Alex Trochut: International Inspiration

Alex Trochut: Worldwide Inspiration

Ryan Cort

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October 19th, 2016

2007 was around the time that graphic design started to move in a direction of a more informational era, but some designers moved away from this general trend somewhat. One of these designers is man named Alex Trochut. In that very same year, Trochut started his own design studio. From this point on, Trochut began making influential waves in the field of graphic design. Alex Trochut has created a huge impact on the design world by being a tour-de-force in music, his expressive form of illustration, and finally his innovative use of typography.

“Dynamite with a laser beam, Guaranteed to blow your mind” is a song lyric sung by Freddie Mercury of the band Queen. It is also a very good description from the band for one of first album covers Trochut designed. The compilation album is named Rolling Gold and features retro styled typography meant to capture the nostalgic idea of classic rock. Sonaldi Vora said it best when she commented : “The album cover designed by Alex Trochut has impressive gold illustrative typography which makes the cover unique and timeless.” (Sonaldi, 2010). In 2015, Trochut designed the cover for Better Problems by the Brooklyn-based indie band Alagoas. The cover art was so good that he was nominated for the 2016 grammy for Best Recording Package. (Grammys, 2016). Alex Trochut has created no less than 12 album covers for high profile musicians. This no doubt has had an influence on the visually creative aspect of the musical industry as a whole.

Alex Trochut has mentioned this Salvador Dali quote being one of his favourites: “Those who do not want to imitate anything produce nothing.” (Trochut, 2014). This is serves as an example of Trochut’s dedication to the abstract and surreal, but also his understanding of iterating on previous visual experiences. In 2014, Trochut did a commision for Oreo — creating the Play with Oreo campaign. The illustrations he did for this campaign are whimsical and feature twisting lines and swirls. It served to fuel the imagination of children and help to associate the Oreo brand with one of sport and physical activity. A great example of Trochut’s ability to create mind-bending imagery is in his magazine cover for New York Magazine’s story on Xanax. This illustration is one that almost interferes with your consciousness with just it’s complex, wavy line work. This illustration is one that shows how he is influenced by geometrical op artists Victor Vasarely, Carlos Cruz-Diez and M. C. Escher which he mentioned in an interview. (Betul, 2016). While Trochut’s ability to create fascinating imagery is second-to-none, his ability to combine illustration and type is revolutionary.

Finally Alex Trochut’s most important contribution to the design world is his use of expressive typography. A great example of his typography is in the successful 2009 campaign for Nike’s Hyperdunk shoes. The line work in the type paints a picture of futurism and movement. He successfully illustrated the movement and speed of the Hyperdunk shoes and wanted to denote the qualities of “strength + lightness”. Trochut describes his process for creating his complex typography as “I try to get lost, discover happy accidents and break my routines. Normally it’s hard to find a client that likes to experiment and take risks that this process implies, so usually I collect my ‘accidents’ and save them for the right occasion.” (Trochut, 2013). An example of this process can best be seen in his cover for the illustration magazine Varoom. It is an illustration of the phrase: ‘this is illustration’, but is hardly readable. On the back cover the type sinks into what looks like vanilla fondue. The unreadability of the type became a part of the illustration. The reader would have to really take time to read the type, but in doing so absorb the brilliant illustration at a slower pace. This allowed for the reader to appreciate the image deeply compared to if the type was easily read. Trochut’s approach to typography is best characterized by an interview done in 2009 where he said: “I guess it’s because I love type, and I also love illustration, so the work is just a reflection of this double and equal love. I like to feel close to graphic design but in an expressive way of seeing it — so doing expressive typography is where I find my place, and can still feel like a graphic designer.” (Armin, 2009) It is clear to see that his unique use of illustrative typeography is a force in graphic design.