Insight
「SD Danpyeonseon Dodum」, a casual-looking font that makes typesetting easy
Introduction
Following the release of 「Sandoll Danpyeonseon Batang」 in January 2020, 「SD Danpyeonseon Dodum」 was finally released in June 2023. 「Danpyeonseon Batang」 is a font frequently encountered in bookstores. More precisely, it can be described as a body text font that has been widely embraced in the publishing industry.
The 『SD Danpyeonseon』 series was created with the participation of three designers. Lee Su-hyeon planned the font family and designed 「Danpyeonseon Batang」; Kim Cho-rong refined, developed, and released 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」; and Kim Min-jeong, who authored this article, joins them to share their perspectives.
Words conveyed by Nordic illustrations, Eojjeoda Chaekbang / 「Danpyeonseon Batang」
Q. Please introduce the 『SD Danpyeonseon』 series.
Su-hyeon: The 『SD Danpyeonseon』 series is a body text font family project that began in January 2019. The goal was to broaden the limited range of body text fonts and to create a body text font with a new impression. To plan a differentiated font family, we conducted desk research, and as a result, we identified the most lacking area and set the direction as “a body text family with a casual impression.”
Based on this, the 『SD Danpyeonseon』 series was developed through a refinement process that implements the form and texture of short, solid brush strokes, resulting in a casual impression. The large, straight strokes create a clear and open feel, while the white spaces divided by the black strokes are also relatively large rather than fragmented. This gives a neat atmosphere in typesetting, making it well suited for long-form text.
「Danpyeonseon Dodum」
Q. What was the background behind planning 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」 following 「Danpyeonseon Batang」?
Su-hyeon: I believe that most designers have, at least once, experienced discomfort when mixing batang and dodum fonts due to their stark stylistic differences. This happens because fonts that were planned differently from the outset are used together. The 『SD Danpyeonseon』 series was planned to align with the goal of being an easy-to-use body text font, by including both batang* and dodum** within the same family so they could be used effectively together. Batang and dodum differ only in the characteristics of the tool, while sharing the same structure and width, and were therefore designed to give a consistent impression. As a result, even when designers mix batang and dodum, the typesetting remains natural.
*Batang refers to a category of fonts with buri(serifs). (ex: myeongjo, batang, buri)
**Dodum refers to a Minburi(sans-serif) category of fonts. (ex: gothic, dodum, minburi)
「Danpyeonseon Batang」 and 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」
Q. How does 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」 differ from typical dodum fonts?
Min-jeong: 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」 belongs to the humanist sans category of fonts. Compared to typical dodum fonts, it carries more traces of human handwriting. At first glance, it may feel linear, but on closer inspection, you can see restrained curves. Typical dodum fonts have a well-ordered impression and are easy to use anywhere. At the same time, their broad versatility can make them feel rigid and expressionless.
I think 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」 has a calm, restrained quality, along with a warmth that feels human. Because of this, it has the strength to convey written content more persuasively. As a personal opinion, I think it would work especially well for essays written in a steady, reflective tone, or for lyrical poetry.
Q. What was the production process of 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」 like?
Cho-rong: During the production process, the point we paid the most attention to was ensuring that its impression would not diverge from that of 「Danpyeonseon Batang」. For this reason, 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」 was developed by first adopting the underlying structure of 「Danpyeonseon Batang」, then simplifying the rounded curves and stroke endings of the brush into straighter forms.
「Danpyeonseon Batang」 retains certain characteristics of brush writing, so stroke endings are expressed with slight variations in thickness. When these characteristics were applied directly to 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」, the solid and restrained impression we originally aimed for felt somewhat diminished. Therefore, we carefully adjusted stroke contrast, reducing it compared to 「Danpyeonseon Batang」 so that the texture would appear more even in typesetting. In addition, for the spaces created by removing the serifs, we maintained the same underlying structure while making fine adjustments to character size and stroke length. This was done so that, when 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」 and 「Danpyeonseon Batang」 are used together, they produce a similar gray value.
A comparison image of 「Danpyeonseon Batang」 and 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」
Min-jeong: To expand the range of use for 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」, I worked on deriving 11,172 Hangul characters across two weights. This involved reviewing and revising multiple printed proofs. It was a process that required careful refinement so that the impression and atmosphere of 「Danpyeonseon Batang」 and 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」 would align.
In fact, in addition to the Regular weight released this time, a Bold weight was also planned. However, for the Bold, where strokes are expressed with heavier thickness, additional design adjustments were unavoidable. We felt that forcing production to meet the release schedule would leave something to be desired in terms of quality. Ultimately, with the intention of presenting a better result even if it took more time, we decided to postpone the release of the Bold. While a specific schedule has not yet been set, with your support, it may arrive sooner than expected.
In closing
Min-jeong: As described above, the completed 『SD Danpyeonseon』 series has a casual impression. It is better suited to literature rather than non-fiction, to short stories rather than long works, and to contemporary writing rather than traditional texts. Using 「Danpyeonseon Batang」 and 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」 together in typesetting would be ideal. In particular, while 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」 works well for standard body text, it is also effective when used at slightly larger sizes. For example, I think it works well for sentences that convey a brand’s philosophy, advertising copy that delivers messages effectively, or film subtitles that communicate quiet, everyday emotion. I hope this font will be helpful to many of you and receive much appreciation, and thank you sincerely for taking the time to read this long article.
