Typographic wizardry: PARTERRE’s serif-rich brand for Ziegler echoes the distillery’s history

The idea of legacy is synonymous with Ziegler, one of the most famous distilleries in Germany, perched on the banks of the Main River in Freudenberg. When the facility – which has been making the finest distillates since 1865 – began thinking about a brand refresh, they reached out to the Vienna-based creative consultancy PARTERRE. Upon studying Ziegler’s business more closely, the team realised that “heritage is an important part of their culture,” shares Creative Director Kevin Nowak. “Therefore we used a serif typeface for their new logo, which reflects the tradition and also the handcrafted character. Traulha by Bureau Brut was a great fit, because of its sharp serifs which gives the brand the right tone of voice.”

Throughout the typographic treatment, the theme of serif typefaces runs strong – whether it be in the use of Art Company Mono in the packaging, which gives it a “factual touch,” or Victor Serif, which is used as the supporting typeface in the identity, perfect for setting longer paragraphs. It’s also very prominent in the collection of labels the studio designed for Ziegler’s range of brandies, each of which stars a ‘Z’ in a different typeface, which speaks to the spirit’s aroma and taste. “We intentionally avoided the use of illustrative images of fruits or ingredients. Instead, we pursued a compelling typographic strategy that resulted in a distinctive range of labels,” Creative Director Sebastian Hofer-Nonveiller tells us.

In this unique exercise of aligning the ‘character’ of a specific brandy with the ‘form’ of a font, PARTERRE collected a trove of typefaces from various foundries, including Digestive Four by OH no Type Company, Jäger Master Regular by VJ Type, and Office Times Regular by Boulevard LAB, amongst many others. The ‘Z’s, coloured in rich tones of purple, lime, and red, sit pride of place on the labels, giving each bottle a standout look. The team peeled back the layers of each brandy – from its history, aroma, and mouthfeel – to zero in on its special typeface. For example, “Wild Cherry No.1 is the distillery’s flagship product,” says Hofer-Nonveiller. “So its ‘Z’ should not only represent the incomparably fine flavour, but also the long history of this brandy. Sinistre from Collletttivo perfectly combined these values for us.”

Hovering close to each ‘Z’ on the label is a brand mark which takes notes from a historic sandstone archway, located in the distillery – an element carried forward from the previous identity, but imagined afresh. Holding the date 1865 within its form, the mark is also rejigged and pulled apart to create a flexible grid, which is used across the brand system. Whether used on letterheads, labels, or felt in structured layouts, the mark is quiet, yet ever-present; it’s also seen in the fragile tags, where the arch is cleverly broken, and the numbers are left slightly askew.

PARTERRE