Shanghai Disneyland Resort Custom Chinese Typography
MakeFont · Ding Yi · 2016
A five-year bespoke Chinese character design commission by MakeFont founder Ding Yi for Shanghai Disneyland Resort, producing over a hundred distinct hanzi styles for the resort's logos, themed lands and attractions.
About
Created between 2011 and the resort's 2016 opening, the project covers every scale of hanzi typography within Shanghai Disneyland Resort: from the overarching resort and park logos to individual attraction names such as Fantasyland, Treasure Cove and Tomorrowland, as well as restaurants and retail signage. Each themed zone received its own distinct character style, requiring Ding Yi to develop a broad range of treatments that harmonise Disney's visual language with traditional Chinese script culture. The commission was selected after a year-long evaluation process in which MakeFont's approach to hanzi innovation distinguished it from competing studios.
Classification
Entirely bespoke themed Chinese character (hanzi) designs created for a specific client environment, covering logos, signage and attraction identities. The work comprises over a hundred distinct stylistic variations rather than a single typeface family, placing it firmly in the display/custom lettering category.