Khmer Script For Small Devices
Aug 31, 2014
Khmer Script For Small Devices
Khmer Script
1. History of Khmer script
2. Challenging with new technology
3. UI Fonts
History of Khmer Script
- found in 3rd century with
Vo Canh inscription during
former Champa kingdom
(Central part of Vietnam).
History of Khmer Script
- It drived from
Pallava script with
more and clear
inscription found in
7th century (Srah
Keo of Thailand and
Angkor Borei of
Cambodia).
History of Khmer Script
- The script was used to combine single-
syllable (Khmer original word) and multi-
syllable (Pali/Sanskrit loan words)
Challenge with new technology
- From Pali/Sanskrit loan
word or multi-syllable
style, it makes body-
height of Khmer text
getting much larger than
Western European text.
Challenge with new technology
- Printing industry came
to Cambodia in early of
20th century, in French
colonied period. Khmer
script started to enter
modern technology.
Challenge with new technology
- Khmer letters were
used for printing with
metal type to keep
long vertical space as
in most of the
inscription, and
manuscript.
Challenge with new technology
- Khmer computer font from Khek family, Om
Mony in USA and from Cinotec in Vietnam in
1990s can make body-height of Khmer text
getting much smaller than metal type, but it is
still larger than Western European text.
UI Fonts
UI font is designed to reduce the overall body
height of text, and allow Khmer to have
descender and ascender-lines closer to other
scripts. It also allows their use in UI
components where vertical space is a
premiun.
UI Fonts
-Khmer UI of Windows Phone
-Noto Sans KhmerUI of Nexus 5
-Hanuman UI of Samsung Android phone
UI Fonts
Microsoft Windows Phone Samsung Galaxy S4 LG Nexus 5
UI Fonts
Microsoft Khmer UI
Noto Sans Khmer UI
UI Fonts
Why do we need to create UI fonts?
-Hamornize with English text.
-Need more info display on small screen.
UI Fonts
UI Fonts
→
UI Fonts
OpenType features
UI Fonts
How to do?
-Learn from hand writing style.
-Learn from banner design.
-Some old inscriptions also try to make vertical space shorter.
UI Fonts
UI Fonts
Question?