“BRAND STORY AOIRO”
YINJI SPACE . 2026
Conversation with Chinese Magazine Yinjispace.
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AOIRO takes its name from “a shade of blue” — a gradation that exists within the air. As described by the founders of AOIRO, “the air surrounding a space is our canvas.” Air is never empty; it carries light, sound, material presence, and the emotional shifts perceived by those who inhabit a space. What AOIRO focuses on are these continuously emerging and transforming layers of atmosphere, seeking to translate them through scent into something perceptible. Rather than defining scent, AOIRO aims to connect with those intangible elements that resist clear definition.
Their collaboration began with a project in Tokyo in 2009. At the time, Shizuko developed an olfactive identity for the client, while Manuel created the corresponding visual system. What started as a single project soon evolved into an ongoing partnership. “We realized that, as a duo, we could develop olfactive design in a more layered and nuanced way, and approach scent from perspectives different from those we had known before.” It was through this process that AOIRO gradually took shape.
* READ MORE : YINJISPACE
“SCENT THAT STIMULATE THE SOUL”
THE SLOWDOWN . 2022
Conversation with Slowdown at the intersection of culture, nature, and the future.
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For Shizuko Yoshikuni and Manuel Kuschnig, the Japanese-Austrian couple behind the Berlin-based olfactory design studio Aoiro, scent is essential to the success of any environment, adding an important experiential quality that goes beyond sight and sound. They make location-specific aromas for a wide range of clients—including Bang & Olufsen, Design Hotels, and Vitra, whose VitraHaus gallery in Germany reopened this week with a custom Aoiro scent diffused through the air of its entrance—with the aim of eliciting an emotion. Walk into any of their perfumed projects, and its savor is likely to be felt, not simply smelled.
Yoshikuni and Kuschnig—who have backgrounds in aromatherapy and philosophy, respectively—often describe the olfactory awareness they hope to achieve by referencing kōdō, the Japanese art of appreciating the subtle redolence of incense with one’s entire being. The pair’s knack for using smell as a vehicle for meditation is apparent in its own fragrance line, which include candles, air mists, oils, and a moon-inspired perfume that will be released later this year.
WORDS: Tiffany Lambert
* READ MORE : SLOWDOWN
“MOON”
KOJI . 2022
Conversation with Koji, an independent bilingual publication exploring our relationship with time, food and nature through the lens of contemporary art, design, craftsmanship and lifestyles.
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Consisting of nine chapters, our first issue features beautiful storytellers and creators from Shanghai, Tokyo, Nagano, Osaka, Paris and Berlin.
We invite you to explore the expression of "time" in the art of photography and the "fermentation" in the image-making process, the sensory experience design inspired by the interaction with the "moon", the "craftsmanship" of the unique sake vessel and its “four season” aesthetics. You will also find personal stories of "natural wine lovers" from Nagano, Japan and Shanghai, China, original illustration work interpreting the "relationship between nature and food", and healthy home recipes that combine "fermented ingredients". These stories are woven into an eternal summer that can be reminisced endlessly.
Language: English and Chinese
* READ MORE : KOJI
“BESPOKE”
FINANCIAL TIMES – HOW TO SPENT IT . 2018
Studio visit with HTSI - A section about the “bespokes person” - people who create tailor made experiences.
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It's not only the singers who are hitting the right notes inside Leipzig's opera house. So too is the delicate citrus-tinged aroma that hangs in the air of the grand foyer - a carefully thought out and handmade olfactory tribute to a cultural institution beloved in the east German city for over three centuries. Berlin-and Tokyo-based Aoiro Airdesign explored the building inside and out while creating the perfect scent to fill it: "We spent time with the director of the opera house and visited three performances to capture the different audiences and moods," says Manuel Kuschnig, who met scent creator Shizuko Yoshikuni in her native Japan in 2009 and the pair soon started working together.
Words by Jessica Saltz
* READ MORE : Financial Times / How to spent it
“HITTING THE RIGHT NOTE”
FREUNDE VON FREUNDEN . 2016
Studio visit by FVF - a magazine brought together by a collective interest in art, culture, food, design, innovation, and social change.
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Hitting the right note with Shizuko Yoshikuni and Manuel Kuschnig’s signature room scents. Overlooking Mariannenplatz in Kreuzberg, Shizuko Yoshikuni and Manuel Kuschnig run their scent-creation business, AOIRO Airdesign.
Stepping into their apartment is at once a multi-sensory and soothing experience: crisply white, with a wall of perfectly curated bottles, scents and curiosities, it seems made for their needs. For the past four years, the space has functioned as their home, studio, office and showroom. This may sound chaotic, but the sense of calm is palpable, impressive for a working couple with a young baby. Needless to say, it smells beautiful and by the end of our conversation it’s clear that the relaxing ambience is no accident, but perfectly constructed.
Photography by Robert Rieger.
* READ MORE : Freunde von Freunden
“THE ART OF INCENSE MAKING”
MOOWON . 2018
An introduction to our incense creation on Awaji Island in Japan for Moowon - a magazine on artisanship, culture, and nature, composed by wonderful Mona Kim.
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The Art of Incense Making and its Olfactory Ritual
From ancient form to modern ritual: An interview with AOIRO, a Japanese-Austrian duo dedicated to the design of ritualistic scent, about the experience of incense burning and the fascinating traditional process of incense making in Japan's Awaji Island.
* READ MORE : Mowoon
Further Press readings and Interviews:
New York Times - T Magazine / Casa Brutus / Wallpaper Magazin / Vogue / Harpers Bazaar / Interview Magazine / DEAR / AD France / Milk Deco / Sleek / Puro / On Office /
Süddeutsche Zeitung / FAZ / FAZ Quarterly / Die Zeit / Zeit Magazin /
“ARTISTS OF AIR AND ATMOSPHERE ”
IGNANT . 2020
Interview and studio visit
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Shizuko Yoshikuni and Manuel Kuschnig are artists of air and atmosphere. As AOIRO, an olfactory design studio that sits in the misty divide between perfumery and aromatherapy, the pair create tailor-made scents for spaces.
Though we understand the world sensorially, our olfactory ability is commonly considered less important than sight, hearing, taste and touch. But why? Marcel Proust’s writing on memory illustrates the mnemonic power of scent; capable of resurrecting memories thick with sentiment from the depths of our unconscious. Contemporary science corroborates this fact, with studies concluding that scent is more likely to evoke emotional memories than any other sensorial experience.
Images: Marina Denisova Words: Rosie Flanagan
* READ MORE : IGNANT
“AOIRO STUDIO ”
ILMM . 2026
Interview and studio visit
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The 4th issue of the design journal "Ilmm".
Independent design magazine "Ilmm". The long-awaited latest issue "Ilmm #4" will be released on April 30, 2026. This magazine introduces a wide range of areas, including architecture and graphics, focussing on products and interiors by designers from all over the world. Through long interviews and rich visuals, we carefully delve into the ideas and production processes behind the work. In this issue, 12 groups across genres and regions are posted, from internationally active designers to up-and-coming creators. We cover a variety of creators, including Philip Maruan, OK-RM, Irene Gray, Tomomi Nakamura, Industrial Facility, Natalia Clearad, Aoiro, Raphael Priet, Simple Flare, Bookshop Boys, David Pompa, and Maria Brun.
* READ MORE : ILMM
“SCENT OF SPACE”
DWELL . 2021
Interviews within the field of olfactory design and architecture with DWELL.
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Scents of Space: How Fragrance Instantly Uplifts Your Mood and Mindfulness at Home - Interviews with The Olfactory Designers: AOIRO / The Architect: Suchi Reddy, Reddymade / The Fragrance Futurist: Olivia Jezler, Future of Smell
In interior design, the power of smell is often overlooked. Three experts share strategies for using scent to shape and enhance your experience of home.
When it comes to scents for relaxation, AOIRO encourages going beyond the classics to explore subtler essences with more complexity. "For winding down, wood essences are really effective," notes Yoshikuni. "We love the Japanese wood hiba, an earthy, powerful, deep wood that’s extremely grounding, and hinoki, which is lighter and more gentle, airy." Frankincense is another favorite—"really purifying and soothing, but with a nice energy and a good tension to it"—as is petitgrain, extracted from the leaves of bitter orange, a vibrant green scent that both calms and uplifts.
Words by Anna Dorothea Ker
* READ MORE : DWELL
“SENSORY ATMOSPHERES”
NEW NORM MAGAZINE . 2020
Interview with NEW NORM MAGAZINE - a bi-annual lifestyle publication and online platform covering unique stories on art, design, and architecture.
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We see ourselves in a position to translate the narrative of the brand or concept into an olfactory sense. We work with clients to capture the brand’s heritage, promises, personality, and its ambition and try to offer them a closer understanding of the scent creation process and create a scent profile or identity which matches their desired atmosphere.
When we started to work with professionals from other fields, such as creatives from interior, lighting, or sound design, it helped us realise how scent can play a leading role to connect, support, and amplify other senses within a holistic spatial or scenographic concept. Based on these experiences we have developed our own olfactory taxonomy, which is very synaesthetic and strongly connected to other sensory impressions. This system allows us to classify fragrances in a rather functional way and to include all senses in the process of creation and communication with other design fields.
Photography by Paul Aiden Perry, Piet Albert Goethals, Pujan Shakupa
* READ MORE : NEW NORM
“GESCHMACK”
TRUMER . 2018
An interview series about the topics of “Life”.
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AOIRO, das ist das japanische Wort für „die Farbe blau“ (ao = Blau, iro = Farbe). „In dieser Farbe des klaren Himmels und dem Verständnis der unsichtbaren Farbqualität der Luft, spiegelt sich auch der Ansatz von AOIRO wider.„ So beschreiben Sie die Herkunft ihres Firmennamens. Denn Shizuko und Manuel kreieren Düfte oder wie sie selber sagen sie machen „olfaktorisches Design“. Sie unterstützen Firmen dabei, genau die richtige Atmosphäre zu schaffen, um Räume in Szene zu setzen und Erlebnisse zu schaffen. Dabei setzen sie vollkommen auf natürliche Inhaltsstoffe und den individuellen Zugang zu jedem Kunden, für den sie arbeiten. Genau dieser Ansatz macht die beiden genau die richtigen Gesprächspartner um über das Thema “Schmecken” zu sprechen.Denn Riechen und Schmecken hängen direkt miteinander zusammen. Und mit einem guten Leben…
* READ MORE : Trumer . Einfach Leben
“AOIRO”
ITS A PASSION THING . 2018
Interview from ISSUE No. 2 – IT’S A PASSION THING - an independent journal about people driven by passion and redefining success.
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Shizuko Yoshikuni and Manuel Kuschnig are artists of air. As AOIRO, they run an olfactory design studio out of their apartment in Berlin, where aromatherapy meets bespoke perfumery. Working with clients around the world, they create tailor-made scents for brands, special occasions and spaces of all kinds.
* READ MORE : ITSAPASSION