Date
Words
Harry Bennett
0 min read

Branding with Type’s workhorse sans serif Bw Fusiona combines character, flexibility and function


Branding with Type’s workhorse sans serif Bw Fusiona combines character, flexibility and function
Branding with Type’s workhorse sans serif Bw Fusiona combines character, flexibility and function
Branding with Type’s workhorse sans serif Bw Fusiona combines character, flexibility and function
Branding with Type’s workhorse sans serif Bw Fusiona combines character, flexibility and function

Zaragoza-based type foundry Branding with Type have released Bw Fusiona, a workhorse sans serif with 5 widths and 70 styles that’s looking to set the standard for grotesque variability. Primed with a balance of rich, characterful construction and technical rigour, the exhaustive type family is designed to feel comfortable in digital, physical and interactive spaces.

“Naming a new typeface is always a struggle, Bw Fusiona changed its name three times during the design process,” Founder and Type Designer Alberto Romanos tells us. “You want a memorable name that could work well across as many languages as possible,” he adds, “ideally evoking or enhancing the feel of the typeface… and is not already taken!” This led them to a more adventurous, exploratory and next-frontier-esque field, inspired by – and looking to reinforce – the unusual nature of the typeface’s constructive contrast. “I looked at the crossover of actual science and science-fiction,” Romanos explains, turning towards astronomy, space travel and futuristic dystopias within his research. “Nuclear fusion is daring, it’s powerful, it can be the fuel for reaching beyond,” he remarks, “it’s a bit of a stretch, but I hope designers can see in Bw Fusiona a tool for elevating their projects to the next level.”

Branding with Type’s workhorse sans serif Bw Fusiona combines character, flexibility and function
Branding with Type’s workhorse sans serif Bw Fusiona combines character, flexibility and function
Branding with Type’s workhorse sans serif Bw Fusiona combines character, flexibility and function
Branding with Type’s workhorse sans serif Bw Fusiona combines character, flexibility and function

Recalling the complicated nature of Bw Fusiona’s design, Romanos crafted parallel widths of the typeface from the very beginning of the process, rather than simply designing the standard width first, which is typically done – taking 16 months from start to finish. “The challenge was navigating the myriad of widths and weights,” he notes, “people might expect a more traditional Compressed, Condensed, Semi Condensed…” he adds, “but that can be very confusing when you have that many widths,” eventually taking a more descriptive approach to Bw Fusiona’s naming. “I ended up naming the different subfamilies Tall, Tight, Narrow, Standard and Wide just for the visuals,” he concludes, “but at a file-level, the best solution was to use a number system, with the 1st digit informing the width and the 2nd the weight.”

Type Design

Branding with Type

Typeface

Bw Fusiona

Share