Deep permutation type design for Chinese characters

AbstractWith their intricate visual structure and cultural significance, Chinese characters present a unique realm for exploration in graphic design. However, the integration of graphic elements, such as two-dimensional primitives that are not limited to straight or curved strokes, into Chinese-type design relies mainly on the designer’s intuition. This paper investigates the application of deep permutation design methods to Chinese type design to explore the esthetic potential of graphic-based type design in a systematic and algorithmic manner. For this purpose, we propose a novel framework and present an implementation named ‘Permutype’, which operates in three phases: representation, generation, and evaluation. Through a series of visual experiments, we demonstrate how our framework promotes novel permutations and esthetic possibilities for Chinese characters. The methodology offers flexible graphics and exhaustive optimal scheme searches based on objective criteria and has the potential for extensive font libraries.