10 Questions with Shuohui Zeng

Shuohui Zeng is a graphic designer and typeface designer based in New York. He specializes in lettering, typography, and typeface design, and provides creative direction, branding, and visual identities to international clients. Shuohui holds degrees from the MICA GDMFA program and the Central Academy of Fine Arts. With over six years of experience in graphic design, he has worked at Pentagram in New York and Artron in Beijing. Currently, he is participating in the Type@Cooper 24 extended program. Shuohui has earned several awards, including the STA100 Judge’s Choice, the Tokyo TDC(Annual Book), the NewOne Award, and the Design 360° award.

huitypography.com | @zengshuohui

ARTIST STATEMENT

As a graphic and typeface designer based in New York, Shuohui's practice is deeply rooted in a passion for the intricacies of lettering and the expressive potential of typography. His fascination with the art of black and white drives him to type design, this pursuit is more than aesthetic—it is a quest for harmony. He's interested in the reciprocal relationship between letters' forms and counterforms, and it guides his approach: he aims to create typefaces that are not only visually experimental but also highly readable in everyday applications. Each of his projects is a problem-solving process; he is passionate about addressing visual challenges, as he believes that each problem is an opportunity to uncover a fascinating solution. For him, this is the essence of "experimental design." He maintains a certain conservatism in his work, preferring subtlety over flamboyance. His creations often aim to be quietly impactful rather than overtly attention-seeking. Designing type for him has become more than a profession—it is a daily practice, a discipline, and, most significantly, a playground for creative experimentation.

INTERVIEW

First of all, introduce yourself to our readers. Who are you and when did you first got interested in art? 

I’m a graphic and type designer based in Brooklyn. My practice focuses on lettering, typeface design, and typography. When I was young, I loved drawing letters on my textbooks and school desk, finding joy in the shapes and forms that letters could take.

What sparked your initial interest in lettering and typography? And do you follow the same inspiration?

For many graphic designers who developed their practices in China, Latin type is seen as a type of decoration. Language barriers make it difficult for many Chinese readers to understand the content. With English as my second language, I was drawn to the Neo-grotesque display fonts I encountered on social media and trendy web pages.
I noticed these fonts more than the text fonts used for deep reading. The Latin type, to me, at that time, was merely a "decoration." 
I now live in the United States, where Latin typefaces are the norm. Unlike the past, when I engaged with Latin type rather superficially, I now have to really read and use Latin type. Then, I found myself fall in love with type design. I hope to make it a lifelong practice. 

You work primarily with black and white. How does this influence your approach to type design?

Black and white is the basic element of typeface, When we read, we interpret both white and black space; they are equally important. Focusing too much on the black elements blurs individual letterforms into indistinct clumps: we need white space to differentiate one letter from another. 

In your statement, you mention form and counterforms. Can you elaborate on the reciprocal relationship between these elements and how this guides your design process?

The counterforms are the white shapes inside a letterform; they create the rhythm of the text. It's like the drums in a song—you don't often see them, but they form the soul of the song. The shapes of letterforms are more like the melody of a song, capturing attention and guiding the flow of the piece.

How do you balance visual experimentation with readability in your typefaces?

It’s always fun to add some experimental details to a text typeface, but you have to be careful if they stand out too much. That’s why I love designing text typefaces; there are a lot of rules. All alphabets come with distinctive norms, and it’s always a big challenge to create something unusual but recognizable.
Balancing visual experimentation with readability involves a deep understanding of these norms and how far you can push them.

Can you share an example of a visual challenge you encountered in a project and how you addressed it?

When I finished REFLECT, a typeface built on consistency, I was eager to design a typeface with the opposite approach. Paradoxically, in certain cases, inconsistency improves readability; and letters can be made more legible by varying proportions, contrasts and widths. What is more, these idiosyncrasies give typefaces their personality. For instance, the human touch of hand-drawn fonts is often what brings readers in. From here, I created CUT. 

What does "experimental design" mean to you, and how do you incorporate this philosophy into your projects?

It means making a lot of mistakes and having tons of files that won’t be used at the end of the project. It’s a process of discovery where the final outcome is often unpredictable.

Can you discuss a project that you feel best represents your approach to creating typefaces that are both experimental and practical?

Bloque is a display typeface inspired by the covers of 1980s science fiction novels. The goal was to create a typeface without curves, where unconventional shapes were made to solve the problems when creating a super heavy typeface. While primarily designed for display sizes, Bloque also offers an even texture when used at smaller sizes. Bloque now has two styles: regular and italic. It works best with short words or series of characters, transforming them into intriguing, monsterlike concrete blocks of letters.

What are some of the new challenges or areas in typeface design that you are excited to explore in the future?

I'm very interested in the project called "Metafont" by computer scientist Donald Knuth. It was the first attempt to create a computer-generated font system. I'm curious about how AI will be involved in the font industry.

Lastly, how do you see your work, and typeface design more in general, evolving more in the coming years?

I'm planning to create more typefaces with large families that support multiple languages. Additionally, I want to explore more visual forms of type specimens.

Artist’s Talk

Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a promotional platform for artists to articulate their vision and engage them with our diverse readership through a published art dialogue. The artists are interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj, the founder & curator of Al-Tiba9, to highlight their artistic careers and introduce them to the international contemporary art scene across our vast network of museums, galleries, art professionals, art dealers, collectors, and art lovers across the globe.