CreativeMornings/Berlin Interview - Gergő Kókai - Font Design meets Koor·Soo

Our first CreativeMornings/Berlin speaker of the 2026 season is Gergő Kókai, taking the stage this Friday with his talk “Hopeful Type.” Gergő is a Berlin‑based font engineer and freelance type designer, with international background gained through both studies and professional work in the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and his native Hungary. 

In our conversation, he reflects on the evolving future of font‑making—shaped by new trends and technologies, the value of creative intuition, and our monthly theme Koor·Soo (a faint glimmer of hope) as a call to action within the changing landscape of design community.

1. Gergő, your upcoming talk will kick off the year 2026 at CreativeMornings/Berlin. For our first monthly theme, how would you imagine the idea of ‘Koorsoo’ into design?

I really like how Dr. Andreas M. Krafft, publisher of several scientific articles and books on the future and hope, describes hope: “Hope is when we stop denying reality.” He claims, “I hope …” is often (conf)used as a synonym for wishful thinking, “I dream of …”. To me, hoping feels indeed closer to reality, which I can always engage with and try to influence. It is a call to action. Yet we often reach the limits of what we can do. In design, as in other areas of life, this is where something interesting happens: hope pushes us out of our comfort zones, leads us toward challenges, and ultimately enables growth. 

2.  You’ve studied in the UK, France and Netherlands — how did those international experiences shape your work and perspective?

Even before starting university, I was lucky to have my parents’ trust and the opportunity to spend a year as a high school student in Germany, near Stuttgart. I was part of an international fellowship class with students from several continents. This experience has shaped and influenced my life ever since. I am enthusiastic about traveling, living abroad, and learning languages. Connecting with people from different cultural backgrounds has become natural and easy for me. 

I first discovered my interest in type around 2009–2010 while studying graphic design. I stumbled upon it at the intersection of visual communication and language learning. Since then, my journey across Europe has exposed me to many different approaches and niches in type design, teaching me that it is less about mastering  just one discipline, but to stay curious and keep learning.

3. How do you see your work in Berlin as a font engineer and type designer changing, perhaps with new technology and trends?

Although type design is still a niche, I see more type designers around me than ever before. Greater access to education through online courses as well as traditional institutions and more approachable font editors have opened the field to many people. At the same time, it has become harder to stand out, especially in Berlin, which may have one of the highest densities of type designers.

As a font engineer, you work one layer below visible form. Your decisions shape behaviour rather than aesthetics. Compared to type design, font engineering is a less established field, with much of its knowledge still passed on informally from person to person. This makes it a less crowded but still secure career. 

The future of font-making is wide open, with new trends and technologies pushing designers and engineers. But I believe it is our professional responsibility to trust in the continuity of craftsmanship and creative intuition, and to value the uniquely human quirks in our work.

In the end, every designed and engineered font assumes a future in which reading still matters, and that assumption is a form of hope.

–

Interview conducted by Aida Mola from CM Berlin