[Photo by Feng Yongbin/China Daily]

Zhu joined Foundertype in 1991 and became one of the first typeface designers in the country.

"The typeface Boya Song I designed is still used by 95 percent of the Chinese newspapers in the country for their body text; it is designed for prolonged reading so that eyes don't feel tired," says Zhu, who retired last year and became a typeface design consultant for Hanyi Fonts, another big typeface provider in China.

Some typefaces are designed to be as plain as possible so readers barely see them and focus instead on the content, as is the case with the one Zhu designed.

Some typefaces themselves have something to tell.

In September a typeface of the handwriting of the late Chinese writer Lu Xun was unveiled to mark the 135th anniversary of his birth.

Lu Xun is celebrated as China's foremost literary luminary of the early 20th century and as a spiritual icon for his devotion in enlightening Chinese people through his works.

"We gathered his manuscripts from museums and then chose about 2,600 characters, studied his style, and created the characters that could not be found or were illegible in his manuscripts," says Qiu Yin, a calligrapher and director of typeface design at Foundertype.

It took a team of four designers 18 months to finish the project.

"There is cultural significance in developing typefaces for renowned historical intellectuals," Qiu says. "Seeing their handwriting, people can draw inspiration and connect with them in a digital way that transcends time and space."

Qiu's team will continue to revive the handwriting of 10 prominent Chinese writers, calligraphers, social activists and scholars in the 20th century for use on the computer.