2024 speakers in a glance

Vlasta Kubušová is a material designer and co-founder of crafting plastics! studio (cp!s)—an award-winning, multidisciplinary material design studio that revolutionizes the properties, aesthetics, and values of biobased materials. The studio has received many international prizes, including Diploma Selection (2016) and Slovak National Design Award, and their projects have been presented at renowned institutions such as Victoria & Albert Museum London, London Design Museum, and more.
‍Vlasta comes to Eastern to showcase the newest pathways in the world of bio materials in design.

WEDZICKA (Martyna Wędzicka-Obuchowicz) is a graphic designer, lecturer, and speaker specializing primarily in the design of visual identities, covers, books, catalogues, and posters. She explores the topic of chance and human error through experimentation with graphic elements, photos, and typography. Martyna was nominated and awarded in the "Fresh Blood" category in the Project of the Year 2018/2019 competition, won the Polish Graphic Design Awards in 2019 and 2021, and recently became a member of AGI.
‍Martyna comes to Eastern to talk about how mistakes and coincidences can help in creating globally recognizable visuals.

Studio Spiilka from Kyiv is led by a design director duo who have been partners for over a decade. They specialize in visual identities, packaging, UX/UI, and large digital platforms, blending Vova's engineering and UX skills with Nastichka's aesthetic approach. With 125+ global projects, they have won many awards including Red Dot and Cannes Lions. Recent projects include the Diia app, Future Perfect, Army+, Mriya, and Ukraine’s first design magazine "Archive of Ukrainian Design" along with a podcast dedicated to the same topic.
‍Nastichka and Volodymyr come to Eastern to show how designers, in collaboration with the government, can move the country forward.

Kristina Bartošová is a Slovak graphic designer and art director, based in NYC. Whether it's brand identities or editorial design, her work is characterised by bold, often bespoke typography. Always based on research and deliberate conceptualization, her process sees her working towards powerful, seemingly effortless visual outcomes. She is also the co-creative director of Gossamer magazine, a bi-annual culture & lifestyle print publication, and currently works at Base design.
Kristina comes to Eastern to give you her blueprint for making it in New York's design scene.

This tremendous duo located in Warsaw, Poland, is known for their expertise in creating animated and design-centric projects. Their portfolio contains collaborations with renowned companies such as BBC, Netflix, WWF, Facebook, Samsung, and Big Think etc. They are commercially represented by Strange Beast. Their exceptional work has garnered recognition at prestigious events like D&AD, UK MVA, and KTR, as well as numerous film festivals globally.
Kijek/Adamski come to Eastern to showcase the magical craft of animation that uplifts many of their world-known projects.

Advertising creator, film producer and civic activist. He has been in advertising for over 20 years, currently serving as the creative director of the agency Slovak & Friends, which highlights socially responsible projects. Róbert is a member of the Art Directors Club Slovakia and Art Directors Club Europe. He is a member of the board of the Club of Advertising Agencies of Slovakia and the Arbitration Commission of the Advertising Council. He co-founded Ľudia z marketingu (the People from Marketing) association and Chuť žiť (the Taste of Life project). He has already won nearly a hundred Slovak and international awards for advertising and communication.
Robert comes to Eastern to talk about how advertising doesn't have to be just about selling a product.

After a year’s break, we cannot fail to return to the most colourful tradition of our conference. Phantom of the Eastern Design Conference, performer, winner of the Oskar Čepan Award, musician, teacher, artist, parent, artist, Džumelec. Erik Sikora is an exceptional artist based in Košice, whose work crosses the boundaries of genres and creates unique content directly connected to the local context.
Erik comes to Eastern to present an unorthodox approach to creating visual and non-visual content that brings joy even from the mundane banalities of every day.

