XingKai Next aims to find a place for a classical calligraphy face in contemporary graphic design.
XingKai is a popular calligraphic typeface designed by Ren Zheng in 1980, inspired by the calligraphy works of Wang Xizhi in the fourth century. It has been digitized by numerous foundries and has appeared in all corners of China. While the design is indisputably popular, it is showing its age in various ways, not the least of which is old-fashioned aesthetics. Instead of dismissing it as mere antiquity, the designer Li Zhiqian decided to make a completely new typeface out of it.