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Rick Poynor – British writer, curator, editor, and Professor Emeritus at the University of Reading. A leading voice in critical design writing for over three decades, he was the founding editor of Eye magazine, co-founder of Design Observer, and has lectured worldwide.

Author of numerous influential books, including No More Rules: Graphic Design and Postmodernism, David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian, and most recently Why Graphic Culture Matters, Rick continues to shape the global conversation on design and visual culture.

Erik Kessels — a Dutch artist, curator and communication designer with a strong focus on art and photography. Since 1996 he has been Creative Partner of the agency KesselsKramer in Amsterdam and London, working with clients such as Nike, Diesel, Oxfam, Vitra and I amsterdam. As an artist and curator, he has published over 100 books of re-appropriated photography, including the international bestsellers Failed It! and Complete Amateur. He has created numerous exhibitions such as 24HRS in Photos, Album Beauty and Unfinished Father, and his work has been shown worldwide, from SFMOMA in San Francisco to museums in Turin, Düsseldorf and Budapest.

The Miha Artnak (Michelangelo da Lubiana) is a Ljubljana-based artist, activist, and entrepreneur who has been active since the early 2000s. His satirical paintings, environmental installations, and subversive performances have made him one of the most talked-about artists of the last decade.

Kelly Anna – London-based artist, illustrator, and designer, know for her silhouetted figures with a strong focus on movement, sport and wellness.

From painting huge murals and even a football pitch, to designing trainers and her very own signature paint colour with LeFranc Bourgeois, Kelly’s work is as powerful as it is diverse. She has collaborated with global icons such as Nike, BMW, NFL, and Penguin, with her prints worn by Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake.

She has also spoken at 20 leading art & design festivals worldwide, sharing her candid insights on creativity, motherhood, and the balance between the two.

Swiss Typefaces is a type design company known for their cutting-edge approach. Their typefaces are valued for their high quality, both in terms of aesthetics and technology. Every aspect of what they do is informed by their attitude to innovate. This is true for the way they draw letters, but also for how they name, package, distribute, license, and price the fonts. Their fonts are made by designers, for designers. They are graphical machines, engineered to capture the vibes of the now, and capable of generating vanguard visuals – something that they also showcase in their printed publications. Love them or hate them, they’ll never be boring.

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Yo Kaminagai – a leading expert in urban mobility design and former Head of Design at RATP.

With over 40 years of experience, Yo has played a key role in shaping passenger experiences in public transport, pioneering the integration of design into major infrastructure projects — from trams and multimodal hubs to passenger information systems.

As Chair of UITP’s Design & Culture Committee (2009–2015) and now its Honorary Ambassador, he continues to champion human-centered, innovative mobility. Today, he works as an international consultant, lecturer, and curator, sharing his unique expertise worldwide.

Jeppe Pendrup & Philip Fussing

At Cyan Festival, we’re excited to welcome two voices from Play Type Foundry, the Copenhagen-based studio redefining what type can do.

Jeppe Pendrup is a senior type designer with a Master’s degree in type design from the Royal Academy of Design in Copenhagen. At Play type, he has shaped both custom and retail typefaces for local and international clients, guiding projects from first brief to published font families. Outside of design, Jeppe calls himself a “mediocre cyclist,” a disc golfer on good days, and a very average Rubik’s cuber.

Philip Fussing is a graphic designer whose main weapon of choice is typography. With a background from the Danish School of Media and Journalism, he specializes in turning ideas into visual identities that carry real impact.Through exploration and iteration, he finds that elusive spark of creative genius and shapes it into bold concepts.

Together, Jeppe and Philip bring the Play Type spirit to Split this October where typography isn’t just letters, but personality, identity, and imagination.

Davor Konjikušić – Croatian photographer, cinematographer, and researcher. He is the winner of numerous awards, including Rovinj Photodays, the Slavonian Biennale, and the Deutscher Fotobuchpreis (Silver Medal, 2023). His work has been exhibited in more than twenty solo shows and at major festivals such as Les Rencontres d’Arles.
He is the author of several acclaimed books, including Our House, There’s Nothing Here (with Dubravka Ugrešić), and Red Light, published internationally.
Currently, he is an Assistant Professor at the Academy of Dramatic Arts, University of Zagreb, and the founder of Unwanted Images, an archive dedicated to marginalized photography.