Yameshi, which is located in the southern part of Fukuoka prefecture, is famous as a tea producing area that represents Japan and also a spot where fireflies can be seen. With a population of about 72,000, tea is a representative agricultural product of the Yame region, which has been cultivated since ancient times, and is deeply rooted in the history, traditions, lives and culture of the citizens. The tea is shaded as a symbol of this region, and with the theme of "Tea no Kuni Yame / Oku Yame", the healthiness of the tea, the Japanese emotion, and the spirit of hospitality are the key points to create a hometown where you want to continue living and tourism exchange. We are promoting.

"Stop public relations" introduced at a seminar of the Japan Public Relations Association as a "clean and easy-to-read public relations magazine". We asked Mr. Shinohara and Mr. Matsuo, who are the public relations officers of the city, who are in charge of editing the information, what they are trying to do to make important information easy to read, and the know-how realized by LETS.

The merger has expanded the scope of our coverage, and we now have less time to edit than before. However, we are striving to provide the necessary information in an easy-to-understand manner within the limited space of the newsletter so that more citizens can read it.

Firstly, the pages of "Yame Public Relations" are printed in two colors, and we pay particular attention to the "color" of each issue. When we merged with Kurogi Town, which is famous for its wisteria flowers, we used wisteria color for the pages. I remember that when we saw the finished product, we were both delighted because the color was more beautiful than we had imagined. Also, at this time of year, the New Tea Prayer Festival has ended in Yame City, and tea season has begun. For that reason, we chose brown for this year's May issue. We create "Yame Public Relations" with the hope that our citizens will be able to feel the seasons through it.

The second point is about "layout and fonts." In "Kourou Yame," Text is typeset with 13th grade 21 teeth width, and 30-40% spacing. However, when there are a lot of characters, I make some adjustments. For example, when text is moving to the next paragraph, it doesn't look good if only one character is sent to the beginning of the line, so I adjust the spacing between characters to create a neat and easy-to-read layout. When I create a text, I always think about whether the overall balance looks nice.

In addition, we try not to use too many different fonts on the same page to create a sense of unity on the paper. Specifically, in the "Voices of Citizens" section, we use [TsukuMin-D] for "Voices from Citizens" and [TsukuMin-R] for "Responses from the City" to make them visually distinct. It's a subtle difference, but it adds contrast without changing the image of the paper. However, I don't think most citizens would notice if they looked at it. (laughs)

Even so, in "Kourou Yame," I use about 15 to 20 fonts other than Text, TsukuMin-RB. For example, I use fonts that match the image of Heading and other accents, or when introducing books and movies. LETS has a wide variety of fonts, so I have fun choosing ones that fit the atmosphere of each situation, but I also choose carefully. For example, in the "Child-raising Support Bulletin Board" section, I use RodinWanpaku, because the articles are about children, and I think that a Gothic font gives a light feeling. I personally like this font, so I often use it in other places, such as Heading.

A new typeface is released every year. I really liked TsukuOldMin that I received two years ago. It's really beautiful. The beauty of Japanese characters isn't just in kanji, I think the beauty of hiragana and katakana is really important. I'd like to try composing a body of Text using this typeface someday. I also like Humming, and use it in various places in Public Relations Yame. That's why I'm happy that the number of Weight variations has increased. (Shinohara)

I like round gothic fonts, so I'm interested in Tsukushi Maru Gothic. Seurat has large characters and a slightly casual feel, so I'd definitely like to use it when I want to express a different image. Also, although TsukuMin, which is used in Text, is compatible, it would be helpful if other fonts were also made compatible with Pr5 (Adobe-Japan1-5). By increasing the number of characters in the old fonts needed to write place names and personal names, the number of fonts that can be used with appropriate kanji will increase, making it even more convenient to be able to choose a font with the right atmosphere for each situation. (Matsuo)

I am very satisfied with LETS because it has many beautiful and easy-to-use fonts. Apart from the fonts, I would like the LETS Power Up Tool Kit, which contains useful tools, to include a variety of borders. For example, I would be happy if it had soft borders like those drawn with crayons, rather than art brushes. I look forward to seeing more of this in the future.

Secretary and Public Relations Officer Michihiro Matsuo
Secretary and Public Relations Officer
Mr. Michihiro Matsuo
<Editor's Note>
The two of them seemed extremely busy with the expansion of their coverage due to the merger with neighboring cities and towns, the increase in the number of publications, and the shortening of editing time. Nevertheless, they have made various efforts to convey local information to citizens in an easy-to-understand manner through a beautiful and easy-to-read page. When they talked about the typefaces they would like to use in the future, they said things like, "I'd like to use it for this," and "How about using it for that?" and I, as the interviewer, felt really happy to hear them say that. We will continue to strive to further expand and develop our services so that our fonts and tools can be used to create pages for Koho Yame that citizens will enjoy. Thank you for taking the time to cooperate with us during this interview despite your busy schedules. We look forward to working with you in the future. (Muta)