Living under the constant threat of war, fueled by infinite amounts of barely legal homemade alcohol, bound by the divine will to create everything, out of nothing - this is the fate of Holy Motors, a holistic design company from Tbilisi, Georgia founded by Giorgi Avaliani, Master of Political Anthropology and a former banker and Nick Kumbari, professional orthodox Christian icon painter and a former thug. Having conquered the toughest advertising stages from Cannes to New York, the most unlikely creative partners chose their roaring hometown as the base of operations to blend tradition with fun, and make themselves useful with electrifying graphic design and eccentric advertising talents. Timing couldn’t be more right - birthplace of wine, Joseph Stalin, Bassiani and Demna, Georgia is entering a phase of cultural renaissance, one of the oldest nations in the world on its daring journey to reinvent itself amid constant sociopolitical confusion. Consider this talk as both a crash course and an official invitation to Tbilisi. Drinks are on us!
Giorgi and Nick come to Eastern to give you a taste of Georgian (not only) design.

Monika Kossuth is a ceremonialist and a member of a natural burial movement. She studied anthropology at Masaryk University in Brno and fell in love with natural funeral practices during her studies. Today, she leads the Funebra project, which helps bereaved families create unique and healing funerals and helps cities create more sustainable cemeteries. Funebra also offers eco-friendly funeral products and leads workshops for professionals and the general public. In 2022, Funebra released "The End of My Life" - a tool that guides people in expressing and organising their last wishes.
Monika comes to Eastern to talk about nice endings.

One of the most significant designers of contemporary scenography in our region. After studying in Bratislava and Groningen, Netherlands, he made his debut at the Slovak National Theatre Ballet. In 1995, he moved to work at the National Opera in Warsaw, and from 2005-2006 he served as the chief scenographer at Teatr Wielki, also in Warsaw. In 2003, his set design for the ballet Rasputin at the Slovak National Theatre was awarded the Dosky Prize for the best-set design of the season. In 2007, he received the prestigious gold medal at the Prague Quadrennial, and in 2011, the Tatra Bank Foundation Prize in the theatre category. With his specific refined style, he creates impressive scenes for the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, Teatr Wielki in Warsaw, the Royal Opera House in London, and the Slovak National Theatre back home. Also, he co-founded a studio focused on the fields of luxury commercial and residential interior design called Kudlička with partners.
Boris comes to Eastern to show how he creates amazing spaces for fictional and real stories using design.

Jan Červenka (1992) studied journalism at Charles University in Prague as well as photography at Silesian University. However, he now works as a creative director of marketing company A+Manual, which fully services a leading Czech gastronomical group Ambiente, which stands behind brands like Lokál, Naše maso or Čestr. Together with Tomáš Karpíšek (founder of Ambiente), and renowned Czech graphic designers, photographers and illustrators, they aim to create brands that remain their truth, authenticity and energy, forever, well maybe not forever, but for a long time. Jan also likes cold beer and football.
Jan comes to Eastern to talk about the beauty of authenticity.

Iza Mrozowska specialises in Web and Mobile app design, 3D modelling and No-Code. Professionally involved in design for over 10 years, currently runs a team of fearless designers @ ordergroup as Head of Design. She is passionate about projects that positively impact the world and approaches them with greater enthusiasm than those that don't. Her experience spans across various industries, including robotics, energy, IoT, finance, web3, and healthcare. In her design approach, she enjoys combining emerging technologies like no-code with old-school methods to create functional, user-centred solutions.
Iza comes to Eastern to present her work which uses the latest digital design features.

andstudio is a branding design studio known for integrating strategic thinking with mature design and transferable functionality. Co-founded by Augustinas Paukštė and Domas after completing their Graphic Design studies at the Vilnius Academy of Arts, andstudio has rapidly gained recognition. The studio has been noticed at  competitions such as the European Design Awards, Brand Impact Awards, Dieline, ADC EU, and more. andstudio client includes brands like Ikea, NordVPN, CarVertical, and Euroleague team Zalgiris. Beyond his work at andstudio, Augustinas has spearheaded the design agency exchange program Studio Exchange, which has garnered international recognition. He also founded the annual conference Creativity Scouting, inspiring Lithuanian creators since 2017.
Augustinas comes to Eastern to showcase the specifics of Lithuanian design.