characters, the signage in Taiwan has a different feel from China's.
Exit 1 at Ximen Station
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station on the Red Line. Stations freuented by international tourists also have signs in Korean.
A bus stop with an electronic ink display showing real-time bus arrival times.
A bus advertisement for the movie . The Taiwanese title is 不可能的任务(Impossible Task).
Street Signs
Now let's get off the bus and take a look around the streets. Have you ever paid close attention to the letters you see while walking down the street? If you appreciate the form of the letters themselves rather than their content, you might find that the signs you see everyday take on a new appearance.
Multilingual signage in Singapore. Typically, signage features one language prominently, with other languages written smaller as translations. However, in Singapore, where there are four official languages, it's common to see all languages presented in the same size.
A mobile phone shop in Little India, Singapore. The sign features Tamil on the left side and English on the right side.
A sign in Singapore’s Chinatown. Below the English sign, there is a Chinese sign of the same size.
Multilingual warning signs seen throughout Singapore.
Left: A Barbie movie poster in China. Right: A Barbie bus advertisement in Taiwan. The design of the characters for 芭比 (Barbie) differs between the two.
A clothing store in Shanghai. The sign reads “hot wind,” a literal translation of 热风 (rèfēng), which means “hot wind.”
A shop in Suzhou that sells mung bean soup. The sign, shaped like a mung bean, is quite striking.
A sign for a small shop in Taiwan. The shop is named 慢慢看 (màn màn kàn), which means “Take your time to look around.”
A structure located at a tourist site in Shanghai.
One of the major attractions of traveling through Chinese-speaking countries is the abundance of calligraphy-based Chinese characters on shop signs and public facilities. Compared to train station signs and shop signs in Korea, the passionate use of calligraphy in the Chinese-speaking world always strikes me as fascinating.
In Hangzhou, I had the opportunity to meet Zheng Chaoyang, a Chinese type designer and the head of Malika Type(Link). I asked him about this, and he explained that the Chinese people find the shapes of Chinese characters written with a brush to be traditional and stylish. This is why such styles are still widely used in signs and signage. Every time I see the bold, sweeping strokes of Chinese characters, I can’t help but agree with Chaoyang’s words. He also mentioned that brush script signage is more commonly found in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau than in mainland China. Indeed, when I visited Taiwan, I encountered even more examples of calligraphy than in China.
Here are some station signs from China and Taiwan. From top to bottom: Shanghai Station, East Hangzhou Station, Suzhou Station, and Taipei Main Station.
Signs in Singapore. Only the Chinese text is written in calligraphy.
The sign for the Oriental Pearl Tower (東方明珠), a landmark in Shanghai. The Chinese characters are written in semi-cursive script (行書), with some strokes omitted for a flowing appearance.
Signs of shopping malls in the central district of Shanghai.
Signs in Taipei.
An old oyster omelette shop at Ningxia Night Market in Taipei.
While wandering aimlessly down unfamiliar streets, you may come across unique warning signs that don’t exist in Korea, often bringing a smile to your face.
In Singapore, there’s a warning sign that reads, “A moment of anger can lead to a lifetime of regret.”
A warning sign in the Singapore MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) system prohibiting durians.
A warning sign in Taiwan cautioning against falling coconuts.
Korean Characters
When you come across Hangul (Korean script) amidst unfamiliar foreign languages overseas, it feels as welcoming as meeting a fellow Korean. Sometimes, you might see Korean that was clearly translated by a machine, providing a bit of amusement. Each time I encounter Hangul, I ponder what kind of image it projects to foreigners and why certain fonts were chosen. Reflecting on these questions, I often find myself standing in front of the text for quite a while.
A Samsung Galaxy Flip advertisement in a shopping mall in Singapore.
A North Korean-style restaurant in Shanghai.
The site of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai.
Korean seen at a tourist site in Suzhou.
A ticket vending machine at the National Palace Museum in Taiwan. The language options include Chinese, English, Japanese, and… Korean.
In Conclusion
When traveling abroad, encountering foreign languages that you cannot read or understand can sometimes feel overwhelming and frustrating. Instead of constantly worrying about getting lost and staring intently at Google Maps, take a moment to look up and leisurely observe your surroundings. We can encounter a new world by simply observing the shapes of letters without needing to read or comprehend them. Sometimes, unfamiliar characters seen on ordinary streets can reveal more about a country than famous tourist attractions. It’s okay to get lost; it will eventually become a delightful memory of your journey.
Author: Kim Yona, Sandoll Type Design Team