From calligraphy to type design to font engineering: this is a story about staying curious, remaining a student, and what it really takes to learn letters — plus a few practical insights on planning your first type family.
I will reflect on my early dreams and the long path that led me from calligraphy and lettering to type design, and eventually into font engineering. I’ll share what it really took to learn about letters: not mastering a single discipline, but staying curious and being willing to remain a student. In the end, I’ll offer a few practical insights on how to approach planning your first type family.
About the speaker
Font engineer and freelance type designer based in Berlin. Born in Hungary, Gergő Kókai discovered his passion for calligraphy and type while studying graphic design in Leicester (UK) and Orléans (FR). After an internship at Fontshop in Berlin he joined Alphabet Type as a font engineer in 2016. To expand his understanding in the field of non-Latin scripts, he completed the TDi course at University of Reading in 2017. Recently, he has attended the one-year master programme, called Type and Media, in type design at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague (KABK). He has since returned to Alphabet Type, continuing his work as a font engineer and type designer.
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