While Kossmanndejong (previously named Kossmann.dejong) had already built a strong name in the exhibition world, they had outgrown their business. Their identity and online presentation no longer corresponded with their core business. Rather than merely designing spaces and realising expos, they were increasingly involved in the concept phase also giving direction to the narratives of their projects. But maybe even more importantly, their purpose had changed over the years: Kossmanndejong was exploring ways to provoke positive social changes by creating spatial experiences that connect people, raise awareness and trigger durable mindset shifts.
Turning stories into spaces and spaces into stories, the brand has a unique approach to exhibition-making – interdisciplinary, disrupting from (physical) museum borders, and focusing on the visitor’s experience and societal relevance. Be it for Artis’ Micropia, the Chambers of Wonder at Kunstmuseum Den Haag, or the Netherlands Pavilion for the World Expo in Dubai, with every project they try to push those boundaries further, treating the exhibition as a way to experiment and investigate the world. The same applies to the way they work, inquisitively, transparently, and as circularly as possible.
With this new direction, centered on bringing people together and creating spaces that would allow them to look at the world with brand new eyes and reflect on their own story-related behaviour, we re-examined and captured their new proposition.
We matched the brand with a new visual identity: exciting, forward, experimental and open. Those features have been translated into kossmanndejong.nl, their new online environment containing a unique feature – a peephole in the website connecting front and back office – which creates a digital, spatial experience joining process and result. This way, the website provides more insight into what they do, how they work, and the world behind their projects. Moreover it offers them the option to tell their own story in a different way. A Kossmanndejong project speaks for itself, brimming with imagination, but the magic should be found in the work that precedes it: the analysis, the craftsmanship, the rethinking.
The collaboration with Kossmanndejong was a special one, taking place in a special year: the 30th anniversary of Vandejong. Many years prior, brothers Mark and Pjotr de Jong founded the graphic design studio Gebr. De Jong. Pjotr went onto develop Vandejong Creative Agency into what it is today, while Mark took a different turn by founding Kossmanndejong, creating spatial designs for projects, exhibitions and museums. In 2019, the two worked together once again when the teams of both companies collaborated on the new website and repositioning of Kossmanndejong, or KDJ.
