Glancing back at your hearing: Generating emotional calligraphy typography from musical rhythm

Abstract

Typography design influences users’ reading experiences and emotional responses. Within the realm of Human–Computer Interaction (HCI), numerous researchers have focused on typography design by exploring the generation of parameterized typefaces, encompassing aspects such as character size, line spacing, and word spacing. However, scant attention has been given to non-parameterized typefaces, particularly calligraphy characters. Calligraphy, a profoundly expressive and quintessential art form in China, serves as a reflection of human emotions. Its association with music has garnered considerable attention within the field of HCI. In this paper, we introduce Inkphony, a system that leverages musical rhythm to generate calligraphy typography and its composition based on the conveyed emotion. Through empirical evaluations, we demonstrate the efficacy of our approach in accurately expressing varying levels of emotion, while also establishing a perceptible connection between typography and music. Our work aims to provide an intelligent cross-modal tool for music visualization and artistic creation, thereby contributing to the field of HCI.