The StadtPalais – Museum of Stuttgart tells a wide variety of stories from the state capital’s past and present. These stories often feature personalities and companies that have shaped Stuttgart and continue to do so today. This includes KOSMOS Verlag.
Most German households will have a product from KOSMOS Verlag at home. Be it an experiment kit, a game such as CATAN, EXIT or Ubongo, Die drei ??? or one of the numerous guidebooks. Very few people know, however, that the publisher is based in Stuttgart. It was founded in 1822 by the Franckh brothers as the Franckh’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung. In 2022 it will celebrate its 200th anniversary … and we have been commissioned to design and realise the anniversary exhibition.
Like the publishing house itself, the exhibition is aimed at a broad audience aged 6 to 99. There should be something for everyone. And, incidentally, 200 years of publishing history should also be told …Challenge accepted!
Four worlds. In 2021, we won the pitch with our concept. The basic idea behind our concept consists of four worlds that appeal to different senses: there is the world of experimentation, the world of books, the world of fantasy and the world of games. We attribute specific characteristics to each world. The experimental world is active and factual, the book world passive and factual, the fantasy world passive and imaginative, and the games world active and imaginative.
A cosmos. From these four worlds emerges a cosmos that enables visitors to experience KOSMOS Verlag.
Your experience. To emphasise the interactive nature of the exhibition, we are developing an accompanying game inspired by the publisher’s EXIT games. To this end, we are devising a storyline, giving the Franckh brothers a face and a voice, and coming up with a task for the visitors. We have also devised the puzzle mechanics ourselves. In each world, two puzzles must be solved. We are complementing the worlds with four matching characters, each with different strengths: there is a tinkerer, a specialist, a dreamer and a player. Each character is represented by an animal typical of the region.
The exhibition space is limited. We create a space within a space and rotate the floor plan. This rotation creates a larger and more complex spatial effect. It also creates different zones with a clear visitor flow. Each zone accommodates a world. In line with the characteristics of the book world and the fantasy world, these are more defined, whereas the experimental world and the games world are more open. The paths of the visitors intersect in the lively and largest area in the centre, the games world.
The design reinforces the concept. Each world is represented by a colour scheme tailored precisely to its characteristics, as well as by a distinctive pattern. In this way, the worlds are clearly distinguished from one another not only in terms of content but also visually. We select a typeface with playful elements, using them strategically to create focal points within the respective worlds.
In a joint workshop with the publisher and the museum, we define the exhibits for each world. We adapt the content of each world into clear texts tailored to the target audience. For the particularly curious, there is a large display in each world detailing the publishing house’s history. For those not quite so keen on reading, we distil the content down to the essentials. We offer visitors an insight into the publishing house’s archive and tell the stories behind the products and brands. We place particular emphasis on consistently establishing a connection to Stuttgart.
We get stuck in with the set-up ourselves: walls are erected, things are glued, drilled, hammered and sawn, and valuable exhibits are presented under covers and showcased with the right lighting. The exhibition is ready just in time for the press preview.
On the evening before the public opening, there is a preview for invited guests. Minister-President Winfried Kretschmann, Lord Mayor Frank Nopper, the Director of the StadtPalais Dr Torben Giese and the Managing Director of KOSMOS Verlag Michael Fleissner give a speech. Among the guests are Benjamin Teuber – the son of CATAN inventor Klaus Teuber, the illustrator of The Three Investigators and numerous other figures from the publishing house’s circle.
At the official opening the following day, there is plenty of puzzle-solving to be had. The exhibition and the accompanying game seem to be going down very well. We are delighted that our work is being so well received!
