Fernando Gutiérrez met Norman Foster while working in an Eduardo Chillida exhibition with Elena Ochoa Foster. But that was not the first time he heard about the architect. When he was about 12 years old, his father visited the Willis Faber and Dumas Headquarters (Ipswich, 1971), and talked to Fernando about what he saw. He still remembers his father’s enthusiasm about how incredibly futurist the building was.

Born in London to Spanish parents, Fernando Gutiérrez studied at the London College of Printing (1980–86), graduating with a degree in Graphic Design. He has worked from London, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome and Treviso, with high profile organisations including El País Newspaper, Matador Arts Magazine, Colors Magazine, The Prado Museum, Pace London, Tate Modern, the V&A and The Design Museum. In 2014 he was appointed Royal Designer for Industry by the Royal Society of Arts.