Sandoll Inside
Type eXperience Designer: Providing Diverse Experiences Through Letters
The year 2024 will be a meaningful one for Sandoll. It marks 40 years since the company’s founding and the 10th anniversary of the launch of SandollCloud, its font subscription service. One reason Sandoll has been able to sustain itself for 40 years, I believe, is its affection for “fonts.” This likely stems from a shared belief among its members that fonts can serve as a driving force for delivering positive influence to individuals, communities, and ultimately the world.
Over a long period of time, the Korean font market has continued to evolve. Along with this, the scope of activity for font designers has also expanded. It feels as though the boundaries of work are gradually being dismantled and extended. At Sandoll, there are designers working across a wide range of areas. I would like to talk about how designers of various types work, and the roles they play in different domains.
*From this point onward, terms such as type, font, glyph, and letter will be unified under the term “font.”
Introduction
I think it makes sense to begin with my own story. I joined Sandoll in 2019 as a font designer. At the time, Sandoll was strengthening its role as a “platform” by carrying out major initiatives such as the [Font Usage Scope Integration Campaign] and [Free Font Services]. As a result, font designers were directly communicating with various font brands and took on additional roles similar to curators or MDs, managing new fonts and planned products. At first, I could not help but ask myself, “Why do I, a font designer, have to do this kind of work as well?” To be frank, I often experienced a sense of disillusionment. I thought, “Isn’t it enough for a font designer to simply make fonts well?”
At the same time, however, I found myself asking, “How can more people use fonts more easily?” Amid these questions and dilemmas, I eventually came to believe that beyond simply making good fonts, it is also meaningful to introduce fonts in an accessible way and convey differentiated stories that incorporate a designer’s perspective. When I first learned design, I was taught that one should be able to define who they are. I would like to describe what I do as “someone who enables people to experience a wide variety of fonts.” To achieve this, one might directly create fonts, or work together with brands on the platform to solve diverse problems. Or, as I do now, one might meet corporate clients within the type design group, introduce fonts, and work to create points of collaboration.
Changes in the Font Market
As mentioned earlier, the primary reason the role of font designers has expanded is that the font market itself continues to change. The first major change is the launch of font cloud services. Moving away from the traditional method of downloading fonts (via CDs, disks, and so on), *the way fonts are used—and the experience of using them—has changed completely.
*In the past, the download-based approach familiar to many users suffered from severe issues of font piracy and the inconvenience of having to download fonts repeatedly on each PC. Beginning in 2014 with the launch of the font cloud service SandollCloud, font piracy was prevented, and users gained the ability to use fonts easily and reasonably whenever needed.
The second change is that users now require integrated fonts that include not only CJK but also languages from various minority cultures. Through the IBM project, Sandoll acquired know-how for efficiently producing CJK fonts from a unified visual perspective. Beyond that, it expanded its network for both design and technical collaboration by working with designers from various language regions.
In addition, changes in the IT industry—most notably the emergence of AI—are also expected to have a major impact on the font industry. New technologies are appearing that enable fonts to be handled more quickly and accurately, and these may drastically reshape the industry.
As markets expand or change, it is natural for a variety of roles to emerge. What I want to focus on is the font designer who responds to these changes by naturally redefining and expanding themselves.
How Do Font Designers Work?
I felt that I should meet designers within the company who may have grappled with similar concerns to mine. I wanted to hear their stories directly and empathize with them firsthand. I met with three font designers and conducted light interviews. I asked them whether they had experienced confusion about their identity, their views on the expanding role of font designers, and what they see as the future role of font designers.
[Type 1. From Font Design to Content Planning]
Q. Hello, Minjeong PD. Could you briefly introduce yourself?
A. I am Kim Minjeong, a font designer in my fourth year at Sandoll. I joined as a font designer in 2019, and I have done quite a lot of work that font designers typically would not do.
I met Minjeong PD in the meeting room “Moon (Dal).”
Q. You are currently on the SandollCloud team, and I understand you have handled a variety of tasks in the past. Could you describe what kinds of work you have done?
A. After joining, I spent about a year making fonts, and as the mobile market expanded, I took on mobile product planning. Once I became responsible, I naturally handled mobile app planning and platform operations. I also participated in planning for brand management and administrative pages needed for the mobile app. Around that time, many brands began joining SandollCloud, and the products being sold were reorganized or newly established, so almost everything changed—from brand management and product registration to sales and settlement. After going through that whirlwind period, I am now part of the Planning Operations Team’s Font Design Part, working diligently on Sandoll fonts and mobile fonts for SandollCloud.
Q. From font design to service planning and back to the font design team—you seem to have undergone the biggest changes over four years. I am curious about how you approached your work.
