Life Construct _ Min Zi Collection _ Hong Kong & Macau Limited

Author: Life Construct Publisher: Bright Culture Size: 129mm x 210mm Pages: 240 pages ISBN: 978-988-8820-92-4 【Synopsis】 The Art of Textual Observation in Architecture – "Min Zi" Made in Hong Kong Chinese Character Creation in the City – 109 Selections of Folk Characters Explore the art of typography on the streets, embrace imperfections, and rediscover the joy of writing. Foreword by Ouyang Weihao Ben Sir, Ashin (Owner of Book Little Little X Tong Du Guan), Sampson Wong. Introduction by Yang Jun, Specially Appointed Professor at the China Academy of Art. The author points out that nowadays, digital or computer fonts likely occupy eighty to ninety percent of the text we see. Characters that can be typed are considered "correct," while those that cannot are "incorrect." When a character appears on an electronic device, it has limited display options. Apart from font choices, nearly everything else is restricted to standard, specific forms. Text in the city seems far more dynamic than in the virtual world. Shop signs, advertisements on scaffolding and building facades, promotional displays in real estate windows—among these, price tags in wet markets or handwritten menus in dai pai dongs offer the most variation. Some might dismiss them as misspellings, others as random scribbles, or perhaps as evolutions of older writing styles. While never taught in formal schooling, these characters, shaped by people's hands, develop interesting personalities—we call these "Min Zi," or folk characters. This book begins by exploring the design potential of "Min Zi" as "incorrect characters" and their significance to the city and its people. Through digitalization, this book simulates a set of electronic fonts based on the handwritten or sign-written characters commonly seen in daily life. We discover that digitizing Min Zi may lend them a sense of formality, making them open for formal discussion, while still preserving their casual charm in strokes and forms. This approach, in the author's view, is a crucial extension for exploring the visual appeal of Min Zi. In the digital age, dressing Min Zi in new attire while retaining their original style might allow them to be seen and discussed anew. As a medium of communication, how much variation can the design of Min Zi achieve? How can it evolve to express more? What does the same character reveal when written by different people in different contexts? While we cherish these "folk characters," we are not scholars specializing in Chinese or linguistics. Lacking deep knowledge of Chinese characters and language, we step away from "archaeology" and lean towards the spirit of "archaeology of the present" when observing "Min Zi." Therefore, the perspective of this book is neither strictly academic nor simply a personal documentation of the city driven by individual preference. It attempts to explore characters and the city from another grounded angle, using research methods from architecture, to discuss their unconventional yet casual qualities. It's a lighthearted yet pseudo-serious discussion of the characters in the city, playfully delving into the folk scripts found everywhere. No matter right or wrong, only imagination. 【Author Introduction】 Life Construct Life shapes the city, and the city shapes life. This team aims to explore the reality of the city through life, and its direct impact on people's emotions, perceptions, and behaviors. Through this, we reflect on the city's collective memory, living culture, and architectural design. In this way, we attempt to provide a discussion for urban theory that moves beyond history and pure emotion, grounded in academic principles, and also hopes to inspire people's understanding and imagination of local culture.