A story about the French Institute of Romania and an agency from a Romanian village
It all started with a thought: “What if the agency from the village could do a little more for lovers of French culture?” What followed? We left the village, knocked on a door, and it opened. The people who answered didn’t quite understand what we wanted, but they saw the authenticity of our approach and said, “Why not?” And from there, everything you’re reading below happened.
The French Institute opened the door to a world full of culture, art, and elegance—a world that inspired us to put design to work for a greater purpose: bringing people passionate about French culture closer to the events that matter. A mission we embraced with enthusiasm and curiosity.
Our first project together was in 2018. Since then, we’ve collaborated on a wide range of projects. For us, the chemistry we have with the team at IFRo (French Institute of Romania)is truly amazing, as well as the impact and responsibility they carry. Many of Romania’s events related to French culture pass through their hands.
Below are some of the projects we’ve built together. Beyond these stories and beautiful words, there is authentic emotion, and a constant hustle—a whirlwind that the small team at IFRo, alongside the small Toud team, experiences week after week to bring life to all the projects planned for a month, a quarter, or a year.
Cinema Program for Elvire Popesco
The Elvire Popesco cinema is like a time capsule in the heart of Bucharest—a place where films take you far, beyond borders and reality. Here, every screening tells a story, and we had the opportunity to give them a visual identity through the cinema program.
We asked ourselves: How can we turn a simple list of films into something more than just a schedule?
We chose vibrant colors, clean shapes, and images that evoke emotion. Every visual is an invitation: come, discover, let the film take you away.
Bimonthly Cultural Events Program
The French Institute is more than just a space—it’s a catalyst for French culture in Romania.Events follow one another rapidly: exhibitions, workshops, conferences, concerts. How do you communicate all this dynamism?
This is how the bimonthly cultural events program came to life —a series of visuals where information meets aesthetics. We created an organized, yet lively design:
- Clear titles,
- Carefully chosen images,
- Subtle plays of shapes and colors—everything meant to reflect cultural diversity without overloading the viewer.
A visual guide for those who want to explore more.
Posters for Various Events
A poster must be more than just a piece of paper. It must speak. It should stop you in your tracks.
Whether announcing an exhibition, a concert, or a book launch, each poster created for the French Institute has been a little story in itself.
In addition to these, we updated the Institute’s brochures to reflect a modern and cohesive image.We then moved into the social media space, where we adapted the messages into a series of dynamic visuals tailored for each platform.
More than just design
This collaboration is about much more than just visuals.
It is about telling stories.
Every element—from cinema programs to social media posts—is crafted with people in mind: those who read, participate, and love art and culture.
And perhaps that’s what we love most about design—it can be a bridge between worlds.
What is next?
It doesn’t really matter what comes next. In this whole story, what matters is the joy of savoring a bit of Francophonie in as many forms as possible.
A thought from Adina Tonea (Communication Manager)
“I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with the Toud team for the past few years, and I can confidently say they are consummate professionals.
Their services are not only of the highest quality, but also delivered in a very short time.
The team is incredibly friendly and open, making the collaboration process pleasant and efficient. Alexandru and Andreea are very kind and helpful, they are efficient, and they quickly understand the client’s needs, which is why I highly recommend them to anyone looking for exceptional graphic solutions! “
We’ve written more about our collaboration with these amazing people (you can read it here) because we genuinely enjoy the great work we do together.
Toud Team
In addition to projects created from scratch, we also had the opportunity to work on variations of visual materials created by other collaborators of the French Institute. Here are some of them below: