ED-Conference 2025 – Main Stage/Day 1

Keynote talks and panel discussions with Europe's creative thinkers

When
Friday, June 6, 10:00 – 17:00

Ticket
€122,00
pre-registration required

10:00 Petra Černe Oven

The Contemporariness of Modernism Through the Oeuvre of Slovenian Graphic Design Pioneer Jože Brumen 
This lecture explores the relevance of modernism in graphic design through the work of Jože Brumen (1930–2000), a pioneering Slovenian designer. His oeuvre – which included book design, corporate identity, exhibition graphics and posters – embodied the principles of Swiss typography, particularly Helvetica, and combined technical mastery with creative analysis. His modernist vision, shaped by wartime experience and studies in sculpture and architecture, developed a distinctive style that combined rigorous technical exploration with artistic sensibility. Through landmark works such as Integrali, he transformed poetry into a visual language, balancing typographic elements with dynamic graphic forms. His identities for key cultural and economic institutions – from publishing houses and television networks to the University of Ljubljana – show how he modernised visual communication in a rapidly changing post-war society. This highly illustrated lecture explores how Brumen’s work combined local expression with European modernism, ensuring that his influence continues in contemporary design.

 

11:00 and studio (Augustinas Paukštė)

Designing Beyond Borders
What happens when a design studio starts in a market that barely understands branding? When strategy feels optional, and custom typography gets confused looks? This is the story of Andstudio-how we pushed through an immature market, fought for our creative vision, and tried to take Baltic design to the world. We’ve had wins, sure-but mostly struggles. Breaking into the international scene isn’t a fairytale; it’s a constant push, with failures along the way. This isn’t a “we made it” story-it’s about the messy, ongoing journey of trying to get there.

12:00 Type Together

Decentralised, by Design
What does it mean to be a global type foundry in a world where the centre no longer holds? This talk reflects on how decentralisation has shaped TypeTogether: not just in the fonts we create, but in how we hire, collaborate, support language communities, and structure our work. Agyei Archer, a former designer now focused on business development, shares how our distributed model resists top-down norms, embraces diverse visual traditions, and centres voices from underrepresented markets.

Through recent projects, we’ll explore how these values equip us for a future where emerging economies, local brands, and shifting cultural priorities are redefining the landscape of design. Ours is less a story about a global type foundry, and more about the systems and values that enable it to exist

15:00 Dorotea Škrabo 

Blending art, nostalgia, and digital tools
Dorotea Škrabo (1992, Rijeka, Croatia) is a visual artist, designer, and online entertainer. She presents her work under the pseudonym Skrabzi, exploring the phenomena of popular culture in the online space by critically engaging with current trends through video works and social media posts. Her artistic practice often involves the appropriation of iconic scenes from art history, reinterpreting them with new meanings by bringing online content into gallery spaces and spatial interventions. In her talk, Dorotea will discuss creating content on social media by blending art, nostalgia, and digital tools. She uses famous artworks, green screens, and video editing to tell personal stories inspired by childhood memories, old cartoons, pop culture, and that beautifully strange feeling of the past. With a mix of humor, emotion, and visual flair, the talk explores how social media can serve as a space for honest and creative expression—perfect for anyone who loves making things, reminiscing, and seeing art from a fresh perspective.

16:00 Andrej&Andrej (Andrej Barcak)
Re

The lecture explores the concept of redesign as a structured and evolving process rather than a single act of change. It examines how visual identities transform over time, balancing preservation with adaptation. Through research, interviews, and visual experimentation, the project challenges the often inconsistent use of terminology in design discourse and proposes a more systematic understanding of how and why design changes occur. By presenting these methods, the lecture also offers insight into our own process and design approach—demonstrating how we work through complexity, develop visual language, and make decisions that shape identity over time.

Andrej & Andrej is a graphic design studio based in Bratislava, Slovakia, founded by Andrej Barčák and Andrej Čanecký. The two met during their secondary school years and continued their creative journey together through university, where a shared fascination with visual storytelling laid the groundwork for their long-term collaboration. Rooted in curiosity and experimentation, their approach consistently seeks out unexpected ideas with a strong focus on concept-driven design. With expertise in visual identity systems, brand strategy, art direction, custom typefaces, editorial design, and illustration, the studio aims to create its own gravitational pull—drawing in clients from across diverse domains. Their work moves fluidly between sectors while maintaining a cohesive and thoughtful aesthetic. Whether shaping visual identities for public and civic institutions like the city of Nitra, the Public Defender of Rights in Slovakia, or the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava; designing music festivals from intimate gatherings like Flaam to Pohoda Festival, one of Europe’s leading festivals; or building visual systems for lifestyle brands like the cycling company Isadore. Their process thrives on collaboration and narrative, often involving other creatives—illustrators, typographers, or writers—to enrich each project with unique depth and perspective.