Civil engineer Christian Fredrik Furuholmen, after studying at London’s Le Cordon Bleu, founded CF18 Chocolatier in Oslo in 2018 to dedicate himself to artisanal chocolate production. With this story as a starting point, the Olssøn Barbieri studio was commissioned to create a visual identity that reflected the technique and finesse of this business. “The art of engineering is one of the oldest applied sciences, intimately linked to geology and building, using stone as the primary material. Stones transform from liquid to solid which is similar to the physical and chemical processes involved in melting and tempering chocolate. We saw an opportunity to connect the narrative of CF 18 and the decor of the chocolates to Norwegian stones and minerals by imitating their patterns and colors ”, they explained. Their original idea has already been awarded with numerous awards in 2020 (Dieline Awards 2nd Place, Visuelt Gold, European Design Awards Bronze, Dezeen Awards Shortlist, D&AD Wood Pencil, and Pentawards Gold).

One of the curiosities of the packaging is the absence of plastics. By customizing all the items, they were able to work with the highly moldable FibreForm paper on the outer boxes and inlays. The trays are made of 100% recycled Eska Board, lined with Textile Seveso 100% rayon produced in Italy. A padded paper and a glassine with holographic guarantee that the chocolate remains in place during transport. Likewise, each box has a color coordinated dépliant in paper doubled with textile, mapping the different chocolates.

The oval brand mark, adds Olssøn Barbieri, “portrays the tools common to both chocolatiers and geologists, to underline craft and creation. The foiled glassine paper with an extract from the periodic table, creates an additional and subtle link to chemistry and geology. These elements are balancing the contemporary philosophy of CF18, manifested by the white outer box, the tear-off, the monochrome palette and the choice of typography. We used a sans serif font (Adieu) from the Oslo-based foundry Good Type Foundry and a chiseled type (Laica B) from the Swiss foundry ABC Dinamo ”.