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
ARTIS Aquarium now open!
After a large-scale renovation, the monumental ARTIS Aquarium has officially reopened its doors. Together with ARTIS, we had the privilege of transforming the building into a spectacular story about water. Historic architecture, the living collection, art, and education blend seamlessly into one harmonious whole, with water as the radiant centerpiece.
New commission for the Roman Museum Heerlen
We’re thrilled to start working for the Roman Museum in Heerlen! Together with Brandwacht & Meijer and Kiss the Frog, we’ll create an exhibition that paints a new, surprising, and human picture of the dynamic Roman life between the Meuse and the Rhine.
We’re incredibly excited to bring Roman history to life inside this beautiful new building, designed by Kraaijvanger Architects and TomDavid Architects. The museum will open in 2028.
Sea level rise? Land level rise!
At the World Congress of Architects 2026 in Barcelona, a Dutch collective presented a revolutionary response to the climate crisis. Instead of fighting against the water, they’re putting nature itself to work. This visionary ‘nature-tech’ has been brought to life through an impressive film, sixteen unique peep-boxes (kijkdozen), and large school charts. The exhibition will travel through the Netherlands starting in September 2026, kicking off at the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR).
Mission Rhino
Together with YIPP and Bruns, we’re working on an exciting new commission for Copenhagen Zoo. In an interactive mission specifically aimed at teenagers between 10 and 15, visitors help protect the southern white rhinoceros. The mission is inspired by the zoo’s conservation efforts in Pilanesberg National Park, South Africa. Visitors will explore life on the savannah and discover how poaching and climate change threaten the rhino.
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.
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.