「Danpyeonseon Dodum」
Insight
「SD Danpyeonseon Dodum」, a casual-looking font that makes typesetting easy
Introduction
Following the release of 「Sandoll Danpyeonseon Batang」 in January 2020, 「SD Danpyeonseon Dodum」 was finally released in June 2023. 「Danpyeonseon Batang」 is a font frequently encountered in bookstores. More precisely, it can be described as a body text font that has been widely embraced in the publishing industry.
The 『SD Danpyeonseon』 series was created with the participation of three designers. Lee Su-hyeon planned the font family and designed 「Danpyeonseon Batang」; Kim Cho-rong refined, developed, and released 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」; and Kim Min-jeong, who authored this article, joins them to share their perspectives.
Words conveyed by Nordic illustrations, Eojjeoda Chaekbang / 「Danpyeonseon Batang」
Q. Please introduce the 『SD Danpyeonseon』 series.
Su-hyeon: The 『SD Danpyeonseon』 series is a body text font family project that began in January 2019. The goal was to broaden the limited range of body text fonts and to create a body text font with a new impression. To plan a differentiated font family, we conducted desk research, and as a result, we identified the most lacking area and set the direction as “a body text family with a casual impression.”
Based on this, the 『SD Danpyeonseon』 series was developed through a refinement process that implements the form and texture of short, solid brush strokes, resulting in a casual impression. The large, straight strokes create a clear and open feel, while the white spaces divided by the black strokes are also relatively large rather than fragmented. This gives a neat atmosphere in typesetting, making it well suited for long-form text.
「Danpyeonseon Dodum」
Q. What was the background behind planning 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」 following 「Danpyeonseon Batang」?
Su-hyeon: I believe that most designers have, at least once, experienced discomfort when mixing batang and dodum fonts due to their stark stylistic differences. This happens because fonts that were planned differently from the outset are used together. The 『SD Danpyeonseon』 series was planned to align with the goal of being an easy-to-use body text font, by including both batang* and dodum** within the same family so they could be used effectively together. Batang and dodum differ only in the characteristics of the tool, while sharing the same structure and width, and were therefore designed to give a consistent impression. As a result, even when designers mix batang and dodum, the typesetting remains natural.
*Batang refers to a category of fonts with buri(serifs). (ex: myeongjo, batang, buri)
**Dodum refers to a Minburi(sans-serif) category of fonts. (ex: gothic, dodum, minburi)
Q. How does 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」 differ from typical dodum fonts?
Min-jeong: 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」 belongs to the humanist sans category of fonts. Compared to typical dodum fonts, it carries more traces of human handwriting. At first glance, it may feel linear, but on closer inspection, you can see restrained curves. Typical dodum fonts have a well-ordered impression and are easy to use anywhere. At the same time, their broad versatility can make them feel rigid and expressionless.
I think 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」 has a calm, restrained quality, along with a warmth that feels human. Because of this, it has the strength to convey written content more persuasively. As a personal opinion, I think it would work especially well for essays written in a steady, reflective tone, or for lyrical poetry.
Q. What was the production process of 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」 like?
Cho-rong: During the production process, the point we paid the most attention to was ensuring that its impression would not diverge from that of 「Danpyeonseon Batang」. For this reason, 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」 was developed by first adopting the underlying structure of 「Danpyeonseon Batang」, then simplifying the rounded curves and stroke endings of the brush into straighter forms.
「Danpyeonseon Batang」 retains certain characteristics of brush writing, so stroke endings are expressed with slight variations in thickness. When these characteristics were applied directly to 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」, the solid and restrained impression we originally aimed for felt somewhat diminished. Therefore, we carefully adjusted stroke contrast, reducing it compared to 「Danpyeonseon Batang」 so that the texture would appear more even in typesetting. In addition, for the spaces created by removing the serifs, we maintained the same underlying structure while making fine adjustments to character size and stroke length. This was done so that, when 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」 and 「Danpyeonseon Batang」 are used together, they produce a similar gray value.
Min-jeong: To expand the range of use for 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」, I worked on deriving 11,172 Hangul characters across two weights. This involved reviewing and revising multiple printed proofs. It was a process that required careful refinement so that the impression and atmosphere of 「Danpyeonseon Batang」 and 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」 would align.
In fact, in addition to the Regular weight released this time, a Bold weight was also planned. However, for the Bold, where strokes are expressed with heavier thickness, additional design adjustments were unavoidable. We felt that forcing production to meet the release schedule would leave something to be desired in terms of quality. Ultimately, with the intention of presenting a better result even if it took more time, we decided to postpone the release of the Bold. While a specific schedule has not yet been set, with your support, it may arrive sooner than expected.
In closing
Min-jeong: As described above, the completed 『SD Danpyeonseon』 series has a casual impression. It is better suited to literature rather than non-fiction, to short stories rather than long works, and to contemporary writing rather than traditional texts. Using 「Danpyeonseon Batang」 and 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」 together in typesetting would be ideal. In particular, while 「Danpyeonseon Dodum」 works well for standard body text, it is also effective when used at slightly larger sizes. For example, I think it works well for sentences that convey a brand’s philosophy, advertising copy that delivers messages effectively, or film subtitles that communicate quiet, everyday emotion. I hope this font will be helpful to many of you and receive much appreciation, and thank you sincerely for taking the time to read this long article.
「Danpyeonseon Dodum」