A. Taking charge of mobile was largely due to circumstances. The company needed someone for mobile, and I happened to have some interest, so I took on the role. As a result, I became someone within the company who understood mobile flows well, eventually joining the service planning team as the mobile app manager. For planning tasks, I asked many questions of planners on the team and received a great deal of help through collaboration.
I believe it was last year or the year before when we were on the same team, Seongwoo PD. Time passed incredibly fast. Looking at the timeline, the Platform Business Team was established in November 2021, Sandoll’s website underwent a major overhaul in March 2022 along with its admin page, and the mobile app launched in September 2022. So much happened in such a short time.
Q. You also became the team lead of the newly established content planning team within the Platform Business Team.
A. When I first received the offer, I declined. Honestly, until the very end. There were others who could have done better, and I felt burdened. Once I became a team lead, the sense of responsibility for team members weighed heavily on me, and perhaps because of that, I had no choice but to proactively find work to do. I felt I needed to guide the team in a positive direction—understanding what team members wanted to do and helping align that with the team’s direction, while considering how to maximize team chemistry.
Q. Working in a planning team means collaborating with people who are not font designers. You became someone who had to lead projects from a font expert’s perspective. Did this change raise concerns about your identity?
A. I struggled greatly with questions of identity as a font designer when my team and role changed. I thought, “I am a font designer, but I am doing other work,” and felt as though I did not truly belong anywhere. Was I a planner, an operator, or a designer? This uncertainty caused anxiety, and the concern lasted longer than expected. It was also difficult to describe what I did to others. I worried about how to define myself and how others might define me. Letting go of font design also felt like I was missing out on trends and issues. Being in an ambiguous position was the hardest part.
At the same time, I think such changes were possible because I was part of Sandoll as an organization, and because of the nature of fonts themselves. Fonts are the company’s core ROI, and I believe someone who has actually drawn fonts understands them best. Font design is not positioned at the center of the broader design scene, nor is it necessarily a mega trend. As a result, unless one is a font designer, it is hard to truly understand fonts. Font designers naturally absorb information about fonts, but without that background, most people do not develop such deep interest. That is why I believe font designers understand fonts best.
Secondly, whether it is platform operations, brand communication, or product planning and curation at a font company, one ultimately needs to understand the font itself most deeply. There are areas where font designers are clearly best suited. Within the company, font designers may be the most readily deployable resources and capable of generating maximum efficiency and impact, making it effective to nurture them. Ultimately, I think these practical changes have broadened what font designers can do.
Kim Minjeong PD passed through teams such as mobile planning and content planning, and is now back to font design.
Q. Although the shift began due to external circumstances and market changes, ultimately we believed this would enable us to perform better. Would you call this an identity shift? If so, what do you think the future role of font designers will be?
A. If what I mentioned earlier focused on environmental changes, I think individual choices by font designers are also important. When tasks like planning or operations are suddenly assigned, whether one finds them interesting matters greatly.
Both you and I were able to do this kind of work because we were interested in things beyond fonts, using fonts as a medium. In the end, I believe one defines their own identity and uniqueness. We set the limits of our roles ourselves. While energy and focus may be more dispersed than when doing only font design, looking at fonts from different perspectives can definitely create synergy. I want to develop multiple “weapons” based on fonts, almost like a hybrid. It is challenging, but possible. I hope others will find the courage to try.
[Type 2. A Designer Becomes Head of a Business Team]
Q. Minjae PD, could you briefly introduce yourself?
A. I have been doing font design at Sandoll for quite some time—around ten years. Recently, in addition to font design, I have also been handling font consulting. Font consulting involves responding to corporate inquiries about font development, making proposals tailored to their needs, and working together to successfully complete projects. In the past, I found joy and value in focusing on design itself, but recently I have found interest and value in meeting clients and the many people involved with them.
I met Minjae PD in the meeting room “Space (Uju).”
Q. Could you introduce a project that represents you, or one you feel particularly attached to?
A. The first project that comes to mind is 「Ridi Batang」, created for RIDI. It was meaningful because it applied a new approach, departing from my previous design methodologies. Since it was crucial that users of the Ridi Paper read comfortably, we conducted extensive testing and research on small text sizes. The project contributed greatly to both my design skills and personal growth.
The second is the font development for the game Clash of Clans by SUPERCELL. I love games, and as PM for that project, I was particularly interested in the process of localizing a Latin font into Hangul. It was a genuinely joyful experience.
Altogether, I have worked on about 20 custom projects over ten years.
Q. That is an impressive portfolio. After ten years of focusing on font design, a new team was formed and you began leading it. Could you tell us about that process?
A. I should start by explaining the BM position. BM stands for Business Manager. Previously, there was a department dedicated to business, but it was integrated into the type design team, and its work was absorbed into the custom team that manages corporate brand fonts. This was around 2019–2020.
