Back to Simplicity: An Analysis of the Design Principles of Chinese Characters and the Differences in Textual Media

The writing of Chinese characters is largely constrained by the limitations of the medium, with the form, strokes, and shapes of fonts exhibiting significant differences in writing due to the diverse materials used for the creation of the medium, resulting in a variety of styles. However, Chinese character design, in turn, imposes strict demands on the textual medium. Research on textual media is beneficial for guiding contemporary designers in understanding the intrinsic laws of the structure and aesthetic formation of Chinese character fonts, and exploring the collaborative strategies under a unified structural system is key to forming a speculative, critical, and innovative direction in design work. This paper will focus on the diachronic study of textual media and Chinese character design, delving into the modes of expression of Chinese character design within the textual medium, and combining the influence of the medium on the aesthetic value in font design. For the first time, it proposes a multidimensional interactive model between textual media and Chinese character design, placing Chinese character design within a dynamic, interactive, and novel context of meaning, providing new theoretical research perspectives and practical references for modern font design driven by digital technology.