2025 speakers at a glance

Graphic designer and illustrator known for his symbolic, playful style rooted in everyday life. He works mainly in editorial illustration, book covers, and cultural communication. His clients include The New York Times, The New Yorker, Time, Harvard, Greenpeace, Penguin, and Louis Vuitton. He has taught at IED and IDEP, and regularly gives workshops and lectures. His work has earned awards from AGI, Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, Laus, D&AD, and more. He has exhibited in New York, London, Mexico City, Barcelona, and other cities.
Javier comes to Eastern to showcase his extraordinary visual metaphors that translate complex information in an obvious way.

Tina Touli is a London-based creative director and multidisciplinary designer across print and digital media. She has collaborated with clients like Adobe, CNN, Dell, Tate, and Converse. Named one of the world’s top young designers by Print Magazine in 2017, she has spoken at global events including Adobe MAX and OFFF Festival. Her work has been featured in Communication Arts, Computer Arts, and Design{h}ers by Viction:ary.
Tina comes to Eastern to talk about harnessing the potential of physical tools in creating world-famous visuals.

Andrej & Andrej is a graphic design studio based in Bratislava, Slovakia, founded by Andrej Barčák and Andrej Čanecký. Their work is rooted in curiosity, experimentation, and a strong focus on concept-driven design. They specialise in visual identities, brand strategy, type design, editorial, and illustration, creating cohesive systems across diverse fields. Their clients range from public institutions like the city of Nitra and the Public Defender of Rights, to music festivals such as Pohoda and Flaam, and lifestyle brands like Isadore. Their work has been recognised by the Type Directors Club, the Tatra Banka Foundation Art Award, and the Slovak Design Award.
Andrej & Andrej are coming to Eastern to show how they harness courage and technical precision in visual communication.

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, Ukraine’s first design magazine "Archive of Ukrainian Design" and 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.

Michael Moureček is the co-founder of the Festka brand. A former professional cyclist with an international career and victories in several prestigious races, he channelled his passion and experience into the world of design and technology after ending his sporting career.In 2010, together with Ondřej Novotný, he founded Festka—a brand of top-tier, made-to-measure carbon bicycles that connects precise engineering with art and each customer’s personal story. The duo leads a brand that has become a symbol of innovation, individuality, and luxury. The Festka team went through the European Space Agency’s incubator and is a founding member of the Association of Czech Industrial Design.
Michael is coming to Eastern to present that a bicycle is not only a piece of sports equipment but a personal manifesto—an object that reflects its owner’s body and soul.

Antero Jokinen is a Finnish creative director, designer, and writer based in Helsinki. He spent a decade working in advertising and branding between Amsterdam and Los Angeles, followed by co-founding Helsinki agency 358. In recent years, Antero has shifted focus to projects with a cultural edge — like Huussi, Finland’s exhibition for the Venice Architecture Biennale 2023, and the bold rebrand of the Savonlinna Opera Festival.
Antero comes to Eastern to talk about the power of collaboration and how mixing disciplines and strong personalities can turn rough ideas into something truly distinctive.

PFX is a studio that makes stories shine through invisible, seamless work. From the first cut to the final frame, they shape how films feel—whether through visual effects, post-production polish, or fully crafted animation. With 300+ artists in six countries, they’ve contributed to global hits like Stranger Things and Napoleon, as well as acclaimed films like Maria. Their collaborative style blends creativity and precision, making complex work look effortless.
Edita and Tibor come to Eastern to talk about their (in)visible work behind global blockbusters.

Jacek Utko is a media consultant working in 35 countries in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Australia and Africa. He revamped dozens of newspapers, magazines, and websites. Working for the World's biggest publisher holdings: in Scandinavia, Benelux, South East Asia, Africa, and the USA. Jacek won almost 100 prizes in design competitions. Five of the newspapers he redesigned (in Poland, Estonia, the Netherlands, and Belgium) were named ‘World’s Best Designed Newspaper’ by the SND. Four newspapers he redesigned were recognised as European Newspaper of the Year. 3 times his cover designs were named ‘Cover of the year’. He spoke at conferences in 42 countries, including TED, Adobe Max, Icograda, Typo Berlin, World Newspaper Congress, Online Publishers Forum, Publish Asia, AOP London, and many others. In 2009, he delivered his talk, “Can Good Design Save Newspapers,” at the TED conference in the USA. Additionally, he has delivered lectures at universities in Japan, Poland, and the Czech Republic.
Jacek comes to Eastern to talk about the collapse of visual journalism and editorial design.

Katarína Poliačiková is a visual artist and literary author. She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava. She has exhibited in Prague, Berlin, New York, and Lisbon. In her work, she employs not only photography, video, installation, and performance, but also text. Her works stem from attentive perception and reflection on the world, on things and stories often overlooked, yet essential. She sends essays to readers worldwide in the form of a newsletter titled Soft Boiled. In collaboration with Čierne diery, she published a book titled DYM: V tomto meste sa tak dobre túži po iných (SMOKE: In This City One Longs So Well for Others). For the Bratislava City Gallery, she created the publication DAY, which offers an intimate look at the city institution. Her most recent work is the book Ministry of Small Joys, a collection of 292 little things that can brighten everyday life.
Katarína is coming to Eastern to talk about small joys with a big impact.

Matej Belica is Design Lead at Tatra banka for the UX Design Competence Center at Raiffeisen Bank International, which operates in 12 European countries and serves over 10 million clients. Responsible for driving design strategy, corporate branding, design systems, and digital product development. At Tatra banka, leading a team of 13 talented designers and shaping user experiences with a strong focus on quality and innovation. Bringing over 15 years of experience in global corporations, as well as founding and managing own companies like 12Roll, KERE, Kroy and Bikere.
Matej is coming to Eastern to show how world-class user experiences with big impact across Europe can be created — even from a small city like Košice.

Martin Bajaník studied graphic design at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava. He worked in advertising and, since 2014, has been running his own brand PEKNE & DOBRE. He founded the cafés SHTOOR and Foxford, for which he created both the concept and design. For nearly eight years, he led communication and design at YEME. He also contributed to the interiors of Martinus bookstores and co-created the travel guide Dobro/Druh. His focus is on visual identities, packaging, and advertising design; he also creates board games and the podcast Hurbanista. He has won dozens of awards and is a member of ADC Slovakia and the Slovak Union of Designers.
Martin comes to Eastern to talk about national design.

Dr. h. c. Ing. Rudolf Schuster, PhD. (*1934) is a Slovak politician, diplomat, writer, and traveler. After his studies, he worked at VSŽ Košice and later rose from a city councilor to mayor (1983), eventually becoming chairman of the East Slovak Regional National Committee. After November 1989, he became chairman of the Slovak National Council, ambassador to Canada, and also served at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1994 to 1999 he was again mayor of Košice and a member of the Slovak National Council. In 1999, he became the second president of the Slovak Republic and the first to be directly elected by citizens (serving until 2004). Alongside politics, he has written over 50 books, dozens of travelogues and radio plays, authored more than 100 hours of documentary films, and produced thousands of photographs from his journeys around the world. He has received numerous awards and honorary doctorates, and remains active in his native Košice, which underwent a controversial reconstruction of its Main Street under his leadership 30 years ago.
Rudolf is coming to Eastern to speak about the redesign of the city of Košice.