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Busan Launches Development of Exclusive City Font Reflecting Its Identity as a ‘Global Hub City’

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The Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it has launched the development of a dedicated city brand font to establish a clear visual identity as a global hub city and to strengthen consistency in public communication.

○ The existing city font, developed in 2010, has been used for signage and official documents. However, it has faced criticism for being outdated in terms of design and technology. In response, the city has decided to develop a new visual identity system, starting with an exclusive typeface.

○ This initiative goes beyond simply creating a new font—it aims to develop a design that comprehensively embodies the identity of Busan as a global hub city.

○ Under the “Busan Metropolitan City Brand Typeface Development Project,” the city plans to create a variety of fonts, including:
 – A main master weight font
 – A special event-use font
 – A citizen-designed font selected through an open competition

○ The project emphasizes user-centered design, ensuring high-quality and practical usability across a wide range of platforms, including mobile devices, websites, electronic displays, and official documents.

○ Notably, the project is designed as an open-structure initiative, encouraging direct citizen participation. One of the three fonts will be developed through a citizen font design contest, and the city will also provide education and promotional programs for participants.

○ This approach allows for the inclusion of citizens' emotions and creativity, rather than limiting the process to experts alone.

○ Once finalized, the fonts will be freely distributed through the city’s official website, available for both public institutions and private entities.
 Practical content such as a design guideline booklet, video records, and a problem-solving guide will also be produced to promote the font’s widespread use and sustained adoption.

Kim Yoo-jin, Director of the Future Design Headquarters of Busan, stated:

“This is not just a design task, but a symbolic project that captures the city’s future vision in typography. We aim to establish Busan’s unique design language and make it freely available for all citizens in their daily lives, thereby enhancing our city brand image.”

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Busan Metropolitan City Brand Typeface Development Project – Overview

Project Objectives

• ●Reflecting Identity: Create a visual symbolic system embodying Busan as a global hub city

• ●Enhancing Readability: Develop a user-friendly font optimized for various environments

• ●Expanding Use: Encourage citizen participation and promote structured dissemination of the font

Project Details

• ●Project Title: Busan Metropolitan City Brand Typeface Development Project

• ●Duration: 8 months from project commencement

• ●Procurement Method: Limited competitive bidding among local small businesses, negotiated contract

• ●Budget: City-funded, includes VAT

• ●Account: Future Design City Implementation – City Brand Strategy Planning & Management – General Operating Expenses

Scope of Work

• ●Timeframe: Base year 2025

• ●Geographic Scope: Entire Busan area

• ●Content Scope:
   • Research & analysis of current materials
   • Design strategy and concept development
   • Typeface development (Master weight, Event font, Citizen-designed font)
   • Citizen engagement: public contest for one font, plus promotional and educational programs
   • Application guidelines: create manuals, videos, guides, and system development
   • Post-management: secure intellectual property rights, provide technical support and maintenance

Project Timeline

• ●Research & Planning → Font Development → Pilot Applications → Citizen Outreach → Rights Securing & Post-Management