Since 2001, Mariko Takagi works as a freelance graphic designer in numerous areas of communication design, ranging from art work for books and catalogues, information and graphic design, pictograms, development of corporate design, brochures, calendars, special interest magazines, to layouts for adverts. Her main interests are conceptual projects that involve her into the development process of the content as well as the design.

At the Design Department of the University of Applied Sciences Muenster, Mariko Takagi took her first teaching assignment in fall 2002/03. For eight semesters, she taught the basics of typography to design students in Muenster. Her teaching assignment was followed by another in 2006 at the University of Applied Sciences Mainz. In Mainz, she taught the basics of art work course for a semester.

From 2007 to 2010, Mariko Takagi taught typography at the University of Applied Sciences Duesseldorf. Simultaneously, she worked as an assistant professor at the Institute for Music and Media of the University of Music, Duesseldorf for Art Work/ Graphic Design.

Ms Takagi considers freelance work on book projects as the third leg of her professional self, in addition to teaching and freelance graphic design. Her books won a number of prizes, e.g. Stiftung Buchkunst, ADC, TDC, red dot and iF Design. Six books on different Japanese culture topics have been developed and published by her. She understands herself as a go-between German and Japanese culture. She has a profound knowledge of Japanese culture and she enjoys introducing this knowledge to international readers.

- See more at: http://ava.hkbu.edu.hk/people/ms-mariko-takagi/#sthash.SYv5aEsp.dpuf