At the time, I was the team lead of the custom team, so business tasks naturally became part of my role. It happened organically—I did not make a deliberate decision to pursue it. Because the work was absorbed, I simply did it, without much time to dwell on identity confusion. I began meeting many clients, working with numbers, preparing estimates, and gradually became more comfortable with them. Fortunately, I found the new tasks enjoyable. I enjoy meeting people, which also means sharing knowledge and information. I discovered that I was happy discussing fonts with clients, listening to their concerns, and making proposals that addressed them.
Q. Whether by choice or circumstance, your role changed in response to the market and company environment. Did you have any concerns during that transition?
A. I mentioned earlier that I did not have time to feel confused, but honestly, there was some discomfort. In the past, I found happiness in sketching and drawing fonts, and as that aspect diminished, it was emotionally difficult. However, as I continued, I discovered new enjoyment and came to feel that a different direction of work could also be fulfilling.
If focusing solely on font design is like digging one deep well, developing a concentrated perspective, then the work I did offered an opportunity to develop a broader perspective grounded in analytical thinking. Viewing fonts, the market, and the industry through multiple lenses allowed me to gain diverse viewpoints. Using fonts as a medium also broadened my understanding of people. Ultimately, both the users of fonts and the participants in projects are people. In that sense, I feel I have become more adept in how I approach people.
Q. Yes, it seems to depend on one’s disposition. Both the artisan-like designer deeply immersed in font design and someone like you, who equips new tools based on fonts, are admirable. I also think such expansion is possible because we are part of Sandoll.
A. I completely agree. Being part of an organization offers experiences that are unique to that context. This is true not only for Sandoll but for any company. Today, hybrid roles require people to adapt to diverse departments and environments, and encountering unfamiliar situations has become inevitable. That is also an advantage of organizational life.
From my perspective, changes in the IT market will affect fonts as well. Across industries, production is becoming simplified, and alternative technologies are emerging—AI being the prime example. We can already create art and music with AI. Font production, particularly the drawing aspect, may soon have alternative technologies. That leads me to think about where I should focus beyond font production itself.
Kang Minjae PD explained that encountering unfamiliar situations is one of the advantages of organizational life.
Q. That’s right. Thank you so much for sharing so many thoughtful insights with us. This will probably be the last question. What kinds of concerns are you thinking about these days? Ultimately, what kind of designer do you want to become?
A. As I mentioned earlier, after spending a long time focused mainly on production-oriented font design, I feel that I’ve grown through these new experiences. At the same time, I’m thinking about where else I can continue to grow. I’m still sketching out a concrete vision. I also hope that junior designers can work happily in a better environment. If someone wants to delve more deeply into font design, I want to help them find happiness along that path; and if another designer wants to equip themselves with a different kind of skill set, I want to share in the joy of walking a new road together. I hope to become a senior designer who helps lay that kind of foundation.
[Type 3. What Is a Designer–Developer]
Q. Hello, Team Lead. Could you briefly introduce yourself?
A. I am Changseop Lim, head of the Type Lab Team within Type Design Group. I am now in my seventh year.
I met Team Lead Lim in the meeting room “Star (Byeol).”
Q. Please introduce your current responsibilities as a team leader.
A. In addition to font design, I am responsible for converting designed fonts into usable and optimized files for devices (generate), as well as conducting font-related research.
Q. I understand that you joined the company as a font designer and began your work with custom projects. Then you moved into a developer + designer role, and later became a team leader when the type technology team was formed. Could you tell us about that journey?
A. In short, it happened partly by choice and partly by circumstance. Even before the type technology team was formed, I had a strong interest in Glyphs (a font production program), and I enjoyed identifying problems by coding on my own whenever errors occurred. Because of that, other font designers often came to me with questions, and I would help answer them. I was also interested in generate work, so I took classes outside the company at a private academy and practiced on my own. During that time, generate responsibilities were transferred to the type design group, and I was offered the team leader position, which I ended up taking. The team’s main role was font generate, and it later expanded to include developing plugins and scripts needed for font production.
Q. It sounds like you already understood your own interests and were preparing through study, and then the team happened to be formed at just the right time. As the company environment changed, you fully stepped onto the path of a developer + font designer. Did you experience any confusion or difficulties during that process?
A. I think those feelings come back periodically. I believe moments like that tend to arise when dissatisfaction builds around one’s work. While I was interested in generate and development tasks, I did not want to give up growth and experience as a designer. However, once I took responsibility for the team, the amount of time I could spend on font design naturally decreased. As that situation continued, there were periods when I thought, “Is this really the right path?” Whenever those doubts came up, I tried to clarify more clearly what my goals were. Since this was, to some extent, a choice I made myself, I spent a lot of time thinking about how the new work I was doing could be applied as experience when viewed from a longer-term perspective.
