"MESANS": A Responsive Variable Font System Based on Cuneiform Aesthetics and Its Adaptability in Smart Media Environments

Abstract

With the development of smart media, static typefaces can no longer meet the demands of adaptive interfaces. Digital interfaces face the dual challenges of visual homogenization and flattened cultural expression, which undermines user immersion and contextual awareness. Existing research on variable fonts primarily focuses on the adjustment of geometric parameters such as weight and width, lacking exploration into transforming cultural symbols into dynamic design logic. Designing a variable font system that can both carry cultural identity and flexibly respond to context and user behavior has thus become a significant research gap.This study designs and develops "Mesans"—a responsive variable font system based on the aesthetics of cuneiform script—and investigates how its dynamic visual characteristics can enhance user cognition, emotion, and interface adaptability. The research deconstructs the "reed stylus impression" into two variable axes—"serif sharpness" and "stroke terminal form"—and constructs a responsive logic framework that enables the font to transition smoothly between "legibility" and "cultural expression" based on contextual modes, content keywords, or scrolling speed.Upon completion of the prototype, five UX designers and two content creators will be invited for interviews to gather feedback on cultural translation, dynamic naturalness, the balance between function and expression, and potential application scenarios. These insights will lay the foundation for subsequent iteration and empirical research. This study aims to advance cultural innovation in variable font technology and provide new perspectives for building more humanistically oriented intelligent interfaces.

Keywords: MESANS, Cuneiform Aesthetics, Smart Media Environments

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1008064