CUSP express the natural origins of Matthew Fisher’s work in their visual world for The Quarry House

A project years in the making, The Quarry House is an immersive space that showcases New York-based designer Matthew Fisher’s work in an entirely digital experience. To bring the concept to life, Fisher invited Canadian digital design studio CUSP to lead the design and art direction of the project.  

Every interactive piece within the space is one of Fisher’s works; handcrafted art objects and furnishings made from natural materials. “We wanted to create a space that was not just a digital art gallery or home walk-through,” explains CUSP’s Art Director Brandon Levesque, “so we created a space that pulls inspiration from where Matthew sources his stone to create visual context and storytelling for the origins of the stones, and also allows the viewer to visually see it in an interactive space.” Likewise, the sound design was created from scratch, including nature sounds filmed outdoors.

The identity itself harmonises with the calm, contemplative nature of Fisher’s creations. The soft organic hues of the colour palette are pulled from the collections and the quarry in which the house inhabits. Paired with an elegant typographic direction, the result is a sophisticated visual language that doesn’t dominate or distract. For the type choices, CUSP blended in typefaces from Fisher’s original brand – Knockout 34 and Klim Type Foundry’s Untitled Sans – with new additions such as WiseType’s WT Kormelink. “WT Kormelink felt like a natural extension to the brand,” notes Levesque, “and it’s a typeface that pulls from historical context which is something Matthew does in all his works.” 

Similarly, CUSP looks to previous collaborations with the designer for added continuity. “Sang Bleu Serif was a typeface on the original site we developed for Matthew so we wanted to carry that over as well but still have it feel unique to The Quarry House,” he reveals, “which is why we chose Sang Bleu Sans – to have that connective tissue to the original brand – but it’s something that can live exclusively with The Quarry House experience.”

The layout’s approach reflects the design language of editorial design, with the Canada-based studio looking to the pre-internet landscape.“Prior to digital, Matthew’s pieces would traditionally live in an editorial context, so we wanted to take cues from that and fashion the design of The Quarry House in the same visual style,” Levesque concludes. 

CUSP

The Quarry House