About us
We are an experienced and ambitious design studio specialized in creating captivating story-driven spatial experiences.
Based in Amsterdam, our international team consists of designers, content developers, producers, and supportive staff. We are a purpose-driven team, committed to telling urgent and relevant stories—whether historical, scientific, social, or commercial—and transforming them into stories that matter.
We make spatial stories
Spatial stories can make for a truly transformative experience. They inspire exploration, ignite wonder, and nurture critical thinking. In an increasingly complex and noisy world, it’s an oasis of focus and nuance. They celebrate diversity, embracing individual human, or even non-human perspectives to tell universal stories that each of us can relate.
Why and how
We believe in the unique power of this storytelling medium. We want to use that power for the better of society, by telling stories that matter. Stories that are urgent and relevant for the direct community of where the spatial stories are told, as well as for society at large.
Serious play
Content can be challenging. It can be complex, sensitive, or even contested. Whatever the case, we make it accessible, memorable, and shareable by transforming it into a spatial story. And we always sprinkle in a pinch of playfulness to balance the seriousness.
Sustainability
Sustainability is about more than choosing the right materials. It’s woven into everything we do: our daily practices, the stories we help tell, and the way we design. Our goal is to maximise positive impact by raising awareness and inspiring change, while minimising our footprint on the planet.
This is what we can do for you
Strategy
- Master planning
- Strategic consultancy
- Concept and visualisations
- Content strategy
- Cost estimations
- Fundraising consultancy
- Evaluation and impact assessment
Design
- Art/Creative direction
- Spatial design
- Graphic design
- Content development
- Wayfinding
- Catalogues and publicity
Production
- Art/Creative direction
- Production supervision
- Script writing and storyboarding
- Media direction
- Graphic design / DTP
- Project management
- Contract management
Our background
Kossmanndejong was founded in the mid-1990s, rooted in a shared ambition to tell stories through space. Their early work wasn’t for museums but for municipalities. These were projects without collections, curators, or even buildings.
News
Juliana Pavilion at Keukenhof open!
Keukenhof is an iconic destination where over a million tourists gather each spring to admire the Dutch tulips. But it’s not just about tulips; the park showcases a vast array of other flowers, including orchids. We transformed these orchid stories into a spatial experience. How to pique the curiosity of a tourist primarily focused on taking pretty pictures? Read it here.
Make Space for Change
Our new book is officially published! 🚀 📒
In 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲, we explore the essential ingredients for spatial stories with impact. We argue that an exhibition, designed as a spatial experience that engages both the mind and the heart, is the ultimate medium for creating a truly transformative experience
On show: New Old!
In our design for New Old! at Museum van de Geest in Haarlem, the goal was to highlight the human faces of an aging population. The exhibition centers on the positive dimensions of growing older: vitality, creativity, social engagement, and wisdom. The space is filled with larger-than-life portraits on fabric, suspended from the high ceiling and slowly rotating to constantly change the configuration, challenging visitors to rethink what it means to grow old in today’s world.
Keerzijde now open!
A new thematic space has opened at the National Military Museum: 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘻𝘪𝘫𝘥𝘦 (the other side). Ten years after designing the museum’s permanent exhibition, we were honoured to return for this meaningful commission.
🏅We won GOLD and Best of Discipline!
We’re beyond proud to share that 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 at the Stapferhaus has been awarded Gold in the Exhibition Design category, and was named Best of Discipline in the Architecture / Interior / Environmental Design category at the ADC Awards by The One Club for Creativity.
Thank you to the ADC jury for recognizing our work.
Learn about biodiversity at ARTIS!
What is biodiversity, really? Many adults struggle to answer that question. That’s why ARTIS asked us to create five playful installations for young children, each exploring the meaning of biodiversity in a hands-on way.
Fun, tactile, and curious, these small puzzles make a big topic accessible for little hands. And finally, for their parents too.
Clients
We work with global brands, institutes, NGO's and museums to translate their stories into spatial experiences with impact.
Our publications
Kossmanndejong e.a.
Over the past decades, exhibitions have evolved into immersive experiences, carefully designed to genuinely engage visitors in a story. This evolution has triggered a thriving experience industry that now connects brands, museums, and audiences worldwide. This third book explores the transformative power of the medium. Drawing on their own global practice and insights from other pioneering creative professionals, they explore how spatial stories can inspire and drive social change.
Herman Kossmann, Suzanne Mulder, Frank den Oudsten
In Narrative Spaces, the field is approached form three angles: theoretical-philosophical, from daily design practice, and cultural-historical. It is intended not only for designers but also for curators and critics, for people from the world of theater and architecture, in short, for anyone interested in the expressiveness of space. The book reveals the dramaturgical and scenographic principles of exhibition as a narrative space and provides inspiration for a new approach to exhibition design.
Engaging Spaces
Kossmanndejong e.a.
Creating a good exhibition is about telling a multidimensional and interactive story with a balanced and wide range of media. The challenge is to translate complex and scientific information into a narrative environment that appeals to a wide audience. Engaging Spaces focuses on 30 narrative spaces desigend by Kossmanndejong, including the Urbanian Pavilion at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai.