CJK Type Pairing Map · WCN Brand Portal

WCNCJK TYPE PAIRING MAP

11 · LOCALIZATION → B

CJK type pairing · B

Type that works
in both scripts.

Latin and Chinese have different rhythms, weights and metrics. This cluster pairs the brand’s fonts with CJK counterparts so the type feels like one system. Tap any card to open its spec.

SERIF

SANS

LEADING

OPTICAL

SPACING

PUNCTUATION

25%

CJK TYPE COVERAGE

0 shipped

3 in progress

3 planned

11B01 Serif pair WIP

WCN’s display serif is EB Garamond — which has no Chinese. This pairs it with Noto Serif SC so headlines feel like one typeface across both scripts, matched in weight and character.

LATINEB Garamond CJKNoto Serif SC MATCHWeight · feel USEDisplay

“

B01.1 · THE PAIRING

A serif for the serif.

Noto Serif SC is chosen as Garamond’s Chinese partner — a high-quality, freely-licensed serif whose contrast and warmth echo Garamond’s. The two share a temperament.

LATINEB Garamond

CJKNoto Serif SC

SHARETemperament

LICENSEOFL

B01.2 · WEIGHT MATCH

Same visual weight.

Latin and CJK weights rarely map one-to-one. The pairing specifies which Noto weight sits beside each Garamond weight so a bilingual headline looks evenly weighted.

ISSUEWeights differ

SPECMatched pairs

GOALEven headline

PERWeight

B01.3 · WHERE USED

Display and headlines.

The serif pair is for display — headlines, pull quotes, big moments — matching Garamond’s role in the Latin system. Body text uses the sans pair.

FORDisplay

EXAMPLESHeadlines · quotes

MATCHESLatin role

BODYSans pair

B01.4 · RATIONALE

Warmth, in both.

Garamond gives the brand its literary warmth; Noto Serif SC carries that into Chinese. The pairing means a Chinese headline feels as considered as an English one.

GARAMONDWarmth

NOTOCarries it

ZHAs considered

ONESystem

DON'T

Don't pair by name only — Match weight and feel.

Don't use a sans for CJK serif — Match the category.

Don't ignore licensing — Noto is OFL — safe.

Don't use display for body — Switch to the sans pair.

“A bilingual headline should look like one typeface, not a collision of two.”

11B02 Sans pair WIP

Archivo carries WCN’s body and UI text in Latin; Noto Sans SC is its Chinese counterpart. Together they keep interface and long-form text consistent and legible across both scripts.

LATINArchivo CJKNoto Sans SC MATCHWeight USEBody · UI

“

B02.1 · THE PAIRING

A sans for the sans.

Noto Sans SC pairs with Archivo — a clean, neutral grotesque whose even rhythm matches Archivo’s. Both are workhorses built for screens and long text.

LATINArchivo

CJKNoto Sans SC

BOTHWorkhorses

FORScreens

B02.2 · WEIGHT MATCH

Even in a paragraph.

Body weights are mapped so a paragraph mixing English and Chinese reads at one visual weight — no patch of text appearing bolder because the scripts diverge.

MAPBody weights

MIXEDParagraph

ONEWeight

NOBold patches

B02.3 · WHERE USED

Everything readable.

The sans pair handles body copy, UI labels, captions — the bulk of text. It’s the default; the serif pair is the exception reserved for display.

BODYYes

UILabels

DEFAULTSans pair

SERIFException

B02.4 · RATIONALE

Legibility first.

For interface and long text, legibility beats personality. Archivo and Noto Sans SC are chosen for clarity at small sizes on screen, in both scripts.

PRIORITYLegibility

ATSmall sizes

ONScreen

BOTHScripts

DON'T

Don't mismatch body weights — Map them deliberately.

Don't use display for UI — Sans pair is the default.

Don't pick on looks alone — Legibility first.

Don't ignore small sizes — Test at UI scale.

“In body text, the best pairing is the one no one notices.”

11B03 CJK line-height WIP

Chinese characters are denser and squarer than Latin letters, so they need more line spacing to stay readable. This sets the CJK leading rules that keep Chinese text from feeling cramped.

CJKLooser leading REASONDense glyphs RATIO~1.7–1.8 PERScript

WCN

B03.1 · WHY LOOSER

Square, and dense.

CJK characters fill their box edge to edge, with no ascenders or descenders to create natural rhythm. Without extra leading, lines of Chinese visually merge.

GLYPHSFill the box

NOAscenders

WITHOUTLines merge

NEEDExtra leading

B03.2 · THE RATIO

Around 1.7 to 1.8.

Chinese body text uses roughly 1.7–1.8 line-height, against ~1.5 for Latin. The exact value is set per context so Chinese reads comfortably without feeling sparse.

CJK1.7–1.8

LATIN~1.5

SETPer context

GOALComfortable

B03.3 · PER SCRIPT

Each gets its own.

Line-height is applied per language, not globally — the English and Chinese versions of a page can carry different leading because each script needs its own.

APPLIEDPer language

NOTGlobal

ENIts value

ZHIts value

B03.4 · MIXED LINES

When both share a line.

Where a line mixes scripts, the looser CJK leading governs so characters never crowd. The Latin simply sits in the more generous space — it can spare it.

MIXEDCJK wins

LEADINGLooser

LATINSits in it

NEVERCrowds

DON'T

Don't reuse Latin leading — CJK needs more.

Don't set it globally — Per script, per context.

Don't go too loose — Sparse reads as broken.

Don't crowd mixed lines — Looser leading governs.

“Chinese set at Latin leading looks cramped — the characters have no air.”

11B04 Optical size PLANNED

Set at the same point size, Chinese characters often look smaller and lighter than Latin next to them. This is the optical-sizing fix that makes the two scripts appear balanced.

ISSUECJK appears smaller FIXSize up CJK BALANCEVisual TUNEPer face

WCN

B04.1 · THE PROBLEM

Points lie.

Point size measures the em box, not the visible glyph. Latin letters use more of their box height than CJK characters do, so equal point sizes look unequal.

MEASURESEm box

LATINFills more

CJKLess visible

LOOKUnequal

B04.2 · THE FIX

Size the CJK up.

The fix is bumping CJK a touch larger — often a few percent — so its visible size matches the Latin beside it. The adjustment is by eye, not formula.

BUMPCJK larger

AMOUNTA few %

MATCHVisible size

BYEye

B04.3 · BALANCE

Especially inline.

The adjustment matters most where scripts meet — a Latin word in a Chinese sentence, or vice versa. Balanced sizing keeps neither script looking like a footnote.

MATTERSWhere they meet

INLINEMost

NEITHERA footnote

BALANCEDPair

B04.4 · TUNING

Per face, per size.

Each font pair gets its own optical adjustment, and it can shift across sizes. The values are documented so every implementation applies the same balance.

PERFace pair

SHIFTSBy size

DOCUMENTEDValues

SAMEEverywhere

DON'T

Don't trust point size — Balance by eye.

Don't apply one global bump — Tune per face and size.

Don't over-size CJK — Match, don’t dominate.

Don't leave values undocumented — Apply the same balance.

“Type that measures equal can still look unequal — trust the eye.”

11B05 Mixed-script spacing PLANNED

When Latin letters or numbers sit inside Chinese text — like “WCN” or “2024” — a thin space between the scripts makes both readable. This is the spacing rule, often called pangu spacing.

RULEPangu spacing WHERELatin in CJK AMOUNT~¼ em AUTOTooling

WCN

B05.1 · THE RULE

A breath between.

Where Latin or digits meet Chinese characters, a thin space is inserted on each side. Without it, “WCN网络” reads cramped; with it, “WCN 网络” breathes.

INSERTThin space

WHEREScript boundary

WITHOUTCramped

WITHBreathes

B05.2 · WHERE IT APPLIES

Letters and numbers.

The rule covers Latin words, the brand name, and Arabic numerals adjacent to characters. It does not apply between CJK characters or around full-width punctuation.

APPLIESLatin · digits

INCLUDESBrand name

NOTBetween 字

NORFull-width

B05.3 · THE AMOUNT

Thin, not a full space.

The gap is roughly a quarter em — enough to separate, not so much it breaks the word from its sentence. A full space would read as a real word break.

SIZE~¼ em

ENOUGHTo separate

NOTA word break

SUBTLEBy design

B05.4 · AUTOMATION

Done by the system.

Spacing is applied automatically in rendering, not typed by hand — manual spaces are inconsistent and pollute the source strings. Tooling keeps it clean and uniform.

APPLIEDAutomatically

NOTBy hand

MANUALInconsistent

CLEANSource

DON'T

Don't omit the space — Latin in CJK needs air.

Don't use a full space — A quarter em, not a break.

Don't space between characters — Only at boundaries.

Don't type it manually — Automate in rendering.

“A quarter-em space is the difference between WCN网络 and WCN 网络.”

11B06 Full-width punctuation PLANNED

Chinese uses full-width punctuation — 。、，— that occupies a full character box, not the narrow Latin marks. This sets when to use which, and how to handle the two systems meeting.

CJKFull-width 。， MIXINGRules ALIGNOptical AUTOLinting

WCN

B06.1 · FULL-WIDTH MARKS

Punctuation in a box.

Chinese punctuation — period 。, comma ，, enumeration 、 — each fills a full character box. Using narrow Latin marks in Chinese text looks broken to a native reader.

MARKS。，、

FILLChar box

LATINLooks broken

INZH text

B06.2 · MIXING RULES

Which system wins.

In Chinese sentences, Chinese punctuation is used — even around embedded Latin. The governing language of the sentence decides the punctuation system, consistently.

ZH SENTENCEZH marks

EVENAround Latin

GOVERNSSentence language

CONSISTENTYes

B06.3 · ALIGNMENT

Handling the extra space.

Full-width marks carry built-in side space, which can look like a gap at line starts or after Latin. Optical adjustments and half-width variants handle these edge cases.

MARKSCarry space

LOOKSLike a gap

FIXOptical · half-width

EDGECases

B06.4 · LINTING

Caught automatically.

A lint check flags Latin punctuation in Chinese strings and vice versa, so the wrong marks never ship. Punctuation is too easy to get wrong by hand to leave unchecked.

LINTFlags wrong marks

BOTHDirections

NEVERShips wrong

CHECKEDAlways

DON'T

Don't use Latin marks in ZH — Full-width by default.

Don't mix systems in a sentence — Governing language wins.

Don't ignore the side space — Adjust at edges.

Don't check by hand — Lint catches it.

“Nothing says ‘translated by a foreigner’ like a Latin comma in a Chinese sentence.”

In progress

Pairing the scripts.

Serif and sans pairs are chosen — Noto Serif & Sans SC — and CJK leading is being tuned. Optical sizing, mixed-script spacing and punctuation rules follow to make the two scripts feel as one.

WCN CJK Type Pairing Map · 6 topics · B01–B06

11 · LOCALIZATION · B · v1.0