Q. Then there was another shift in your role. You moved from leading the type technology team to becoming the team leader of the Timelab team, gaining research members in addition to font development, as well as members producing Sandoll Cloud fonts. I see this as forming an expanded sense of identity. How did it feel for you?
A. As the team expanded and I began managing people in earnest, I became involved in research and also took part in producing Sandoll Cloud fonts. Balancing generate, research, and font design work brought a sense of pressure from unfamiliar tasks, and dealing with several very different kinds of work led to some confusion about my identity.
By nature, generate and development work often involves staring at a monitor all day, sometimes without speaking a single word. Research work, on the other hand, mainly involves discussing and coordinating the opinions of many people, which means talking throughout the day. Managing two roles with completely different characteristics caused my emotional tension to rise and fall every day, and there were times when it became exhausting. In particular, I often wondered, “I have never done research before—what kind of help can I actually provide by participating in research?” At that time, I had many conversations with the group leader, working to properly establish the direction of my work and to recalibrate myself. Now, having adapted to these responsibilities to a certain extent and reached a more stable psychological state, I feel that I am able to look at my work more calmly.
Q. Yes, it really does sound like you have come through a long tunnel. On the other hand, since we belong to an organization called Sandoll, changes in work can also lead to changes in identity. With shifts in the market, designers themselves are changing and expanding, and I see you as one of those precedents. How do you see this?
A. I believe there are many positive aspects to the change and expansion of designers. Overseas, there are already many people actively working as both designers and developers. Even the person who developed the Glyphs program is also a designer.
When I first entered the field of font design, however, I felt that the Korean market in particular had very clear boundaries. Font designers were seen as people who only design, while generate or technical development was considered entirely the domain of developers. That distinction felt quite rigid. At the time, I thought such divisions were narrowing the font market. Still, now it seems that more and more attempts to expand in various ways are emerging, whether by choice or by circumstance. From a designer’s perspective, this means having more things one can try and demonstrate, which I see as a positive development.
Q. It seems that both directions for font designers have their own strengths and weaknesses. Focusing deeply on fonts has its own meaning, and attempts at expansion may slightly reduce depth in design but carry a different kind of value. Experiencing diverse environments feels quite important from a designer’s standpoint. I see it as an opportunity.
A. Yes, when looking at the design field as a whole, as AI and new technologies advance, we can increasingly see the possibility that many aspects of design may be replaced. However, because fonts are a one-dimensional form of design, I do not think designers will disappear despite technological progress—especially Hangul font designers. I do not know how far AI will be able to replace human work, but I believe there are many areas within font design that AI cannot cover. Processes such as quality control, or refinements and issue handling based on visual sensitivity, are not things that AI can easily replace.
Im Changseop, Team Leader, said that even as technology advances, there will clearly be forms of font design that AI cannot replace.
Q. Then, is there a particular role that font designers should play?
A. Fonts are like paint within the realm of design. I see the role of a font designer as making that paint produce better colors and blend well wherever it is applied. One possible direction is to elevate the quality of fonts with a craftsman-like approach. I also think it is a good direction to combine fonts with other fields such as development or marketing to create new synergies and generate fresh responses in the market.
In particular, making diverse experiments using fonts is also part of a font designer’s role. At Sandoll as well, even if it is not always visible externally, we are constantly trying new things internally. For example, the “Variable Numbers” project that Sandoll released last year was, in my view, a strong case in which we explored how variable technology could be expanded and proposed those possibilities to users.
Q. I agree. This will probably be my last question on a personal note. What kind of designer do you want to become?
A. About a year and a half ago, I thought I had a clear answer to that. I wanted to establish myself in both fonts and development and become someone who could be active in both areas. But now I am facing a different 고민. Balancing those two turned out to be more difficult than I expected. I also began to think that this alone does not constitute a particularly unique or irreplaceable domain. It made me feel that I might need another kind of strength. I have not yet decided what that might be. At the moment, I am busy adapting to my current responsibilities, and I think once things become more settled, I will start 고민 again at that point.
Closing
At Sandoll, there are font designers throughout the company who are writing their own stories while reflecting on their identities. Of course, there are many colleagues who are specialists handling diverse tasks, but precisely because they are font designers, I believe there are areas where they can engage more delicately and sharply. Whether by choice or by circumstance, adapting oneself to the changes of the times can be confusing and frustrating at times, but I want to draw attention to the many different types of font designers who name their own identities, and I want to cheer for all of us.
I would like to define the font designers working at Sandoll in this way: Type eXperience Designers who provide users with diverse experiences through letters. Ultimately, I think our role lies in scratching the itch for users who do not know how to use fonts, and in guiding, creating, and supporting them so that they can use good fonts.
The word “company” is said to originate from Latin, meaning to share bread (panis) together (cum). From this, I want to focus more on the idea of “together.” People who work in different ways and from different perspectives coming together as one community to think about a better life—perhaps that is where the strength that has sustained Sandoll for 40 years truly comes from.
