Faux Asian Fonts

Stephen Coles

Last edited November 02, 2015

These fonts stylize Latin characters in an attempt to emulate a Chinese, Japanese, or Southeast Asian flavor. Sometimes called "chop-sooey" typefaces, these options can be seen as insensitive stereotyping of Asian cultures, but if used with care or tongue-in-cheek there are scenarios where they can be appropriate.

Kanban is the work of British designer Ed Bugg, an all capital, oriental style typeface. Kanban was the word used for shop signs in old Japan and the letter forms mimic the square look of Japanese and Chinese calligraphy. Kanban is the ideal display solution wherever an oriental appearance is needed.

Donald Beekman got the idea for FF Manga Steel and FF Manga Stone while reading the book “Sun and Steel” by Yukio Mishima. The two headline faces are constructed with elements from Japanese scripting and work equally well set horizontally or vertically.

Breeze is a fun font from Frank Marciuliano where the letters are formed like the sails from the boat. He may have been inspired from the sailboats which he sees on the walks along the shore on the Hudson River. There are two forms available. Left and right define the direction of the blowing wind.

The master German calligrapher Karlgeorg Hoefer created the Sho typeface for Linotype's Calligraphy for Print collection. Sho is very different from most calligraphic typefaces, in that it creates its own new style, rather than mimicking an older one. Hoefer's striking letters have generous forms. They were created with a wide lettering brush. This tool influenced the strong, expressive quality... Read More

The German designer Peter Huschka created Linotype Chineze, a family of typefaces that resemble the calligraphic strokes found in Chinese characters, in 2002. Using a variety of brush-like elements, Linotype Chinese imbues the Roman alphabet with an Eastern flair. Try out this font in a menu, a comic book, or on food packaging! Like this foreign feeling? Check out Sinah and Sinah Sans, two... Read More

$Math is easy, design is hard$

Fusaka was created by graphic designer Michael Want, a highly original and specialized display typeface which bridges Kanji and Roman letterform styles. As in Kanji, each character fits into a square. The shape and the placement of letter and decorative strokes can make Fusaka look like Asian writing at first glance and allow it to be set either horizontally or vertically. Use Fusaka for a... Read More