The work aims to study the design of artistic calligraphy in the period of the Republic of China. In the context of the history of arts and crafts, world history and social history, the complex appearance of the emergence and change of the design form of fine arts in the Republic of China are described and its historical significance and cultural connotation are explored, to reveal the enlightenment of the font form design in this period to contemporary Chinese font design. By the research methods of literature review and case analysis, the design history is combined with social history, the development and change of social system, science and technology, and social trend of thought in the Republic of China period are taken as the background, and the artistic calligraphy of publications in the Republic of China period is adopted as the main clue. By analyzing the historical appearance of artistic calligraphy under the influence of changes in China and international influences, the main character, the change of mode, the comparison of representative works and other aspects of fine art design are clarified, and the birth and evolution of artistic calligraphy design in the Republic of China are outlined. The birth and development of artistic calligraphy are closely related to the social and cultural environment, which shows a high degree of characteristics of the times and is combined with its own culture to develop into a valuable source of experience for contemporary font design, and has a high reference role for contemporary font design.