Olfactive design studio AOIRO brings spatial atmospheres to life through the synesthetic interpretation of scent.
Founders Shizuko Yoshikuni and Manuel Kuschnig align their respective backgrounds in aromatherapy and design theory to approach scent creation from a multidisciplinary perspective.
Having spent time within each other’s cultures in Japan and Europe early in life, they embarked on their work together in Tokyo in 2019 before eventually moving to Berlin to explore their distinctive olfactive design process as AOIRO.
Together as AOIRO, Shizuko and Manuel developed their own olfactory design strategy and a unique design process for olfactory identities, integrating the theoretical and practical backgrounds of both sides.
Their work is marked by restraint and sensitivity. They often create quiet atmospheric compositions inspired by materials, seasons, textures, and cultural memory.
Since 2012 their center of life and work is Berlin, Germany.
AOIRO Airdesign is based in Berlin and Tokyo and works widely with International clients. Their product range HAKUDO can be found in selected stores.
Read more about AOIRO on a recent feature on IGNANT.
Shizuko Yoshikuni is not merely a scent designer—she is a weaver of atmospheres, a sculptor of the unseen.
As co-founder of Aoiro Studio in Berlin, her work transcends perfume, becoming something closer to alchemy: transforming space, memory, and emotion through the ethereal medium of scent.
Born in Chiba, Japan, and shaped by years in Switzerland and Australia, her work reflects a nuanced understanding of space, emotion, and sensory memory.
Her fascination with fragrance began in childhood—a story whispered by her father about a wandering perfumer collecting rare botanicals lit the spark. That poetic image led her to study aromatherapy in Brisbane, grounding her practice in both art and science.
Since founding Aoiro, Shizuko has cultivated a design language that is both subtle and immersive. Each scent is a spatial composition, balancing ancient botanical knowledge with contemporary design sensibility. Her creations, developed in collaboration with global clients, have transformed restaurants, operas, galleries, and homes into experiences you feel before you see.
Manuel Kuschnig is an Austrian designer and olfactory artist whose work moves through the invisible territory between memory, atmosphere, and emotion.
While studying philosophy and Japanese studies in Vienna, he became fascinated by the question of how humans perceive beauty, space, and presence. He was particularly drawn to Japanese aesthetics, where silence, emptiness, and impermanence are treated not as absences, but as meaningful experiences. Those ideas would later become central to his creative work.
Before entering the world of scent, Kuschnig worked in graphic design and cultural journalism, writing about architecture, art, and contemporary design culture. Yet over time, he became increasingly interested in the aspects of experience that traditional visual design could not fully capture — the emotional residue of a place, the atmosphere of a space.
His approach reflects both European conceptual design and Japanese notions of harmony and transience. His work continues to explore how scent — perhaps the most elusive of the senses — can shape memory, emotion, and the way humans inhabit space.