CAST and Parakeet Studio design the custom face for Bitter Fusetti’s visual identity
Fusetti is a brand of handcrafted Italian bitters. With a fresh and youthful range of products Fusetti’s dynamic identity was designed to attract the new generations while blending tradition and innovation. Recognising the need for something special, Bitter Fusetti recently commissioned Parakeet Studio (Accounting: Destinazionemercurio & Overlude s.r.l.) to create a bespoke typeface for the brand and this studio asked CAST Type Foundry to work together on a heavy typeface for headings and medium-size text. So, here we are with Fusetti Display.
Fusetti Display is an all-caps typeface that explores the relationship between dark strokes and small counters producing an unconventional yet controlled rhythm. The curved counters soothe the density of the strokes and make for a more fluid rhythm that contrasts with the typeface’s modular construction. Its low contrast gives it a compact, uniform appearance without impairing clarity at smaller sizes. The geometry of the internal spaces adds solidity to the design and gives the words a strong and steady appearance. Though the external rounded corners share a consistent radius, the internal ones vary. While maintaining overall coherence, this distinction introduces a subtle articulation between outer structure and inner detail.
‘Here is how Fusetti Display came out’ as explained by designers Stefano Baldassari (CAST) and James D. Barranger (Parakeet Studio). ‘For its shapes, which have a squared block structure and a funky feel, we drew inspiration from some modernist typefaces whose essential structure is based on primary geometric shapes. We delved deep into these shapes to capture their essence, and then we gave our design a contemporary feel playing with various details. Our main interest was in developing a rational and geometric structure. Rather than treating the glyphs as combinations of strokes, we imagined the counters and white spaces as negative shapes emerging from a fully black rectangle.’
