Geometron has its origin in a custom typeface that I was commissioned to design for an architectural project. The concept was a "back to basics", minimalist typeface constructed mainly with straight lines and circles or circular arcs, but without departing from the classical style of Roman & Greek lettering. Notable requirements were: an extensive character set needed for multi-language documentation, as well as a full collection of symbols and alternate glyph forms (e.g. superiors & inferiors) for scientific use. Special care was taken to obviate the almost identical similarities that were prone to appear between letters like uppercase "i" and lowercase "L" or between Latin and Greek letters such as "a" and "alpha". This was also a prerequisite for scientific notation where ambiguity is not acceptable. All in all, the font would have to blend a modern design with a wealth of functional features. Consequently, all of these were made possible by choosing the OpenType format for development, resulting in a comprehensive and feature-rich font family specifically targeted for use in high-end design/typesetting applications.

Although traditional Heiti typefaces may not be as lively as Songti, the modesty of M Hei makes is enduring and stand out from other similar typefaces. M Hei’s design is based on the hallmarks of traditional Heiti typefaces: it has little to no thick-thin contrast in strokes and has square cut terminals. Its dots (點), ticks (剔) and downstrokes (撇、捺) are subtly curved and longer than usual; all stems (豎) and crossbars (橫) remain simple and clear; and hooks (勾) appear rounded. Together they make a harmonious form which is clean but pure, classy but contemporary.

To blend a handwritten style with a graphical aesthetic, Monotype designers paid attention to the balance between the two, hence harmoniously combine their qualities like a mix of tradition and modern. M Felt Pen references the unified stroke thickness and rounded terminals of rounded Heiti typefaces, imitating the fluidity of marker writing. The linked strokes are vivid and suggest the presence of the human hand.

To blend a handwritten style with a graphical aesthetic, Monotype designers paid attention to the balance between the two, hence harmoniously combine their qualities like a mix of tradition and modern. M Felt Pen references the unified stroke thickness and rounded terminals of rounded Heiti typefaces, imitating the fluidity of marker writing. The linked strokes are vivid and suggest the presence of the human hand.