Laced with joyful spirit, Range Left Shop’s Bufala Versatile Family now offers more bang for the buck

The inspiration for Range Left Shop’s typeface release, the Bufala Versatile Family, has nothing to do with graphic design. The first monolinear version of Bufala, which was released by the design studio and foundry in 2022, pulls visual cues from Italian product design in the 1960s. A period of great experimentation and innovation, the decade witnessed the birth of many iconic products, which are still loved today, and are snatched up by collectors at auctions and online markets. When Type & Graphic Designer Clément Cases first began drawing Bufala, these now-vintage products, with their fluid, soft contours, had his mind ticking.

“I find there’s a kind of playfulness and something whimsical about Italian design from that era, which inspires me a lot,” he tells us. “Especially the work of Marco Zanuso with Richard Sapper’s Children’s Chairs (model K4999) stood out to me. There’s also Giancarlo Mattioli’s iconic Nessino lamp that left a strong impression on me. It’s all about these simple and playful shapes, geometric yet with an element of construction play.” This idea of a graphic conversation between geometric shapes left an imprint on Bufala, which now includes a variable version, allowing the font to swiftly slide between contrasts and styles.

“With the update, we wanted to explore the possibilities of the variable,” says Cases. “I played with the basic structure to modulate it on three different contrasts (Reverse/Monolinear/Reverze) ranging from light to bold with the possibility of softening everything with a rounded cut. I find it magical to be able to, from a very simple structure, transform the letters so much. The letters of the rounded and the sharp versions – and thus the message they carry – are totally different.”

With its 24 styles, the display typeface now offers more flexibility to designers working with it, allowing them to slim down the font for a sharper look, or amp up the weight to give it a more chonky, sumptuous feel. But no matter how one decides to use it, it’s impossible to separate the typeface from its playful spirit, especially if you read into its name. “The name nods to my favourite cheese ever, Mozzarella di Bufala, which is very smooth and flexible,” reveals Cases. “So, when showcasing the typeface, I leaned into the world of cheese.” It’s true; just hop on to the website, and you’ll notice the typeface spelling out the names of delectable cheeses – from Gorgonzola, Halloumi, to Camembert – all while flaunting its beauty. “I would be really excited to see this font being used in a culinary magazine,” he says. “Or how about a cheese magazine?”

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