Speaking About Design at The Right Way Event: A Personal Reflection
- Cajvanean C. Alexandru
- 5 days ago
- 9 min read
On May 16, I was invited to speak at The Right Way, a branding event held in Suceava, Romania. So there I was, away from my desk, away from my sketchbooks and the comfort of designing alone in silence, and instead sitting on a stage among fellow designers, thinkers, and beautifully minded people.
I had the opportunity and the privilege of being invited by my friend and colleague Alin Roșioru, who was also the moderator of the Graphic Design Panel and part of the organizing team that put together a hell of an event. I was truly stunned by the team that made this happen and the lengths they went to in order to create not only an educational and inspirational moment, but an entire movement, a cultural shift, if you will.
The Right Way to Spend a Friday
Our day started at 10 AM and stretched until 4 PM, with breaks for snacks, networking, and chats.
Panel 1: Psychology and Perception
The first panel featured three amazing people: Zoltan Veres, an expert in developing emotional intelligence and author of Capcanele Autosabotării; Iulian Petrariu, CEO of Orient Spedition, psychologist and producer at Stefanno B2B Julianno; and Călin Horia Bârleanu, psychologist and conf. Prof..
The three of them talked about psychology and perception in branding but went beyond the surface. They explored how the individual is affected and molded by processes, interactions, and exposure to branding. Another powerful topic they touched on was how to separate personal emotions from business decisions, and how to understand your audience’s or market’s needs.
Truly gifted individuals with a strong presence and a natural flair for public speaking. I was mesmerized by their talks and the way they articulated ideas. A beautiful phrase that stuck with me is: “We should approach things with more honesty. The idea of ‘constructive feedback’ is a toxic one. You can do more harm than good by having a ‘safe’ form of feedback. Communication should be direct and honest if we are looking for the best results in the long term.”
Panel 2: Branding Through the Eyes of Designers
The second panel was the graphic design panel, where I shared the stage, which felt more like a welcoming corner of someone’s home, with Alin Roșioru, my friend and fellow designer from the Evoluat team, and Alexandru Munteanu, a prolific and awarded designer from Iași and founder of Namago.
Alin’s thoughtful approach and the questions he posed, relevant, honest, and well-structured, made the interaction flow easily for us. I also want to mention that I hadn’t met Alexandru prior to this event, but I was delighted by his thoughts and the depth he brought to the conversation.
The talk about branding from a graphic designer’s perspective was refreshing, and at some point, I completely forgot there was an audience. It felt like the three of us were just exploring the edges of design in the process of branding. The room was filled with curious, interesting people, and the questions just kept coming.
I must say I really enjoyed this part, where the public wanted to know more and that validated our work. I noticed heads nodding and people ready to ask more questions, and those who didn’t manage to ask during the talk approached us during the break. I’ve met wonderful people, other designers and artists, young students who had good ideas and questions to ask. The big majority of those present at the event seemed to be entrepreneurs, and I heard some pretty good ideas they were working on, so my hopes for the future are optimistic to say the least.
I kept in mind something Alexandru said during our presentation:“If you, as an entrepreneur, look for a designer, work with the one who asks the most questions.” And this struck a chord with me because I realised this process of asking questions is the most uncomfortable and creates the most friction, but it must be the most important one. We, as designers, might start searching for an idea from the wrong premise. Usually, a client can come and ask for a logo. But if you start asking why they need one, you might come to the conclusion that their problems can be solved, but it’s not the logo they need right now. A missing logo might be, in medical terms, a symptom. And a good designer can find solutions for a plethora of issues a business or an entrepreneur is facing.
Panel 3: Have a Brand, Have a KitKat
The third panel was presented by Cristiana Borșaru, Senior Brand Manager at KitKat (Nestlé România), along with Cosmina Maria, who guided the discussion with insightful questions.
I truly enjoyed this talk due to the actual insights and branding processes behind such a big name as KitKat. They spoke about understanding the market, how a marketing strategy can hold up for decades, and how to maintain brand consistency while adapting to new trends, new markets, and new technologies.
I loved the idea that campaigns should be thought of in the long term, to establish more than just a quick buzz. This talk felt like walking the walk and talking the talk, where hype is avoided in order to maintain a relevant image over time.
A quote I got from this talk was: “When people don’t have breaks anymore, you encourage them to have a break.”
A Musical Ending
Just when we thought the day had offered all it could, the event ended with a beautiful performance by Corala Ciprian Porumbescu, who delighted our ears with fresh renditions of old songs. I was enchanted. Hypnotized. It was the perfect emotional close to an already inspiring day.
Key Ideas That Stuck With Me
The Right Way event answered a few of my questions, but at the same time, it strengthened my perspective that branding is largely determined by the context and the culture in which it tries to communicate. Depending on the country, on the beliefs and the ideas of the people you're addressing, your message must adapt. That’s why it’s extremely important for designers to research and to understand multiple cultures. Otherwise, what seems like a clear message to you might be gibberish—or even offensive—to an audience you do not understand or even care to understand.“Branding begins when you start to care.”
