Carla Palette opts for bold type and colour in her punchy identity for whiskey sour brand BUNA

Sicilian whiskey sour brand BUNA is hoping to lead the new wave of whiskey, steering clear of the industry’s tartan-heavy tropes in the process. Turning to Carla Palette to achieve as much, the Berlin-based designer has devised a comprehensive, colourful identity for BUNA. The result is a vibrant, welcoming world of whiskey – one that opens up the spirit to a different generation of drinkers.

The core of the identity centres around a delicate balance of moods, whereby the neutral colour palette is contrasted with the application of vivid typography; courtesy of T1 Foundry’s Korium and OGJ Type Design’s Sequel Sans. Discussing her typographic choices, Palette tells us that, “as BUNA’s whiskey sour has a higher alcohol percentage than its competitors, we wanted to communicate this notion through a heavy, chunky wordmark,” hoping to catch the eye of fresh audiences through its bold presence, whilst alluding to the strength of the spirit. 

“This was also a choice made to go against what is known and expected from whiskey brands,” Palette adds, “which usually focus on the use of delicate and eclectic typography, which is done to death,” instead finding comfort in the dynamic shapes of Korium’s distinctive letterforms. “Sequel Sans was chosen to visually balance the strength and presence of the bold wordmark,” she continues, “and allows the supporting brand copy to feel direct and purposeful,” capturing a modernist, meticulous character akin to the whiskey’s taste profiles and distilling practice.

When applied in tandem, the colour and typography harbour a grounded, friendly and comfortable tone, brought together with the help of Madrid-based designer Antonio Carceles, who developed a series of playful, tongue-in-cheek illustrations for the brand. As a result, warmth permeates through the identity, powerfully contrasted by the sharp strokes of Korium. “The illustrations needed to have an experimental feel, grounded in finesse and polish,” Palette tells us, wanting to reference the exploratory nature of BUNA’s offering and their unique distilling processes. “We needed to find a style of illustration that had an experimental and raw feeling whilst still feeling polished and refined,” she continues, again embodying BUNA’s expert nature. “Antonio’s illustration style also has a quirky and lighthearted feeling to it,” Palette concludes, “not taking itself too seriously, which is something we wanted to inject in the overall narrative of the brand.”

Carla Palette