When away from his Humble HORT Hub, founder Eike König takes on the role of mentor. He is currently the Professor of Graphic Design and Illustration at the HfG University of Arts, Offenbach, Germany. He conducts numerous creative workshops and lectures internationally. His knowledge and experience have taken him as far as South America and Australia, sharing his stories with different audiences at acclaimed design conferences. Lead Academy recognised HORT’s hard work, awarding the studio Germany’s Visual Leader of the year 2011. Here are Eike’s answers, from HORT to HEART, as he would say!

1. Which work are you particularly proud of? Which work best represents your style or approach?

Each work I have done so far is somehow important and to name one wouldn’t be right. On each job there’s something you can learn. I’m proud of how I run my studio. I am proud of the people I work with. This makes me more happy and fulfilled than money or success.

2. The theme of this year’s TYPO London is »Social«. Do you consider design to be a social discipline? Which design project do you consider to be particularly socially relevant?

I think everything you do (besides dreaming and things that are just related to you and no one else) has some kind of social impact and is therefore relevant – more or less. I prefer micro social awareness – whatever you do will come back to you. So: Yes, design is a social discipline because it is a way of communication – a very strong one.

Eike König

Graphic Designer, Owner of Hort (Berlin)

Hort emerged from the Frankfurt techno scene in 1994, originally founded by Eike König as "Eikes grafischer Hort". The studio moved to Berlin in 2007 and has been growing as a group ever since. Hort does art direction, branding, creative consultancy, editorial design, graphic design, illustration, lectures and workshops. Hort works with institutions such as Arte, Bauhaus Dessau, Bergen Assembly, Mousonturm, Frankfurter Positionen and Tanzplattform Deutschland, as well as brands like Adobe, IBM, Microsoft, Nike, The New York Times and Universal Music. People working at Hort are Anne Büttner, Eike König, Elizabeth Legate, Tim Rehm, Tim Schmitt, Tim Sürken and Alan Woo, together with other freelancers and interns. Photo: Cat Garcia

Speaker page

3. A conference like TYPO London is in itself an obvious example for a social event: what are you especially looking forward to?

To be honest, what I really love is to meet people. This is a good chance to talk to people I know already and to those I will meet for the first time. It’s good to build connections and to find out if there are intersections (not sure if this is the right word – crossovers?). Over the last years I have spoken at many conferences and sometimes you find a crossover, and then come back home having made a new friend. It couldn’t be better. Also it’s nice to listen to other people’s stories. You can learn a lot from their experience, even if their passions are different from your own.

4. Required reading/watching: What are currently your favorite interesting/beautiful publications, exhibitions, books, movies and/or websites?

• Exhibition: I just saw the exhibition of Diane Arbus at Martin Gropius Bau in Berlin. What a great personality. What a tragedy. Very sensitive photography that tells a story. Love her work and approach.
• Book: Buddha from Osamu Tezuka (I’m very much into Mangas).
• Movies: After meeting Carol Morley at a conference in London last week I really would like to see Dreams Of Life next.