Born in Bucharest to two teacher parents, Mihai is a forever student — shaped by curiosity, attuned to change, and never one-note. At 18, he left Romania for the UK, earning a scholarship to study Graphic Design. At 27, he became a proud British citizen, carrying with him both the roots of his beginnings and the momentum of constant learning.

His path to New Genre began at cybersecurity startup Tessian, working alongside Leon, before leaving in the first year of the pandemic to try freelancing. It was there he realised that the most transformative design happens in teams — and that the best connections are often made through friends, collaborators, and a single unifying vision. Joining forces with Jack, he shaped those early collaborations into the studio that New Genre is today.

With a sharp eye for typography (half of his wardrobe is type-foundry merchandise), a talent for building brand systems, and a dexterity for threading design thinking through to business outcomes, Mihai’s focus as Partner is to bring work to New Genre at the frontier of what’s next.

In practice he seeks out what he calls “Logic Designers” — people who can translate the immaterial into the material and work with clients to guide business transformations with ease, ensuring the right connections happen to make great work inevitable.

Beyond the studio, Mihai plays guitar and violin, and has (unsuccessfully) tried to form a band called The Chief Executives with other studio founders. He lives in London with his partner Marta — and still finds that some of his best ideas start like a song: a single note, ready to flourish into harmony.