World Expo Osaka 2025
12 April 2025 - 12 October 2025
Graphic design by Marius Schwarz and Mariko Okazaki
Marius Schwarz, together with Japanese designer Mariko Okazaki, developed a graphic layer to give the various elements of the cultural programme their own distinct presence in the Event Space and the magazine of the pavilion.
The Dutch monthly magazine Avenue, in circulation from 1965 to 2003, is a key reference for the curatorial approach of the cultural programme, primarily due to its non-hierarchical and experimental presentation of the multidisciplinary content. Graphically, the magazine also stood out for its bold layouts and innovative use of images, which created a varied and engaging rhythm.
Schwarz and Okazaki were guided by the idiosyncratic character of Avenue while devising a layout that treats English and Japanese equally. Rather than separating the two languages and their specific reading directions, the magazine integrates them by orienting them in opposite directions, positioning one language at the top and the other at the bottom of each page. By rotating the magazine 180 degrees, readers can view the other language at the top. Additionally, images are tilted 90 degrees in both languages, ensuring an equivalent experience for Japanese and English readers.
For the headline fonts, Schwarz and Okazaki focused on finding the common tools, techniques and shapes used to create the letterforms of the two very different scripts. A handwritten font looks similar in both scripts simply because they are both renderings of handwriting.
Through these typographic decisions, Okazaki and Schwarz sought to find common ground while also respecting and highlighting the different reading practices of both cultures. The loose and varied treatment of images breaks up the blocks of text, giving the graphic layer both conceptual depth and a playful character.
About Marius Schwarz
Marius Schwarz is a graphic designer and occasional editor, publisher, writer and musician with interests in architecture, art, literature, film, history and social movements. He collaborates with artists, designers and cultural and non-profit organisations to develop publications, websites and visual identities.
About Mariko Okazaki
Mariko Okazaki is a graphic designer born and based in Tokyo. After studying graphic design at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, she returned to Japan and established REFLECTA, Inc. a graphic design studio committed to various cultural fields such as contemporary art, performing arts, architecture and fashion.