Building Soulfulness was Heatherwick Studio’s first solo exhibition in Japan, held at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo. The show was the vision of celebrated art curator Mami Kataoka. It demonstrated the belief that no matter how large a project’s size, the design can have a human scale, embrace the natural world, and connect with the environment around it. The exhibits explore the creative approach and process applied to each project and the central role of craftsmanship. Partnering with the Heatherwick Studio and the Museum teams, we were responsible for the graphic elements of the exhibition.

Leaning into the concept of soulfulness, the typography is built from letterforms that subtly expand and contract in weight. Title and description banners were hung vertically from the ceiling and integrated with large-scale imagery to form an immersive, staggered backdrop to the physical content and video displays. This layered arrangement provides the visitor with an explorable route through the projects, giving a variety of vistas and viewpoints that evoke the three-dimensionality of the studio’s work.