Another thing that seemed to interest lots of people present at the event was design pricing, how to find the right designer, how to identify problems. And these are actual issues because there are actual new entrepreneurs who either have limited resources and can’t afford to hire a designer, or don’t understand the value of design upfront. Sometimes it’s a combination of the two.
But it’s wonderful observing them, even if they are skeptical with regards to the things design can do, ready to learn and understand. This is, in fact, the attitude of a healthy mind: to try and understand the things that you tend to avoid. So, to answer this question, the advice I give is to find a partner who is a designer, and who can also dedicate their talent and knowledge for a beautiful idea.
Every entrepreneur needs their own artist, and vice versa.
At the same time, both camps’ main focus should be on communication. Learning to express yourself honestly, emotionally, and clearly is one of the most powerful tools in any industry. If you can communicate clearly your vision, and the idea you have is a powerful one, it is just a matter of time to find the right people to join you. It is not a matter of money.
“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. When the student is truly ready... the teacher will disappear.” — Tao Te Ching
How Graphic Design Helps the Growth of a Business
Our talk, titled “On branding beyond visual identity and how we apply design principles in business”, explored how communication in design is not just rational. It’s emotional too. People don’t just consume goods. They adopt ideas based on their emotions. In politics, you see this all the time. Persuasion is built by building from culturally shared beliefs. Design has to build on what the audience knows to be true because design is visual rhetoric. Just like a good argument, good design persuades through trust, emotion, and clarity.
Obviously, another popular idea is how design can transform a product or a service into an actual experience for the user. Like I mentioned already, people buy products because they establish emotional ties, not because it fulfills a need in the first place. How do you help a business create these bridges between the two? How do you communicate clearly that both the consumer and the business share the same values so they can connect? Through intention.
Design is not about making things pretty, it’s understanding that most of the design decisions are made by the audience. Most of it means observing the users and the culture and applying those ideas properly.
Beauty plays an ethical role in design. If the message is clear, it will be understood by the audience. But if the message is clear and beautiful, it will feel right. Because we, humans, believe in beauty. The word aesthetic already tells us that beauty is ethic, it’s right. You can see how one’s attitude changes depending on how beautiful a person is. We value beauty in people and in things. We love diamonds. We love colorful and beautiful flowers. If you study geometry in plants you will understand how nature replicates this beauty across the spectrum and how we find beauty to be a synonym of truth.
We talked about lots of other design ideas, and I am glad I shared the stage with two people that share similar values as I do. I think we could’ve talked for at least two more hours as we were starting to compare beliefs and contemplations. This goes to show that graphic design is a multilayered discipline.
The Right Way to Host an Event
I must start with the design first, obviously. The graphic design, the visual implementation, even the logo design which played with the typography, held a philosophical meaning of how branding, done right, is full of ups and downs. The prints, the posters, and every material that was created for the event were superb. Obviously, after the event I took some when no one was looking. So shout-out to the Evoluat team and the designers who worked on this. Small things, but my critical eye and my professional defect won’t let things like these slide.
What stayed with me the most was the dinner after the event itself, where the organizing team, the sponsors, and the speakers got together and slowly opened up. I believe that the more personal nature of the dinner and the smaller number of people helped us connect and share some beautiful stories about these people. Honest, funny, and heartwarming stories about struggle, frustration, and overcoming obstacles were the dessert after the main dish.
We have a saying in Romanian which implies that when you are hooked by a story so good, you listen as if you were eating the words out of the storyteller. And I was hungry.
Once again, I was impressed by the healthy and relaxed attitude of experienced and wiser entrepreneurs who, in the light of political turmoil and uncertainty of the future, kept a smile and told themselves:“The worst thing that can happen is for me to have to start from the beginning, and I will if I have to.” The words have power, and these words gave me courage.
I want to thank The Right Way and the Evoluat team for inviting me to be part of this cultural and educational movement. I hope I brought value and insights through my ideas and my talk, and I truly look forward to future editions of this event. Adrian, Cerasela(the working bee) Alin and the team went above and beyond. Cinste lor!
Personal Thoughts
In 2011, I left the city of Suceava and moved to Timișoara to study Graphic Design. I’ve worked in this field ever since. Returning to Suceava 14 years later to talk about what I’ve come to learn and love felt almost surreal. The Return of the Prodigal Son fo' sho'.
I spend most of my time in a form of isolation. A small room with a computer, books, and drawing supplies is my go-to environment. It’s where I feel confident in my own world of design. This wasn’t my first public speaking experience, and I hope it won’t be the last either. Events like these feel like a huge leap outside of my comfort zone.
Even if my everyday tools are screens, pencils, and sketchbooks, not eye contact and public speaking, I also believe in what I do and I very much love to talk about my work, because design is not something we just do, it’s something we live, and it needs to be spoken about, not just shown.
Good design has always had intention behind it, and subconsciously it is perceived and understood as part of communication. But bringing these processes to light helps business owners and entrepreneurs understand the value of design, and helps other designers think, not just replicate aesthetics with ignorance.
The world is full as it is with visual waste. We need depth and thinking today more than ever. And I want people to believe in what we do.
Send me your ideas or start a conversation contact@cajva.com
I write on this blog as often as I can, and you can find details about my graphic design work and hire me for freelance work on my website.
