Insight ∙ Original Font
「Sandoll Nunsol」 Returns with a Weight Expansion After Four Years
In January 2021, the Product Planning Team conducted a user survey* via Sandoll Cloud, targeting users who work with Sandoll fonts. The survey included a range of questions covering user experience on Sandoll Cloud and font usability, and a total of 306 participants took part, providing statistically meaningful data. Among the questions was: “Which previously released Sandoll font would you most like to see expanded through an update?” At the time, the team was considering expansion updates—such as Hangul expansion, weight expansion, and style expansion—to improve the usability of existing fonts, and included this question to hear directly from users. 「Sandoll Nunsol」 ranked fifth overall**, allowing the team to clearly identify user demand. Since expansion updates for the 「Sandoll Gyeokdong series」, 「Sandoll Jeongche」, and「 Sandoll Hoyoyo」 were already planned, this result became the deciding factor in moving forward with the expansion update for 「Sandoll Nunsol」.
*“Sandoll City Sans” beta test survey (2021)
** From first place onward: 「Sandoll Gyeokdong Gulim」 (31.7%), 「Sandoll Jeongche」 (18%), 「Sandoll Gyeokdong Myeongjo」 (16%), 「Sandoll Hoyoyo」 (15.7%), 「Sandoll Nunsol」 (7.5%)…
In fact, 「Sandoll Nunsol」 was originally designed as a three-weight family from the very beginning of the planning stage. Due to limitations at the time of release, only the Bold weight was commercialized first, leaving some regret. The reason it had long been distributed as “03 Bold”** despite being a single weight was that Thin and Regular had already been included in the original plan. For this reason, the 「Sandoll Nunsol」 expansion project was carried out strictly based on the original designer’s intent. To mark the completion of the long-missing pieces of the puzzle, we sat down with the original designer, Kim Jinhee, to talk about Nunsol.
*As of January 2023, prior to the release of the 「Sandoll Nunsol」 weight expansion
『Samgang Haengsil do Eonhae』
『Oryun Haengsil-do』 manuscript copy
Q. Before starting the expansion project, we reviewed the original planning documents for 「Sandoll Nunsol」 that remained within Sandoll, and confirmed that 「Sandoll Nunsol」 was based on the vernacular edition of 『Oryun Haengsil-do』. Could you describe your experience reinterpreting the original letterforms in a contemporary context?
A. I approached the work with uniformity as the most fundamental condition. I unified the forms of stroke beginnings and endings, organized strokes, modules, and line flow to be consistent, and eliminated brush shading so that stroke thickness would be even throughout. In the original source, the side stem of mixed-jamo forms can be seen positioned above the connecting stem. Since this can feel somewhat awkward in a contemporary context, I moved it below the connecting stem to create a more natural impression.
Some of the subtle characteristics visible in the original also felt excessive when translated into the medium of type, so certain elements were reinterpreted. One example is the form where vertical stems and final consonant strokes are joined. In the original, due to the natural flow of handwriting, the end of the stem and the final consonant stroke are either connected or placed very close together. In the early stages, 「Sandoll Nunsol」 also followed this approach, but because this impression stood out too strongly in horizontal combinations, I revised the design so that they are separated while remaining as visually close as possible. Another element that was reinterpreted is the circular construction of the jamo ‘ㅇ’ and ‘ㅎ’ in the original. While perfectly circular forms may work well in simpler characters, when applied to more complex syllables they create disproportionate size contrasts. I felt this would undermine the overall uniformity that defines 「Sandoll Nunsol」, so these forms were slightly compressed.
Q. The solid yet even strokes, reminiscent of 『Oryun Haengsil-do』, are striking. They seem to have a strong influence on the overall page impression.
A. Among Myeongjo-type typefaces, 「Sandoll Nunsol」 is set with relatively wide vertical combinations, and the final consonant strokes also have generous proportions. This results in tighter white space, giving it a more solid appearance. In addition, the serifs and connecting strokes are drawn straight and upright to enhance a sense of firmness. All of these elements come together to create an impression that feels solid, sturdy, and comfortable.
Q. We’re curious about the origin of the name and the reactions around it.
A. In the past, I tended to give names that carried a story within them, but with 「Sandoll Nunsol」 I wanted something more intuitive. So, together with teammates at the time, we looked at the font and worked on naming it. The solid, straight strokes brought pine trees to mind, and since 「Sandoll Nunsol」 was released in January, we combined that seasonal feeling and named it 「Sandoll Nunsol」.
Q. If 「Sandoll Nunsol」 were a person, what kind of personality or appearance would it have?
A. Someone with a generous heart and a modest demeanor. A person with clear convictions, but who doesn’t use them to hurt others. I imagine someone of a certain age with that kind of character.
Q. Could you recommend fonts that work well when mixed with 「Sandoll Nunsol」?
A. I would recommend 「Sandoll Achim」, which belongs to a similar slab-serif category* and has minimal weight contrast, giving it an impression close to Nunsol. It works well when you want to express a different nuance at the same hierarchy level or add a slight emphasis. It also pairs nicely with 「Sandoll Gwanghwamun」, which has thinner strokes than Nunsol.
*One category of Latin fonts, characterized by large, heavy serifs. If you’re curious about what these fonts look like, you can check the linked article.
Q. 「Sandoll Nunsol」 seems to mark an important turning point within Sandoll. From KR1–2 specs to AK-9 specs, from 2,350 to 2,780 characters, and from paths to components. Could you share any notable episodes from the production of 「Sandoll Nunsol」?
A. As you mentioned, 「Sandoll Nunsol」 is a milestone font in two respects.
First,「Sandoll Nunsol」 is the first Sandoll Cloud font to use the newly established AK-9 specification*, replacing the previously used AK 1–2 spec*. There are several differences between AK 1–2 and AK-9, but the most notable is the expansion of the basic Hangul glyph set from 2,350 to 2,780 characters. This made it possible to represent words that could not be displayed before. For example, words like ‘똠양꿍’ could not be used under the previous spec, but became available under the updated standard.
Second, it is the first Sandoll Cloud font created using smart components. Previously, Sandoll produced fonts by drawing each character individually as paths in a program called FontLab. To improve production efficiency, we adopted smart components, which allow similar character groups to share common elements. However, this transition came with some challenges. Since we switched to using smart components after already deriving around 300 characters, learning and applying the method happened simultaneously, which led to several trial-and-error moments.
One more episode worth mentioning is the major revision that took place just before release. While approaches vary by designer, for「Sandoll Nunsol」 we requested proof prints at the final stage and reviewed the typeface on paper. The impression differed significantly from what we had expected, so about a month before release we went through a large-scale revision. Most of the adjustments were related to weight. The strokes felt slightly too heavy for a Myeongjo typeface, clusters formed in double final consonants and in ‘ㅎ’, and the wide diagonal strokes of ‘ㅅ’ and ‘ㅆ’ stood out too strongly in print. As a result, we carried out an overall correction process.
*AK is short for Adobe Korea and refers to the international standard guidelines used when designing Hangul fonts. AK 1–2 was the previously used specification, while AK-9 is a new Hangul standard announced in 2018 after refining and reorganizing the criteria by importance.
Q. It has already been four years since 「Sandoll Nunsol」 was released. Many usage examples have accumulated over time. Are there any cases that stood out to you, or ones you felt were particularly well suited?
A. I found it most interesting when I saw 「Sandoll Nunsol」used on Beksul’s Real Syrup products, such as plum syrup, omija syrup, and lemon syrup. Using a standard Myeongjo would have felt too thin and overly serious, so I imagine they were looking for an alternative and chose 「Sandoll Nunsol」. It was enjoyable to speculate on that reasoning. I also felt especially pleased because earlier I mentioned that 「Sandoll Nunsol」 would pair well with 「Sandoll Gwanghwamun」, and they happened to use them together.
『CJ Beksul Real Omija Syrup』 - Image source: ssg.com
Q. Looking at the many cases where 「Sandoll Nunsol」 has been used over the years, I often found myself thinking, “I really hope more weights get added soon.” Above all, I wanted to see it used in body text. I’d love to hear the original designer’s thoughts on the weight expansion of 「Sandoll Nunsol」.
A. In fact, the weight I wanted to make first from the very beginning was Thin. I felt it suited the name “Nunsol” (a pine tree covered in snow) the best, and I also thought that the thinner the weight, the more its straight, linear character would stand out. Due to various circumstances, I wasn’t able to make it myself at the time, but when I saw the finished result, I felt happy thinking, “I knew my instinct was right!” At the same time, I also thought, “This must have been incredibly difficult.” The thinner the weight, the more attention you’re forced to pay to the letterforms themselves. Shapes that felt less noticeable in heavier weights become much more prominent in thinner ones, so I imagine it must have been challenging to fine-tune and balance those details throughout the design process.
Q. Lastly, could you share a message for those who enjoy and appreciate 「Sandoll Nunsol」 ?
A. Choosing a font also reflects personal taste. So I often think that people who like or use the fonts I’ve designed may share similar interests or sensibilities with me—although the specific points they appreciate can differ from person to person. Thank you for liking 「Sandoll Nunsol」, and I would be grateful if you continue to use it in many different contexts, and above all, in meaningful places for a long time.
「Sandoll Nunsol」 is a quietly strong font—so much so that one out of every two users of Sandoll brand fonts is said to be using it. It may not be flashy, but it carries a steady and solid impression. With its expanded weights designed for broader usability, we look forward to the renewed future of 「Sandoll Nunsol」.
