We’ve been big fans of M+E/Michael Fusco Design for years now. (Confession: We hired these design wizards to make some fabulous invitations for us a couple of years ago.) So when we ran into Michael recently and he agreed to be interviewed, we were thrilled.

Michael and his equally talented and delightful wife, Emma, design everything under the sun: book jackets, band posters, record covers, business signage and identities, and, of course, wedding invitations. The first time we laid eyes on their work, we were immediately struck by how thoughtful their designs are. Every letter, every line, every dot, is so carefully considered.

Their designs are also wildly creative and unabashedly joyful… What more could you ask for?

And now, without further ado, we bring you the one and only Michael Fusco!

1. When did you first realize that you wanted to pursue graphic design?

I was kind of an aimless, terrible student in high school and college. But I had a computer, and I worked at the library. And I was kind of a punk rock kid. I befriended this band who was putting out an album, and they asked me to design their album cover. So, I stole a book from the library and cut it up; I did an old school paste-up for their cover. Eventually, I went to a tech school to learn the computer, tech side of design, and after that I got a job in Orlando working for this guy doing graphic design. One of our projects was text book covers. I loved that. Which is how I ended up with a job in the art department of a book publisher here in New York. And then, you know, things would come around. People would ask, Can you design this for me? Can you design that? At some point, I quit my job, and it’s been great. I do posters, book covers, wedding invitations… I love the idea that every day I can be doing something different. I have so many different creative paths I get to satisfy.

2. Do you remember the first thing you designed?

When I was in high school, I was really into punk and ska music. I mean, it was the ’90s. I used to make friends with these touring bands, and I remember designing cut and paste posters for their shows down in Florida. But when I was a little kid, I was really into movies. I would obsessively record movies on VHS off the TV. I would draw the title of the movie on the side of the VHS tape. I’d do it in font to match the movie poster. That was probably the first thing I ever designed.

3. How would you describe your design aesthetic?

I recently did an identity for a coffee shop in Williamsburg, and the guy said to me, “I like what you do because what you do is really clean but it’s still fun.” I like that. [Emma and I] try to make things clean and simple but still use color and be fun and vibrant and new looking.

4. When you design a couple’s wedding invitation suite what’s the process like?

Well, with the really organized couples, they’ll pull out a binder with pictures of all these things they love. These are great. Show me a beautiful tent or table setting, and it gives me a really good sense of the feel and mood of the couple and how they envision their wedding day. I love that. Other times, though, a couple will give us just a quick idea of what’s going on. They’ll say that they want invitations that are super elegant and classy and inspired by the 1920s and very art deco. And then maybe show us their wedding colors. After that, Emma and I will talk it through. Toss some ideas out. And then we put something together to share with the couple. If they love it, we go from there. It’s a delicate back and forth.

One time a bride gave me a swatch of her wedding reception tablecloth for inspiration. That was great, because it felt so collaborative. I love when couples make suggestions. I’m not the type of designer who wants to close the door and be left all alone to create. I’m so happy for the collaboration.

And Emma is also completely involved with the wedding invitations and poster making. We’ll go to a meeting with the bride and groom, and Emma will take all the notes and ask all the right questions. She’s very good at the social aspect of everything. The book covers and the business identity stuff is mostly my deal, but we collaborate on the wedding invitations. She’s the person I show everything to before I show it to anyone else.

5. What’s the best part about designing wedding invitations with your wife?

I love the fact more than anything that I can make things with her. I’m so happy for that. It’s such a gift.

6. What’s your favorite part of your job?

This is something I’ve been wrestling with. I love to see what I do in the outside world. I work by myself a lot. One of the drags of being on my own is that I don’t get out a lot. I don’t have coworkers to interact with. But when I get to see people interact with the stuff I design, that’s, well, wow. We design and sell the merchandise for the band Magnetic Fields. We designed five different shirts for them, and we actually manned the booth at their shows, selling the shirts. To sit there and watch people look at the five designs we did was really interesting. We got to listen to them discuss and debate. They didn’t know we had designed them, obviously. So it was really interesting to hear them say stuff like, “Oh that one sucks.” Or, “Ooh, I love the color on that one.” So those kinds of moment for me as a designer are really important. I also spend a lot of time in bookstores. To see people holding a book I’ve designed, that’s the best part.

7. Is there a particular wedding invitation that you’re especially proud of?

We did a wedding invitation for a couple where we created a unique emblem for them. We had it made into a stamp, and they used it on all these aspects of their wedding. And they framed the invitation on a wall in their house. The idea that somebody has something we made hanging on their wall and that every time they look at it, they have these wonderful memories of their wedding day… I’m really proud of that.

8. The invitations you did for your own wedding were gorgeous and so personal. I love that you wrote a letter to each and every guest. How did you come up with that idea? What were your guests’ reactions?

Well, first of all, we had this really small wedding. Only 30 people. And we really wanted everyone we invited to the wedding to be connected to us and to have had a role in the last six years of our relationship. Like I invited the cousin who got me the job where I met Emma. I wanted our guests to know that they were wonderful people who helped us build our relationship and had been good friends to us.

I wanted our invitations to reflect that and, too, I felt all this pressure because we’re designers. Like these invitations had to be epic. We did our invitations with four colors and off-set printing, and we even had a friend paint a portrait of us for the front of the invitation. As for writing the personal letters, that was so awesome. We did it all in one day. And in each letter, we told our guests why they were special to us. It was really fun. I loved it. That was the beginnings of us working together. That was the first project that was a total collaboration between me and Emma. We were such a crazy unit.

Thanks so much, Michael!

Click here to learn more about both Michael and Emma, see more of their gorgeous work and contact them directly.