Visual identity design sits at the intersection of art and function – and for Mihaela Matei, that tension is exactly what makes it worth doing. She started in packaging design, felt the walls closing in, and made a leap that she describes as winning a marathon. A visual artist at heart who would genuinely move into the Centre Pompidou or Tate Modern if she could, she brings an aesthetic sensibility to her work that goes beyond trends or templates.Â
In this interview, she talks about navigating creative constraints, why emotion drives more decisions than we admit, and the advice she’d give to anyone just starting out.
"Never place an object, a product, or a business goal above people."
From packaging routine to creative freedom
Mihaela didn’t leave packaging design because she stopped caring about it. She left because she started caring too much about what design could be. Her job had fallen into an inert routine. As someone who genuinely feeds off the dopamine of experiencing beautiful, aesthetically powerful things – art, objects, spaces – that routine felt like a trap.Â
Combined with a need for freedom and no interest in being tied to an office for eight hours a day, the transition into design felt inevitable. “It honestly felt like winning a marathon.” That feeling of creative liberation still shapes how she approaches visual identity design today.
What makes a visual identity design truly successful
For Mihaela, success in visual identity design has a few clear markers. The user instantly understands what they need to do. The branding feels cohesive. The experience creates a subtle sense of ease while still making people stop and say “wow.”Â
Conversion, business goals, process, and user flow all matter too. But what she truly enjoys is integrating strong visual experiences into structures that are clear, logical, and functional. Both sides need to be present – neither one alone is enough.
Structure and logic as the hardest part of the process
The stage that challenges Mihaela most is building structures and flows that align perfectly with business needs. That stage often feels like navigating a labyrinth. Structure and logic take up a significant amount of her attention and energy on every project.Â
Over time, that difficulty has made her more intentional about balancing creativity with strategic thinking. Visual identity design isn’t just about making something beautiful – it’s about making something that holds together under real conditions.
Emotion and aesthetics drive more decisions than we admit
When designing for attention, Mihaela’s background as a visual artist always speaks through the work. She’s naturally drawn to visually compelling experiences – digital or physical. She simply couldn’t live surrounded by boring ones. Emotion and visual power without clarity don’t fully make sense.Â
But she’s honest about something most designers soften: emotion and aesthetics have an enormous impact on human perception. Many of our decisions – sometimes even major ones – are driven primarily by emotion. Design that ignores that is leaving something real on the table.
A medical building, restrictive authorities, and a lesson in adaptability
One project stands out as a turning point. A branding and visual identity project combined with an exterior mural intervention for a medical building in her hometown.Â
The building was extremely old, and the aesthetic limitations imposed by local authorities were quite restrictive – finding a visual direction without making too many compromises became a real challenge. The final result was very well received. The project taught her about adaptability, creative negotiation, and preserving the essence of an idea even within tight limitations. Sometimes the constraints are the design.
AI as liberation from mechanical work
The shift Mihaela is most excited about is the integration of AI into both the design process and digital products themselves. Designers are finally starting to escape the burden of repetitive and mechanical tasks – which means more time and mental space for actual creativity and innovation. She loves that shift, without reservation.
Trust yourself – and stay kind
If Mihaela could go back, her advice has two parts. First: don’t let impostor syndrome consume you. Use everything you’ve learned in service of design. Learn every single day – from conversations, tutorials, life situations, and experiences. And above all: stay kind. Never place an object, a product, or a business goal above people. It’s the kind of reminder that sounds simple and takes years to actually live by.
About the designer
Mihaela Matei is a visual identity designer and visual artist who came to the field from packaging design – bringing with her a deep appreciation for aesthetics, form, and the emotional power of well-crafted visual experiences. Her work balances strong visual storytelling with clear structure and logic, and she is driven by the belief that design should always serve people first.
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