Sandoll Inside
Type eXperience Designer: Providing Diverse Experiences Through Letters
The year 2024 will be a meaningful one for Sandoll. It marks 40 years since the company’s founding and the 10th anniversary of the launch of SandollCloud, its font subscription service. One reason Sandoll has been able to sustain itself for 40 years, I believe, is its affection for “fonts.” This likely stems from a shared belief among its members that fonts can serve as a driving force for delivering positive influence to individuals, communities, and ultimately the world.
Over a long period of time, the Korean font market has continued to evolve. Along with this, the scope of activity for font designers has also expanded. It feels as though the boundaries of work are gradually being dismantled and extended. At Sandoll, there are designers working across a wide range of areas. I would like to talk about how designers of various types work, and the roles they play in different domains.
*From this point onward, terms such as type, font, glyph, and letter will be unified under the term “font.”
Introduction
I think it makes sense to begin with my own story. I joined Sandoll in 2019 as a font designer. At the time, Sandoll was strengthening its role as a “platform” by carrying out major initiatives such as the [Font Usage Scope Integration Campaign] and [Free Font Services]. As a result, font designers were directly communicating with various font brands and took on additional roles similar to curators or MDs, managing new fonts and planned products. At first, I could not help but ask myself, “Why do I, a font designer, have to do this kind of work as well?” To be frank, I often experienced a sense of disillusionment. I thought, “Isn’t it enough for a font designer to simply make fonts well?”
At the same time, however, I found myself asking, “How can more people use fonts more easily?” Amid these questions and dilemmas, I eventually came to believe that beyond simply making good fonts, it is also meaningful to introduce fonts in an accessible way and convey differentiated stories that incorporate a designer’s perspective. When I first learned design, I was taught that one should be able to define who they are. I would like to describe what I do as “someone who enables people to experience a wide variety of fonts.” To achieve this, one might directly create fonts, or work together with brands on the platform to solve diverse problems. Or, as I do now, one might meet corporate clients within the type design group, introduce fonts, and work to create points of collaboration.
Changes in the Font Market
As mentioned earlier, the primary reason the role of font designers has expanded is that the font market itself continues to change. The first major change is the launch of font cloud services. Moving away from the traditional method of downloading fonts (via CDs, disks, and so on), *the way fonts are used—and the experience of using them—has changed completely.
*In the past, the download-based approach familiar to many users suffered from severe issues of font piracy and the inconvenience of having to download fonts repeatedly on each PC. Beginning in 2014 with the launch of the font cloud service SandollCloud, font piracy was prevented, and users gained the ability to use fonts easily and reasonably whenever needed.
The second change is that users now require integrated fonts that include not only CJK but also languages from various minority cultures. Through the IBM project, Sandoll acquired know-how for efficiently producing CJK fonts from a unified visual perspective. Beyond that, it expanded its network for both design and technical collaboration by working with designers from various language regions.
In addition, changes in the IT industry—most notably the emergence of AI—are also expected to have a major impact on the font industry. New technologies are appearing that enable fonts to be handled more quickly and accurately, and these may drastically reshape the industry.
As markets expand or change, it is natural for a variety of roles to emerge. What I want to focus on is the font designer who responds to these changes by naturally redefining and expanding themselves.
How Do Font Designers Work?
I felt that I should meet designers within the company who may have grappled with similar concerns to mine. I wanted to hear their stories directly and empathize with them firsthand. I met with three font designers and conducted light interviews. I asked them whether they had experienced confusion about their identity, their views on the expanding role of font designers, and what they see as the future role of font designers.
[Type 1. From Font Design to Content Planning]
Q. Hello, Minjeong PD. Could you briefly introduce yourself?
A. I am Kim Minjeong, a font designer in my fourth year at Sandoll. I joined as a font designer in 2019, and I have done quite a lot of work that font designers typically would not do.
I met Minjeong PD in the meeting room “Moon (Dal).”
Q. You are currently on the SandollCloud team, and I understand you have handled a variety of tasks in the past. Could you describe what kinds of work you have done?
A. After joining, I spent about a year making fonts, and as the mobile market expanded, I took on mobile product planning. Once I became responsible, I naturally handled mobile app planning and platform operations. I also participated in planning for brand management and administrative pages needed for the mobile app. Around that time, many brands began joining SandollCloud, and the products being sold were reorganized or newly established, so almost everything changed—from brand management and product registration to sales and settlement. After going through that whirlwind period, I am now part of the Planning Operations Team’s Font Design Part, working diligently on Sandoll fonts and mobile fonts for SandollCloud.
Q. From font design to service planning and back to the font design team—you seem to have undergone the biggest changes over four years. I am curious about how you approached your work.
A. Taking charge of mobile was largely due to circumstances. The company needed someone for mobile, and I happened to have some interest, so I took on the role. As a result, I became someone within the company who understood mobile flows well, eventually joining the service planning team as the mobile app manager. For planning tasks, I asked many questions of planners on the team and received a great deal of help through collaboration.
I believe it was last year or the year before when we were on the same team, Seongwoo PD. Time passed incredibly fast. Looking at the timeline, the Platform Business Team was established in November 2021, Sandoll’s website underwent a major overhaul in March 2022 along with its admin page, and the mobile app launched in September 2022. So much happened in such a short time.
Q. You also became the team lead of the newly established content planning team within the Platform Business Team.
A. When I first received the offer, I declined. Honestly, until the very end. There were others who could have done better, and I felt burdened. Once I became a team lead, the sense of responsibility for team members weighed heavily on me, and perhaps because of that, I had no choice but to proactively find work to do. I felt I needed to guide the team in a positive direction—understanding what team members wanted to do and helping align that with the team’s direction, while considering how to maximize team chemistry.
Q. Working in a planning team means collaborating with people who are not font designers. You became someone who had to lead projects from a font expert’s perspective. Did this change raise concerns about your identity?
A. I struggled greatly with questions of identity as a font designer when my team and role changed. I thought, “I am a font designer, but I am doing other work,” and felt as though I did not truly belong anywhere. Was I a planner, an operator, or a designer? This uncertainty caused anxiety, and the concern lasted longer than expected. It was also difficult to describe what I did to others. I worried about how to define myself and how others might define me. Letting go of font design also felt like I was missing out on trends and issues. Being in an ambiguous position was the hardest part.
At the same time, I think such changes were possible because I was part of Sandoll as an organization, and because of the nature of fonts themselves. Fonts are the company’s core ROI, and I believe someone who has actually drawn fonts understands them best. Font design is not positioned at the center of the broader design scene, nor is it necessarily a mega trend. As a result, unless one is a font designer, it is hard to truly understand fonts. Font designers naturally absorb information about fonts, but without that background, most people do not develop such deep interest. That is why I believe font designers understand fonts best.
Secondly, whether it is platform operations, brand communication, or product planning and curation at a font company, one ultimately needs to understand the font itself most deeply. There are areas where font designers are clearly best suited. Within the company, font designers may be the most readily deployable resources and capable of generating maximum efficiency and impact, making it effective to nurture them. Ultimately, I think these practical changes have broadened what font designers can do.
Q. Although the shift began due to external circumstances and market changes, ultimately we believed this would enable us to perform better. Would you call this an identity shift? If so, what do you think the future role of font designers will be?
A. If what I mentioned earlier focused on environmental changes, I think individual choices by font designers are also important. When tasks like planning or operations are suddenly assigned, whether one finds them interesting matters greatly.
Both you and I were able to do this kind of work because we were interested in things beyond fonts, using fonts as a medium. In the end, I believe one defines their own identity and uniqueness. We set the limits of our roles ourselves. While energy and focus may be more dispersed than when doing only font design, looking at fonts from different perspectives can definitely create synergy. I want to develop multiple “weapons” based on fonts, almost like a hybrid. It is challenging, but possible. I hope others will find the courage to try.
[Type 2. A Designer Becomes Head of a Business Team]
Q. Minjae PD, could you briefly introduce yourself?
A. I have been doing font design at Sandoll for quite some time—around ten years. Recently, in addition to font design, I have also been handling font consulting. Font consulting involves responding to corporate inquiries about font development, making proposals tailored to their needs, and working together to successfully complete projects. In the past, I found joy and value in focusing on design itself, but recently I have found interest and value in meeting clients and the many people involved with them.
Q. Could you introduce a project that represents you, or one you feel particularly attached to?
A. The first project that comes to mind is 「Ridi Batang」, created for RIDI. It was meaningful because it applied a new approach, departing from my previous design methodologies. Since it was crucial that users of the Ridi Paper read comfortably, we conducted extensive testing and research on small text sizes. The project contributed greatly to both my design skills and personal growth.
The second is the font development for the game Clash of Clans by SUPERCELL. I love games, and as PM for that project, I was particularly interested in the process of localizing a Latin font into Hangul. It was a genuinely joyful experience.
Altogether, I have worked on about 20 custom projects over ten years.
Q. That is an impressive portfolio. After ten years of focusing on font design, a new team was formed and you began leading it. Could you tell us about that process?
A. I should start by explaining the BM position. BM stands for Business Manager. Previously, there was a department dedicated to business, but it was integrated into the type design team, and its work was absorbed into the custom team that manages corporate brand fonts. This was around 2019–2020.
