I’m a digital crafter. Wherever and with whomever I’m working, I let the needs of a project dictate its style. I try not to think my way into a design, quality is always my priority but I believe you have to let play drive you. My motto?
Easy is boring. If you aren’t having fun
pushing yourself, you aren’t doing it right.
Though I don’t necessarily believe design and art are the same thing, I do believe creatives can (and should) speak both languages.
I put it this way:
Design is an act of empathy;
Art is an act of freedom.
I love the abstract nature of letters, the product of human inventiveness, constantly evolving. Every brand, like every person, has its own unique character, and I believe typography is the tool best suited to crafting designs which coax out a brand’s true ethos.
I look at letter design as clothing for text.
Dressing up isn’t the same as dressing well.
It’s all about choosing the right attire for each occasion. As a letterer, it’s my job to be a reliable and trustworthy tailor.
My promise?
I’ll never let you leave my shop wearing something you can’t quite pull off.
Bio
Alex Trochut was born in 1981 in Barcelona, Spain. After completing his studies at Elisava Escola Superior de Disseny, Alex established his own design studio in Barcelona before relocating to New York City. Through his design, illustration and typographic practice he has developed an intuitive way of working that has resulted in his expressive visual style.
For Alex, typography functions on two hierarchical levels. First, there is the image of the word we see; reading comes secondary. As a designer, Alex focuses on the potential of language as a visual medium, pushing language to its limits so that seeing and reading become the same action and text and image become one unified expression.
Mixing styles and genres and drawing equally from pop culture, street culture, fashion and music, Alex has created design, illustration and typography for a diverse range of clients: Nike, Adidas, The Rolling Stones, Katy Perry, BBC, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, The Guardian, The New York Times, Time Magazine and many others. Alex’s work has been internationally recognized, appearing in exhibitions and publications worldwide. He has given talks and been honored by the Art Directors Club––including being named a 2008 Young Gun––the Type Directors Club, Creative Review, Cannes, Clio and D&AD among others. His monograph, More Is More, explores his working methodologies and influences and was published in 2011.
Alex currently lives and works in Brooklyn.
Clients
Alex has worked across disciplines to bring to life design solutions tailored to meet the concerns of each client. Alex works collaboratively with a range of clients traversing music, fashion, editorial, and beyond. With every new project, Alex fuses his aesthetic sensibility with a prescient cultural understanding to create distinctive designs, illustrations and typography.
Music
The Rolling Stones, Katy Perry, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Noia, Kelly Clarkson, Bruno Mars, Caribou, Phish, James Murphy, Four Tet, Arctic Monkeys, Arcade Fire, Wiz Khalifa, Vampire Weekend, Sufjan Stevens, Manel, Damian Lazarus, Acid Pauli, Lucy, Rebolledo, Ellen Alien, Moderat, Alagoas, Joywave, Pye Corner Audio, Pentatonix, LCD Soundsystem,…
Editorial
Penguin Classics, New York Times, The Guardian, Vanity Fair, V magazine, Wired, Washington Post, Etapes, Creative Review, Esquire, ESPN, GQ…
Advertising
Coca Cola, Nike, Apple Music, HP, ZbyHp, Samsung, Jaeger-Lecoultre, The Oscars, IBM, Johnnie Walker, McDonalds, Volkswagen, Toyota, Fiat, Seat, Audi, Adobe, Adidas, MTV, Pepsi, British Airways, Converse, Chivas, Absolut, The Economist, Fallon, BBH, Saatchi & Saatchi, Mother, JWT, TBWA, W+K, ING, Footlocker, MasterCard, Lays, Taco Bell,…
Fashion
M·A·C, Estee Lauder, Net a Porter, Christian Dior, Camper, Patagonia, 55DSL, Nixon, Sixpack, Top Shop, Ecko Enterprises, Lane Crawford, Puig Group, Little Creative Factory…
Press
Awards
Alex has been honored for his work in design and typography by industry pioneers like The Type Directors Club, Communication Arts and Graphis. In 2008, he was recognized for his inventive lettering style and was named an Art Directors Club Young Gun, honoring designers under 30. In 2014, Binary Prints was celebrated by the Creative Review with the coveted Best In Book Award in recognition of the inventive printing technique used to create day and night prints on a single page.
