On September 23rd, Shanghai Modern, China's first Chinese and Western font inspired by urban culture, was officially released. The entire font library is open to the public and can be downloaded and used from the official website (www.shanghaimodeng.com). The Paper reported that an art poster exhibition based on Shanghai Modern also opened that same day at the Bund Yuan No. 1 in Shanghai. The exhibition showcased artwork using the font, created by sixteen renowned designers from diverse cultural backgrounds, alongside historical documents related to Shanghai's visual typographic culture, exploring the profound connection between typography and Shanghai's urban culture.
Exhibition site
Shanghai Modern Font is a Chinese and Western font library developed in accordance with the GB2312 national standard, comprising 7,293 characters. It was developed over a year by Han Tang Culture, a group of Chinese and international experts and creators in the fields of typeface design, graphic design, and urban culture.
Official website "Shanghai Modern Style" page
The project was planned by Wang Ruhui and Yang Linqing; Jasmine Fonts provided the typeface design; Jiang Qinggong and several scholars served as academic advisors. The resulting font embodies the spirit of the times, integrating diverse cultures and innovating for the future. The Chinese characters are based on modern font technology, incorporating the geometric aesthetics of Art Deco style, creating an architectural and dynamic aesthetic. The Western characters follow the same design philosophy as the Chinese fonts, balancing traditional typography with modern innovation. The Arabic numerals are rounded and full, detailing the font's unique character and visual integrity.
Exhibition site
"Shanghai Modern" traces its roots to the Art Deco movement, which emerged and influenced various forms of visual culture during the 1930s and 1940s, accompanying the origins and emergence of Shanghai's urban culture. Wang Ruhui, one of the project planners, told The Paper that text is a vehicle for urban cultural context. Just as Paris has its "Parisian" font, "Shanghai Modern" is China's first Chinese and Western font inspired by urban culture. It aims to showcase the city's spirit and cultural heritage through highly recognizable cultural symbols, paying tribute to Shanghai's inclusive culture.
The "Shanghai Modern" art poster exhibition showcases sixteen artworks created using this font by renowned designers from diverse cultural backgrounds. "The exhibition aims to trace the origins of how writing has been involved in the development of Shanghai's urban culture. These posters, created using the font, promote the font through practical examples and illustrate a contemporary understanding of the relationship between urban culture and fonts."
"Shanghai Modern Style" Poster 2×4 "Shanghai"
The "Shanghai" poster, created by 2×4, places the Chinese character "Shanghai" at the center of the poster, reinforcing the distinctive geometric stroke structure of the "Shanghai Modern" font through repeated and layered text. Visually, the font is imbued with a metallic or glassy texture, creating a grid of interplay and refraction, giving "Shanghai" a weighty, complex, intertwined, and uncertain form. Liu Zhao's "Overlapping Shanghai" poster, which repeatedly overlays, rotates, and stacks the Chinese character "SHANGHAI," creates a visual form that resembles both a building facade and a fluid space. Through the extension of letters and spatial perspective, the poster showcases the orderly and modern character of Shanghai. Among the posters is "Radio with Antlers," created by Inner Mongolian designer Tian Gesi, who blends Mongolian with the "Shanghai Modern" font. "I don't really understand what Art Déco is. I just know that in my native language, He-Ugalja, 'decoration' refers to a visual interest that mimics the endless curling growth of deer antlers."
"Shanghai Modern Style" poster by Zhang Hao
Many designers have also created designs that integrate Shanghainese dialect with new typefaces. Han Wenbin's "Shou Tou Shou Nao" uses a domestic cat to express the close relationship between pets and their owners, while also conveying Shanghai's pet-friendly character. Yu Qiongjie's "Night Shanghai" uses the Shanghainese expression "the wild sun eats the domestic sun, the wild moon eats the domestic moon," a metaphor for solar and lunar eclipses, symbolizing Shanghai's star-studded cityscape at night. This effort aims to highlight the unique charm of Shanghainese dialect and its place in urban culture.
"Shanghai Modern Style" poster "Longevity Head and Longevity Brain" Han Wenbin
"Shanghai Modern Style" poster by Yu Qiongjie for "Night Shanghai"
Yu Weiqi, producer of "Shanghai Modern Style," said, "Shanghai has nurtured a unique urban culture and modern atmosphere. The development of 'Shanghai Modern Style' aims to preserve this heritage and strengthen the city's cultural memory and identity."
"Shanghai Modern" has already been unveiled in numerous urban spaces across Shanghai. In November 2024, preliminary results were showcased at ART SHANGHAI's "Modern: Intersecting Worlds," a Shanghai-based exhibition of decorative arts from Paris. In September 2025, the font library was featured in the key visuals and parades for the 36th Shanghai Tourism Festival, and was used in the Bund area and along the elevated highways. During the Second Shanghai International Light and Shadow Festival, which opened on September 19th, "Shanghai Modern" was showcased in an architectural projection show at the main venue on the Xuhui Riverfront. Future applications are expected to expand to include city signage, public art, publishing and printing, cultural and creative products, and digital interfaces.
The exhibition will last until October 8th.