Insight ∙ Original Font
「Sandoll Nunsol」 Returns with a Weight Expansion After Four Years
In January 2021, the Product Planning Team conducted a user survey* via Sandoll Cloud, targeting users who work with Sandoll fonts. The survey included a range of questions covering user experience on Sandoll Cloud and font usability, and a total of 306 participants took part, providing statistically meaningful data. Among the questions was: “Which previously released Sandoll font would you most like to see expanded through an update?” At the time, the team was considering expansion updates—such as Hangul expansion, weight expansion, and style expansion—to improve the usability of existing fonts, and included this question to hear directly from users. 「Sandoll Nunsol」 ranked fifth overall**, allowing the team to clearly identify user demand. Since expansion updates for the 「Sandoll Gyeokdong series」, 「Sandoll Jeongche」, and「 Sandoll Hoyoyo」 were already planned, this result became the deciding factor in moving forward with the expansion update for 「Sandoll Nunsol」.
*“Sandoll City Sans” beta test survey (2021)
** From first place onward: 「Sandoll Gyeokdong Gulim」 (31.7%), 「Sandoll Jeongche」 (18%), 「Sandoll Gyeokdong Myeongjo」 (16%), 「Sandoll Hoyoyo」 (15.7%), 「Sandoll Nunsol」 (7.5%)…
In fact, 「Sandoll Nunsol」 was originally designed as a three-weight family from the very beginning of the planning stage. Due to limitations at the time of release, only the Bold weight was commercialized first, leaving some regret. The reason it had long been distributed as “03 Bold”** despite being a single weight was that Thin and Regular had already been included in the original plan. For this reason, the 「Sandoll Nunsol」 expansion project was carried out strictly based on the original designer’s intent. To mark the completion of the long-missing pieces of the puzzle, we sat down with the original designer, Kim Jinhee, to talk about Nunsol.
*As of January 2023, prior to the release of the 「Sandoll Nunsol」 weight expansion
Q. Before starting the expansion project, we reviewed the original planning documents for 「Sandoll Nunsol」 that remained within Sandoll, and confirmed that 「Sandoll Nunsol」 was based on the vernacular edition of 『Oryun Haengsil-do』. Could you describe your experience reinterpreting the original letterforms in a contemporary context?
A. I approached the work with uniformity as the most fundamental condition. I unified the forms of stroke beginnings and endings, organized strokes, modules, and line flow to be consistent, and eliminated brush shading so that stroke thickness would be even throughout. In the original source, the side stem of mixed-jamo forms can be seen positioned above the connecting stem. Since this can feel somewhat awkward in a contemporary context, I moved it below the connecting stem to create a more natural impression.
Some of the subtle characteristics visible in the original also felt excessive when translated into the medium of type, so certain elements were reinterpreted. One example is the form where vertical stems and final consonant strokes are joined. In the original, due to the natural flow of handwriting, the end of the stem and the final consonant stroke are either connected or placed very close together. In the early stages, 「Sandoll Nunsol」 also followed this approach, but because this impression stood out too strongly in horizontal combinations, I revised the design so that they are separated while remaining as visually close as possible. Another element that was reinterpreted is the circular construction of the jamo ‘ㅇ’ and ‘ㅎ’ in the original. While perfectly circular forms may work well in simpler characters, when applied to more complex syllables they create disproportionate size contrasts. I felt this would undermine the overall uniformity that defines 「Sandoll Nunsol」, so these forms were slightly compressed.
Q. The solid yet even strokes, reminiscent of 『Oryun Haengsil-do』, are striking. They seem to have a strong influence on the overall page impression.
A. Among Myeongjo-type typefaces, 「Sandoll Nunsol」 is set with relatively wide vertical combinations, and the final consonant strokes also have generous proportions. This results in tighter white space, giving it a more solid appearance. In addition, the serifs and connecting strokes are drawn straight and upright to enhance a sense of firmness. All of these elements come together to create an impression that feels solid, sturdy, and comfortable.
Q. We’re curious about the origin of the name and the reactions around it.
A. In the past, I tended to give names that carried a story within them, but with 「Sandoll Nunsol」 I wanted something more intuitive. So, together with teammates at the time, we looked at the font and worked on naming it. The solid, straight strokes brought pine trees to mind, and since 「Sandoll Nunsol」 was released in January, we combined that seasonal feeling and named it 「Sandoll Nunsol」.
Q. If 「Sandoll Nunsol」 were a person, what kind of personality or appearance would it have?
A. Someone with a generous heart and a modest demeanor. A person with clear convictions, but who doesn’t use them to hurt others. I imagine someone of a certain age with that kind of character.
Q. Could you recommend fonts that work well when mixed with 「Sandoll Nunsol」?
A. I would recommend 「Sandoll Achim」, which belongs to a similar slab-serif category* and has minimal weight contrast, giving it an impression close to Nunsol. It works well when you want to express a different nuance at the same hierarchy level or add a slight emphasis. It also pairs nicely with 「Sandoll Gwanghwamun」, which has thinner strokes than Nunsol.
*One category of Latin fonts, characterized by large, heavy serifs. If you’re curious about what these fonts look like, you can check the linked article.
Q. 「Sandoll Nunsol」 seems to mark an important turning point within Sandoll. From KR1–2 specs to AK-9 specs, from 2,350 to 2,780 characters, and from paths to components. Could you share any notable episodes from the production of 「Sandoll Nunsol」?
A. As you mentioned, 「Sandoll Nunsol」 is a milestone font in two respects.
First,「Sandoll Nunsol」 is the first Sandoll Cloud font to use the newly established AK-9 specification*, replacing the previously used AK 1–2 spec*. There are several differences between AK 1–2 and AK-9, but the most notable is the expansion of the basic Hangul glyph set from 2,350 to 2,780 characters. This made it possible to represent words that could not be displayed before. For example, words like ‘똠양꿍’ could not be used under the previous spec, but became available under the updated standard.
Second, it is the first Sandoll Cloud font created using smart components. Previously, Sandoll produced fonts by drawing each character individually as paths in a program called FontLab. To improve production efficiency, we adopted smart components, which allow similar character groups to share common elements. However, this transition came with some challenges. Since we switched to using smart components after already deriving around 300 characters, learning and applying the method happened simultaneously, which led to several trial-and-error moments.
One more episode worth mentioning is the major revision that took place just before release. While approaches vary by designer, for「Sandoll Nunsol」 we requested proof prints at the final stage and reviewed the typeface on paper. The impression differed significantly from what we had expected, so about a month before release we went through a large-scale revision. Most of the adjustments were related to weight. The strokes felt slightly too heavy for a Myeongjo typeface, clusters formed in double final consonants and in ‘ㅎ’, and the wide diagonal strokes of ‘ㅅ’ and ‘ㅆ’ stood out too strongly in print. As a result, we carried out an overall correction process.
*AK is short for Adobe Korea and refers to the international standard guidelines used when designing Hangul fonts. AK 1–2 was the previously used specification, while AK-9 is a new Hangul standard announced in 2018 after refining and reorganizing the criteria by importance.
Q. It has already been four years since 「Sandoll Nunsol」 was released. Many usage examples have accumulated over time. Are there any cases that stood out to you, or ones you felt were particularly well suited?
A. I found it most interesting when I saw 「Sandoll Nunsol」used on Beksul’s Real Syrup products, such as plum syrup, omija syrup, and lemon syrup. Using a standard Myeongjo would have felt too thin and overly serious, so I imagine they were looking for an alternative and chose 「Sandoll Nunsol」. It was enjoyable to speculate on that reasoning. I also felt especially pleased because earlier I mentioned that 「Sandoll Nunsol」 would pair well with 「Sandoll Gwanghwamun」, and they happened to use them together.
『CJ Beksul Real Omija Syrup』 - Image source: ssg.com
Q. Looking at the many cases where 「Sandoll Nunsol」 has been used over the years, I often found myself thinking, “I really hope more weights get added soon.” Above all, I wanted to see it used in body text. I’d love to hear the original designer’s thoughts on the weight expansion of 「Sandoll Nunsol」.
A. In fact, the weight I wanted to make first from the very beginning was Thin. I felt it suited the name “Nunsol” (a pine tree covered in snow) the best, and I also thought that the thinner the weight, the more its straight, linear character would stand out. Due to various circumstances, I wasn’t able to make it myself at the time, but when I saw the finished result, I felt happy thinking, “I knew my instinct was right!” At the same time, I also thought, “This must have been incredibly difficult.” The thinner the weight, the more attention you’re forced to pay to the letterforms themselves. Shapes that felt less noticeable in heavier weights become much more prominent in thinner ones, so I imagine it must have been challenging to fine-tune and balance those details throughout the design process.
Q. Lastly, could you share a message for those who enjoy and appreciate 「Sandoll Nunsol」 ?
A. Choosing a font also reflects personal taste. So I often think that people who like or use the fonts I’ve designed may share similar interests or sensibilities with me—although the specific points they appreciate can differ from person to person. Thank you for liking 「Sandoll Nunsol」, and I would be grateful if you continue to use it in many different contexts, and above all, in meaningful places for a long time.
「Sandoll Nunsol」 is a quietly strong font—so much so that one out of every two users of Sandoll brand fonts is said to be using it. It may not be flashy, but it carries a steady and solid impression. With its expanded weights designed for broader usability, we look forward to the renewed future of 「Sandoll Nunsol」.