Hello, everyone! Miyanaga from GP here. 

The Osaka Expo is currently being held in Osaka. While the pavilions and content are of course exciting, I especially encourage you to pay attention to the creative designs that color the venue.

This time, we’re focusing on “OPEN DESIGN 2025 ‘EXPO WORLDs’”—a project that brings liveliness to the space through various forms of creativity, such as: monuments, art, signage, and sound!

What is OPEN DESIGN 2025 “EXPO WORLDs”?

The project “OPEN DESIGN 2025 ‘EXPO WORLDs’” currently underway at the Osaka Expo is designed to energize the venue through visual and auditory experiences. With the theme of “The Cycle of Life,” the project uses flags, art, and signage on monuments to breathe life into the venue and aims to create new values and a vision for the future.

The many artworks that vitalize the venue

The venue is composed of two main elements: “Venue Dressing” and “Venue Soundscape.”

The “Venue Dressing” includes three types of decorative elements: “EXPO2025 Dressing,” which colors the venue; the playful signage system “Co-MYAKU Sign”; and the art project “Co-MYAKU‘25,” featuring 25 groups of participating artists. The “Venue Soundscape” involves a collaboration between a creative team and seven artists to envelop the entire site with a rich variety of sound.

Let’s take a closer look!

The visual designs coloring the Yumeshima Expo venue

The visual concept is “The Cycle of Life.” All of the elements scattered throughout the venue—monuments, flags, signs, and artworks—are infused with the essence of “eight million lives.”

From people and animals to plants and technology, the Japanese worldview that “all things are alive” is visualized and expressed through the venue’s decorations. It’s a joy to look at, and has a strong sense of consistency. Beyond just visual beauty and entertainment, this open design platform created through co-creation and participation breathes life into the venue.

EXPO2025 Dressing – Decorations that color the venue

One of the components of the visual design is the decorative concept known as “EXPO2025 Dressing,” which adds color and life to the venue.

From the main EXPO2025 monument to banner flags, fence covers, and belt partitions—every element expresses the Japanese belief that “life resides in all things” through its design. These decorations go beyond mere visuals to guide visitors into a world full of vitality.

Playful wayfinding signs: “Co-MYAKU Sign”

These adorably designed wayfinding signs, made for children, are so eye-catching that you can’t help but stop and look.

“Co-MYAKU” is a coined term combining “Co-” from “Co-Creation” and “Myaku,” meaning “life” or “pulse.” At the same time, it also refers to the little characters called “Komyaku” who embody the idea of “individual life” within the design system.

These Komyaku characters not only guide children through the venue, but also lead them toward discoveries that connect to the future! The signs are filled with intriguing elements like hopscotch, lottery-style pathways, matching games, ambigrams (images that can be read upside down), and even story-based routes—each designed to spark interest and engagement.

“Co-MYAKU‘25”: An art project featuring 25 artist collaborations

An art project called “Co-MYAKU‘25” brings together 25 different artists to breathe diverse forms of life into the venue.

Across the walls and floors of the Expo site, the artists use their unique styles and techniques to depict the concept of “Eight Million Lives” (a reference to countless life forms). This is more than just decorative work to liven up the space—it is a bold attempt to co-create new forms of life for the future. The initiative represents the wish to spread the concept of the “cycle of life” beyond 2025, and far out into the world.

The soundscape enveloping the venue

The second component of this project is a venue-enveloping “Soundscape Design.” The concept is called “Ensemble of Life.”

The idea is to divide the venue into several zones, each with a different sound environment. A creative soundscape team, together with seven artists, co-creates these diverse auditory experiences throughout the site.

What’s fascinating is that all the music shares the same tempo. This design ensures that even as you move from one area to another, the sounds naturally harmonize and blend, creating a seamless auditory experience. Through this immersive soundscape, guests can truly feel and experience the “cycle of life.”

Conclusion

Humans, nations, cultures, animals, plants, and even technology—everything carries life. While this Japanese concept has been conveyed through words and stories in the past, visualizing it through design is a new and ambitious endeavor. It’s a bold attempt to communicate Japan’s fundamental philosophy—not through language, but through sensory experience—something that only a global event like the Expo can fully realize.

If you plan to visit Expo 2025 Osaka, be sure to pay attention to the art and designs on display. You’re sure to discover something new and inspiring. Now then, until next time.