Javier Errando Mariscal (Valencia, February 9, 1950) is a Spanish multidisciplinary designer and artist. Since 1970, he has lived and worked in Barcelona. His work encompasses illustration, graphic design, furniture, interior design, sculpture, animation, and audiovisual projects, and is characterized by a free, colorful, and vital visual language.
He trained at the Elisava school in Barcelona, although he soon abandoned academic studies to pursue a self-taught education linked to the creative environment. He began his career in 1970s underground comics, collaborating in publications such as El Rrollo Enmascarado and Star, and actively participating in the boom of adult comics in Spain. Notable works from this period include Aa Valenciaa and the series Los Garriris, characters that would become a recurring element of his imagery.
In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, he expanded his practice into graphic design, furniture, and interior design. In 1979, he achieved great popularity with the BAR CEL ONA logo, and soon after, with the design of the Dúplex bar and its iconic stool. In 1981, he participated in the exhibition Memphis, an International Style in Milan, and in subsequent years exhibited in institutions such as the Centre Pompidou in Paris and Documenta in Kassel.
In 1989, he created Cobi, the mascot for the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games, an initially controversial project that became one of the greatest commercial and cultural successes in Olympic history. That same year, he founded Estudio Mariscal, from which he has developed international projects in visual identity, interior architecture, and product design for institutions, companies, and cultural spaces in Europe, Asia, and America.
His most recognized works include the mascot Twipsy for Expo 2000 in Hannover, the Alexandra armchair for Moroso, the comprehensive design of the Gran Hotel Domine Bilbao, as well as numerous collaborations with brands such as Magis, Artemide, Cassina, Vondom, and Camper. His work has been the subject of important retrospective exhibitions, including Mariscal Drawing Life at the Design Museum in London and Mariscal en la Pedrera in Barcelona.
In the audiovisual field, he co-directed the animated feature film Chico & Rita (2010) with Fernando Trueba, which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film, and later Dispararon al pianista (2023). Both works reflect his interest in music, visual narrative, and popular culture.
Javier Mariscal is considered a key figure in contemporary Spanish and international design, whose career stands out for its disciplinary transversal nature, visual optimism, and constant creative exploration.
