Today, I would like to introduce SST JP as an example of the recomposition of kanji and kana in Type Project.
SST is a corporate font that was developed jointly by Sony Corporation and Monotype Imaging Inc. It is used in Sony product packaging, business cards, etc. On receiving a commission from Monotype Imaging Inc., Type Project developed a Japanese font, SST JP. Sony‘s “product qualities” are extended to and recreated in the new original kana design, while AXIS Font is combined for kanji.
Kana dominates approximately 60-70% of text in the modern Japanese notation. Moreover, kana has a considerably fewer number of glyphs required than in kanji. Therefore, the original kana creation is effective in changing the entire typesetting image, while being limited work itself.
(T.I)