Fernando Gutiérrez is a ‘designer’s designer’, whose thoughtful work for clients in the worlds of magazines, museums, luxury goods and wine labels have been subtly influential. Born in London to Spanish parents, Gutiérrez studied in the UK and took on his first jobs there, but came to prominence after moving to Barcelona in the early 1990s. He founded design studio Grafica with fellow designer Pablo Martín and designed Tentaciones, a weekend magazine supplement for the newspaper El País.
In 1995 he co-founded Matador, an annual independent magazine that won awards worldwide and led to many other prestigious projects. In 2000 Gutiérrez joined Pentagram’s London office as a partner and in 2006 he left to establish his own studio in north London. His most prominent clients include the Prado Museum in Madrid and the Design Museum in London, but many other projects, large and small, give evidence of his unique blend of enthusiasm and fastidiousness. Recent work includes the logo for the Fedrigoni Top Award, fine art and photography catalogues for private and public galleries, exhibition graphics, a perfume bottle for Givenchy, work for restaurant El Bulli and catalogue and exhibition graphics for Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao and Centro Botín in Santander and Club Matador, a private members’ club in Madrid which continues the spirit of Matador magazine.
Late last summer, on a rainy day in north London, Gutiérrez sat down to discuss his interest in designing wine labels, a longstanding passion that he considers to be a form of editorial design. His drinks clients include The Botanist, Poças, Alta Alella, Valdesil, MonteRosola, Domaine La Casenove, and his longterm client and friend Spanish winemaker Telmo Rodríguez.
John L. Walters: Your first wine label for Telmo Rodríguez was very different, very typographic …
Fernando Gutiérrez: Yes, because I didn’t know anything about the wine business. I just wanted to do something strong that would stand out.