At the time, I was the team lead of the custom team, so business tasks naturally became part of my role. It happened organically—I did not make a deliberate decision to pursue it. Because the work was absorbed, I simply did it, without much time to dwell on identity confusion. I began meeting many clients, working with numbers, preparing estimates, and gradually became more comfortable with them. Fortunately, I found the new tasks enjoyable. I enjoy meeting people, which also means sharing knowledge and information. I discovered that I was happy discussing fonts with clients, listening to their concerns, and making proposals that addressed them.
Q. Whether by choice or circumstance, your role changed in response to the market and company environment. Did you have any concerns during that transition?
A. I mentioned earlier that I did not have time to feel confused, but honestly, there was some discomfort. In the past, I found happiness in sketching and drawing fonts, and as that aspect diminished, it was emotionally difficult. However, as I continued, I discovered new enjoyment and came to feel that a different direction of work could also be fulfilling.
If focusing solely on font design is like digging one deep well, developing a concentrated perspective, then the work I did offered an opportunity to develop a broader perspective grounded in analytical thinking. Viewing fonts, the market, and the industry through multiple lenses allowed me to gain diverse viewpoints. Using fonts as a medium also broadened my understanding of people. Ultimately, both the users of fonts and the participants in projects are people. In that sense, I feel I have become more adept in how I approach people.
Q. Yes, it seems to depend on one’s disposition. Both the artisan-like designer deeply immersed in font design and someone like you, who equips new tools based on fonts, are admirable. I also think such expansion is possible because we are part of Sandoll.
A. I completely agree. Being part of an organization offers experiences that are unique to that context. This is true not only for Sandoll but for any company. Today, hybrid roles require people to adapt to diverse departments and environments, and encountering unfamiliar situations has become inevitable. That is also an advantage of organizational life.
From my perspective, changes in the IT market will affect fonts as well. Across industries, production is becoming simplified, and alternative technologies are emerging—AI being the prime example. We can already create art and music with AI. Font production, particularly the drawing aspect, may soon have alternative technologies. That leads me to think about where I should focus beyond font production itself.
Kang Minjae PD explained that encountering unfamiliar situations is one of the advantages of organizational life.
Q. That’s right. Thank you so much for sharing so many thoughtful insights with us. This will probably be the last question. What kinds of concerns are you thinking about these days? Ultimately, what kind of designer do you want to become?
A. As I mentioned earlier, after spending a long time focused mainly on production-oriented font design, I feel that I’ve grown through these new experiences. At the same time, I’m thinking about where else I can continue to grow. I’m still sketching out a concrete vision. I also hope that junior designers can work happily in a better environment. If someone wants to delve more deeply into font design, I want to help them find happiness along that path; and if another designer wants to equip themselves with a different kind of skill set, I want to share in the joy of walking a new road together. I hope to become a senior designer who helps lay that kind of foundation.
[Type 3. What Is a Designer–Developer]
Q. Hello, Team Lead. Could you briefly introduce yourself?
A. I am Changseop Lim, head of the Type Lab Team within Type Design Group. I am now in my seventh year.
I met Team Lead Lim in the meeting room “Star (Byeol).”
Q. Please introduce your current responsibilities as a team leader.
A. In addition to font design, I am responsible for converting designed fonts into usable and optimized files for devices (generate), as well as conducting font-related research.
Q. I understand that you joined the company as a font designer and began your work with custom projects. Then you moved into a developer + designer role, and later became a team leader when the type technology team was formed. Could you tell us about that journey?
A. In short, it happened partly by choice and partly by circumstance. Even before the type technology team was formed, I had a strong interest in Glyphs (a font production program), and I enjoyed identifying problems by coding on my own whenever errors occurred. Because of that, other font designers often came to me with questions, and I would help answer them. I was also interested in generate work, so I took classes outside the company at a private academy and practiced on my own. During that time, generate responsibilities were transferred to the type design group, and I was offered the team leader position, which I ended up taking. The team’s main role was font generate, and it later expanded to include developing plugins and scripts needed for font production.
Q. It sounds like you already understood your own interests and were preparing through study, and then the team happened to be formed at just the right time. As the company environment changed, you fully stepped onto the path of a developer + font designer. Did you experience any confusion or difficulties during that process?
A. I think those feelings come back periodically. I believe moments like that tend to arise when dissatisfaction builds around one’s work. While I was interested in generate and development tasks, I did not want to give up growth and experience as a designer. However, once I took responsibility for the team, the amount of time I could spend on font design naturally decreased. As that situation continued, there were periods when I thought, “Is this really the right path?” Whenever those doubts came up, I tried to clarify more clearly what my goals were. Since this was, to some extent, a choice I made myself, I spent a lot of time thinking about how the new work I was doing could be applied as experience when viewed from a longer-term perspective.
Q. Then there was another shift in your role. You moved from leading the type technology team to becoming the team leader of the Timelab team, gaining research members in addition to font development, as well as members producing Sandoll Cloud fonts. I see this as forming an expanded sense of identity. How did it feel for you?
