Romanian graphic designer Ioana Petcu has established herself as a unique voice in the cultural design field by exploring linguistics as a fundamental lens for her graphic design work. The designer, who works extensively with artist books and exhibition identities, describes herself as "a kind of translator" who crafts visual solutions sensitive to each artist's specific visual language.
Petcu's approach centers on achieving conceptual clarity before beginning any design work. She emphasizes that the most important element she brings to any brief is "clarity of mind on the concept she must translate with her visual toolkit." This precision allows her to experiment fully with ideas, resulting in distinctive design outcomes such as transforming cover typography to match a publication's tactile and delicate content, or creating posters that appear "rolled out of clay" for sculptural exhibitions.
While her practice is concept-driven, Petcu finds creative inspiration through serendipitous daily encounters with typography, shape, and color. As a form enthusiast, she extensively documents found design and ephemera that she later deconstructs and repurposes in her work. This collection process led to her archival publication "Findings from the Street," which formed part of her Master's Diploma projects at Haute École des Arts du Rhin.
The "Findings from the Street" project serves as both a personal tool for building her visual language and an experimental index. The publication displays collected forms on transparent sheets that can be overlaid to create new compositions and visual conversations. This innovative approach demonstrates Petcu's commitment to developing unique methodologies for visual exploration and experimentation.
Petcu's fascination with language extends beyond visual collection to theoretical exploration. She draws inspiration from academic texts including "A Thousand Eyes" and "The Routledge Companion to Semiotics and Linguistics." During her studies, she began "exploring linguistics as a lens for design," which became the foundation for her Master's thesis investigating how existing linguistic concepts could be applied to visual analysis.
Her thesis work resulted in a comprehensive series of projects examining the relationship between human and artificial intelligence language. These creative endeavors encompassed speculative scenarios about digitized courtrooms and web design experiments that tested the interplay between syntax and semantics. The projects demonstrate her ability to translate complex theoretical concepts into practical design applications.
Among her notable works are several cultural projects that showcase her linguistic approach to design. "To live and die in a performance" (2024) and "Companions to the afterlife" (2025) represent her ongoing exploration of conceptual design in cultural contexts. Her "Chantal by us" project (2025) further demonstrates her ability to create sensitive visual translations for artistic content.
Petcu's experimental work "Syntax vs. Semantics" (2025) directly applies her linguistic research to visual design, while "The Court of Cyberjustice – Case: The Unauthorized Deletion of Avatar VoidStriker_17" (2025) represents her speculative approach to digital-age legal concepts. These projects illustrate her unique position at the intersection of traditional graphic design and contemporary digital culture.
The designer's work represents a significant contribution to contemporary graphic design discourse, particularly in how linguistic theory can inform and enhance visual communication strategies. Her approach offers a fresh perspective on cultural sector design work, emphasizing the importance of conceptual frameworks in creating meaningful visual experiences.