Communication Arts 2022
Typography / Print Advertising
Cannes Lions 2018
Industry Craft / Outdoor (x6) Bronze
Cannes Lions 2018
Industry Craft / Brand and Communication Design (x1) Bronze
D&AD PRofessional Awards 2018
Wood Pencil Crafts for Design / Typography for Design 2018
D&AD PRofessional Awards 2017
Wood Pencil Trade Covers 2017
ADC Awards 2017
Bronze Cube
TDC Certificate of Excellence 2017
Book Jacket
58th Grammy Awards Nomination
Best Recording Packaging
Communication Arts 2016 Award of Excellence
Typography Packaging
Communication Arts 2016 Award of Excellence
Unpublished
CLIO Silver 2015
Print Technique Illustration
CLIO Bronze 2015
Print Technique Art Direction
Kinsale Silver 2015
Print Campaign
Kinsale Bronze 2015
Poster
Bronze Cannes Lion 2015
Press Campaign
Creative Review Annual
Best in Book 2013
Premio Gráffica
2013
Laus
Bronce 2013
Laus
Or 2008
Illustrative Berlin
Nomination 2009
D&AD
in Book Award 2009
Certificate of Excellence
TDC 56 2009
Communication Arts Illustration
2008
ADC Young Gun
2008
Graphic Poster
Gold 2008
Certificate of Excellence
TDC 2005
Talks
SemiPermanent Presents 2022
Sydney
Forward Festival 2022
Virtual
TypeCon 2021
Virtual
LADFest 2020
Lima, Peru
Desayunos Domestika 2019
Mexico City, Mexico
Copa Domestika 2019
San José, Costa Rica
Blanc Festival 2018
Barcelona, Spain
Graphika Manila 2018
Manila, Phillipines
TypeCon 2017
Boston, USA
OFFF by Night 2016
Antwerp, Belgium
Design Mind 2015
Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
Itch Festival 2015
Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala
Typographics 2015
Cooper Union, New York, USA
Type Directors Club 2015
New York, USA
4GN 2014
Bogotá, Colombia
Design Thinkers 2013
Toronto, Canada
Ma+go 2013
Lima, Peru
Grafitart 2013
Quito, Ecuador
Semi Permanent 2013
Oakland, New Zeland
Toffie Pop 2012 Design Olympics
Cape Twon, South Africa
OFFF 2012
Mexico DF, Mexico
OFFF 2011
Barcelona, Spain
TMDG 2009
Mar del Plata, Argentina
Mad in Spain 2009
Madrid, Spain
European Design Conference
Zürich, Switzerland
Tipos Libres 2009
Queretaro, Mexico
Type Directors Club 2009
New York, USA
AIGA NY 2009
New York, USA
3CIT Congreso Tipografico 2008
Valencia, Spain
OFFF 2008
Lisbon, Portugal
Semi Permanent 2008
Sydney, Australia
Exhibitions
Alex’s makes work that is concept-driven and exploratory. Without the constraints present in his solution-based design practice, his exhibitions are a space to address questions without the necessity of conclusive answers. Working in this way, Alex creates a dialogue with the work that allows for responsiveness and uncertainty in the making process so that the emotional may transcend the logical and meaning is left to interpretation. Alex’s process considers each project anew, creating an expression for each conceptual concern. By this working method, Alex eschews a trademark style or subject matter to create instead a distinctive and singular voice all his own.
SATELLITE NFT
@Twenty Twenty Six Gallery, Sidney 2022
LETTERHOLIC
@ Type Directors Club, New York 2015
FINE LINE
@ Spectrum, Miami (Art Basel) 2014
THINK TWICE
@ Colette, Paris 2014
THINK TWICE
@ Kinfolk, Brooklyn 2014
BINARY PRINTS
@ Fabrica Moritz, Barcelona 2014
BINARY PRINTS
@ Sonar, Barcelona 2013
BINARY PRINTS
@ Elita, Milan 2013
BINARY PRINTS
@ Simple Things, Bristol, 2013
Trochut+Apparatu Vol.3
@ FTC, Barcelona, 2010
Trochut+Apparatu Vol.1
@ OtrasCosas, Barcelona, 2009