A. As the team expanded and I began managing people in earnest, I became involved in research and also took part in producing Sandoll Cloud fonts. Balancing generate, research, and font design work brought a sense of pressure from unfamiliar tasks, and dealing with several very different kinds of work led to some confusion about my identity.
By nature, generate and development work often involves staring at a monitor all day, sometimes without speaking a single word. Research work, on the other hand, mainly involves discussing and coordinating the opinions of many people, which means talking throughout the day. Managing two roles with completely different characteristics caused my emotional tension to rise and fall every day, and there were times when it became exhausting. In particular, I often wondered, “I have never done research before—what kind of help can I actually provide by participating in research?” At that time, I had many conversations with the group leader, working to properly establish the direction of my work and to recalibrate myself. Now, having adapted to these responsibilities to a certain extent and reached a more stable psychological state, I feel that I am able to look at my work more calmly.
Q. Yes, it really does sound like you have come through a long tunnel. On the other hand, since we belong to an organization called Sandoll, changes in work can also lead to changes in identity. With shifts in the market, designers themselves are changing and expanding, and I see you as one of those precedents. How do you see this?
A. I believe there are many positive aspects to the change and expansion of designers. Overseas, there are already many people actively working as both designers and developers. Even the person who developed the Glyphs program is also a designer.
When I first entered the field of font design, however, I felt that the Korean market in particular had very clear boundaries. Font designers were seen as people who only design, while generate or technical development was considered entirely the domain of developers. That distinction felt quite rigid. At the time, I thought such divisions were narrowing the font market. Still, now it seems that more and more attempts to expand in various ways are emerging, whether by choice or by circumstance. From a designer’s perspective, this means having more things one can try and demonstrate, which I see as a positive development.
Q. It seems that both directions for font designers have their own strengths and weaknesses. Focusing deeply on fonts has its own meaning, and attempts at expansion may slightly reduce depth in design but carry a different kind of value. Experiencing diverse environments feels quite important from a designer’s standpoint. I see it as an opportunity.
A. Yes, when looking at the design field as a whole, as AI and new technologies advance, we can increasingly see the possibility that many aspects of design may be replaced. However, because fonts are a one-dimensional form of design, I do not think designers will disappear despite technological progress—especially Hangul font designers. I do not know how far AI will be able to replace human work, but I believe there are many areas within font design that AI cannot cover. Processes such as quality control, or refinements and issue handling based on visual sensitivity, are not things that AI can easily replace.
Im Changseop, Team Leader, said that even as technology advances, there will clearly be forms of font design that AI cannot replace.
Q. Then, is there a particular role that font designers should play?
A. Fonts are like paint within the realm of design. I see the role of a font designer as making that paint produce better colors and blend well wherever it is applied. One possible direction is to elevate the quality of fonts with a craftsman-like approach. I also think it is a good direction to combine fonts with other fields such as development or marketing to create new synergies and generate fresh responses in the market.
In particular, making diverse experiments using fonts is also part of a font designer’s role. At Sandoll as well, even if it is not always visible externally, we are constantly trying new things internally. For example, the “Variable Numbers” project that Sandoll released last year was, in my view, a strong case in which we explored how variable technology could be expanded and proposed those possibilities to users.
Q. I agree. This will probably be my last question on a personal note. What kind of designer do you want to become?
A. About a year and a half ago, I thought I had a clear answer to that. I wanted to establish myself in both fonts and development and become someone who could be active in both areas. But now I am facing a different 고민. Balancing those two turned out to be more difficult than I expected. I also began to think that this alone does not constitute a particularly unique or irreplaceable domain. It made me feel that I might need another kind of strength. I have not yet decided what that might be. At the moment, I am busy adapting to my current responsibilities, and I think once things become more settled, I will start 고민 again at that point.
Closing
At Sandoll, there are font designers throughout the company who are writing their own stories while reflecting on their identities. Of course, there are many colleagues who are specialists handling diverse tasks, but precisely because they are font designers, I believe there are areas where they can engage more delicately and sharply. Whether by choice or by circumstance, adapting oneself to the changes of the times can be confusing and frustrating at times, but I want to draw attention to the many different types of font designers who name their own identities, and I want to cheer for all of us.
I would like to define the font designers working at Sandoll in this way: Type eXperience Designers who provide users with diverse experiences through letters. Ultimately, I think our role lies in scratching the itch for users who do not know how to use fonts, and in guiding, creating, and supporting them so that they can use good fonts.
The word “company” is said to originate from Latin, meaning to share bread (panis) together (cum). From this, I want to focus more on the idea of “together.” People who work in different ways and from different perspectives coming together as one community to think about a better life—perhaps that is where the strength that has sustained Sandoll for 40 years truly comes from.