Type designer Davide Rossetto’s portfolio is inspired by modernism and simplicity

Zurich-based designer Davide Rossetto works on a number of commissioned and self-initiated projects in the creative industries including architecture, design, photography, fashion and music. While he doesn’t define his work as having a particular style, Davide says he is influenced by modernism, which is reflected in his simplistic yet still communicative design work. “Of course typography plays a big role in my work, probably the most important role. Historic awareness and strong content is also important to me,” he explains.

His heart lies with editorial and type design and his portfolio is chock full of interesting typographic experiments, book design and some identity work. Stand out projects include his typeface, Functional Grotesk, which Davide spent much of last year creating. “It’s my sans serif font that I have been using for my personal work since and will release it next year.” Another stand out piece of work is 1962-2047, which the designer describes as “a sneak peek” of his personal fonts. “Some are inspired by modernism as I mentioned before and some are totally new forms, which all stand for the future. I plan to release some of these as well.”

Davide’s taste for simple design and crisp typefaces comes together in the identity he’s created for an exhibition at the Museum Reitberg. The show was about Indian Mughal paintings from the 16th and 17th Century and required research from the designer in order to create a “genuine dialogue between the design and the content”. The design itself is based on a modular system using typography, image and colour. “Each one of these components is a contemporary translation of how it was used in the original paintings,” explains Davide. “With the smallest manipulations of line spacing, colour and shape, the whole design got pushed into an exotic aesthetic without appearing too trashy or losing the ability to communicate straightforwardly.”