Inspired by Hanoi’s signature identity and rich history, a distinct typeface has been designed that is dedicated to celebrating Hanoi as a creative city.
The team behind the typeface is Behalf, a design studio led by Nguyen Hung Giang, a design lecturer at RMIT Vietnam. Behalf describes the typeface as a juxtaposition of Hanoi’s traditional culture and contemporary media and design contexts.
Within the font, a myriad of distinguishable Hanoian elements can be found, including collectible prints, old billboards, architectural motifs, performance art elements, traditional costumes and Dong Ho paintings.
Mr. Giang said the typography was inspired by the “deep-rooted and longstanding culture of Vietnam”.
“Even though Vietnam’s media and design industries are still young, the country boasts a rich pool of creative yet familiar resources,” said Mr. Giang.
During the research process, the design team spent a lot of time thoroughly researching the history and culture in Hanoi by looking through many photos and watching documentaries about the city over the ages, before coming up with the visual identity that symbolizes Hanoian cultural aesthetics – ancient Oriental and French architecture; seamless patterns on paintings and textiles; and performance arts like water puppets and Aulacese opera.
The team hopes that the typography will inspire others and be used as a resource for many more cultural projects within Vietnam’s vibrant design community.
The typeface will be used exclusively for the inaugural Vietnam Festival of Media & Design in Hanoi next month and planned to be released for public use after the festival.
Vietnam Festival of Media & Design: Hanoi 2019 will run from 1 November 2019 until 17 November 2019 in Hanoi. It will celebrate creativity, design and culture with a series of events and activities in contemporary and traditional arts. For more information, please visit the festival website or Facebook page.
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