He says the first thought was to make it easy for, and encourage, pharmaceutical companies to add braille on medication packaging to guarantee the safe use of medications for people with visual impairments.

Li says the launch of the font garnered acclaim from teachers at the schools for visually impaired children who, with the help of the font, could add learning materials and books used at ordinary schools into their curriculum.

In December, the font won a gold award at the eighth annual Design Intelligence Awards presented by the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

Launched in 2014, the award aims at inspiring new technology inventions and applications, products and solutions that address humanistic concerns and make life smarter. The first DIA prizes were given in 2016.

A selection of the DIA award winners, including the Alibaba Healthy Fonts Project, is on show at Gather Great Wisdom to Shape the Future of Intelligence Manufacturing held at the National Museum of China until mid-August.