What is it that sets us apart?
We are an interdisciplinary design office for exhibition design, graphic design, media design, product design, and project design.
gewerkdesign provides custom-made solutions, resorting to creative ideas from all areas of design. These different creative sources serve as tools for making concepts, content and mental images visible, beforehand contemplating about the topics, the rooms and implications carefully. By taking into account the views of all parties involved, gewerkdesign is able to make creative decisions that have a positive influence on the exhibition space, graphics, products, media applications and projects.
A creative process seldom resembles a straight line, it is a dynamic process rather like an organic, dynamic movement.
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10 March 2025
Dokumentationszentrum Nationalsozialismus in Freiburg opens
From Friday, 21 March 2025, the Documentation Centre for National Socialism in Freiburg will be open to the public. gewerkdesign designed the permanent exhibition »Behind the Facades. Freiburg under National Socialism« as well as the museum’s functional rooms. On three floors, we show scenographically how the events of this time shaped Freiburg and how the personal fates of persecuted people are interwoven with them.
The heritage-listed building, which was built in 1936 as a traffic office, is located in Freiburg’s historic city centre. Spatial features include the former civilian air-raid shelter basement and the now covered inner courtyard, which has been designed as a memorial room. We have integrated an original large-format mural from 1939 into the exhibition. Analogue exhibits such as historical objects, photographs and reproductions, texts and biographies alternate with digital exhibits such as interactive media stations and audible content.
Further information on museen.freiburg.de.
3 February 2025
For only two more weeks, the »Palace of the Republic« can be visited
Our special exhibition on the Palace of the Republic at the Humboldt Forum Berlin in the rebuilt City Palace has stirred up a lively public debate over the past year. This is quite understandable, as it concerns the representative building of the GDR, which was demolished after the fall of the Wall, having been a focal point not only for politics but also for the country’s culture. While the People’s Chamber, the parliament with its only party, met here, ordinary citizens could casually eat ice cream and attend concerts.
The exhibition shows from a neutral perspective why the building has such a unique significance. The following factors were particularly important to us in our scenographic design: to obtain and depict a variety of perspectives, to convey an appreciation of the place and the objects, and to consider the past and the present equally.
On the project page, you can find background information on the exhibition design. We have also compiled a selection of press and media articles there.
»Blown Away. The Palace of the Republic«
Humboldt Forum Berlin
Until 16 February 2025
humboldtforum.org/pdr
Photo © Christoph Musiol for gewerkdesign
20 December 2024
Special exhibition »Wikingerdämmerung« at Gottorf Castle in Schleswig
In 2025, Gottorf Castle in Schleswig will be showing a special exhibition on the Vikings – and gewerkdesign is designing it.
The exhibition »Wikingerdämmerung. Zeitenwende im Norden« looks beyond Viking romanticism and takes a scientifically sound look at the end of their time and the transformative passage into the Middle Ages. Schleswig and the former Viking town of Haithabu in the vicinity play key roles in this process. The aim of the exhibition is to show that the Viking culture did not come to an abrupt end but assimilated through Christianisation, was absorbed into the Christian culture of the Middle Ages and continued to indirectly influence the course of history – up to the present day.
We are designing an interactive and particularly for the hearing-impaired inclusive exhibition, which is very educational and fun for all age groups while offering something new. Through the themes of power, economy, religion and world view, we decipher the differences and similarities between the culture of the Vikings and ours. As an eyecatcher, a wall-sized map illustrates the geographical and cultural connections. We will reveal more details in due course!
The tasks of gewerkdesign are scenography, graphic design with motion design, as well as media design.
The exhibition will be on view from 16 April to 2 November 2025.
Further information on schloss-gottorf.de.
The name of our company states our agenda. The Middle High German term »gewerk« was first noted in the 13th century. Our company’s founders found the term very appealing because it aptly described their conceptual, interdisciplinary design approach, when they founded the company in 1993 – perhaps today even more so:
• describing a unit working together with other units
• a facility setting something in motion
• an entirety of handycraftsmen, guild
• the wickerwork of spiders, the honeycomb of bees
• place or institution, in which tasks are performed
(cited from: Grimm, J. and W. – Deutsches Wörterbuch 1854 und Paul, H. – Deutsches Wörterbuch, 1897.)
Phonetically, the German term »gewerk« goes well with the English term »design«. Combining these two terms also indicates how design in our opinion is more than its separate creative disciplines. Only by combining many different kinds of creative skills and entering the designing process together with our clients we are able to create design solutions that are durable and effective, and a design process that is a design creation in itself.
Underlining this special design approach, the terms »gewerk« und »gewerkdesign« have been trademarked in 2008.
gewerk is also a place where our skills are being pooled together, a place for working and communicating. It usually is here that first introductions are made and first meetings take place.
The office provides room for interconnecting the creative skills of our experienced and talented scenographic artists, architects, graphic designers, media designers, product designers, and interior designers.
We value a friendly atmosphere and treat each other with respect and kindness.
Profile: Roughly, our projects can be divided into three different phases: evaluation, design, and implementation. Our team offers all three of these services. In order to see the approved design translated into the imagined form, trusting us with the implementation phase of the project is especially important. Resulting from this particular approach are both a design product and a process custom-made for our clients.
Evaluation: In the beginning of a designing process it is of key importance to thoroughly register the task in its entirety and to take all its complex implications into account. Best practice for this is listening attentively and observing the rooms and situations to be designed carefully. Working together, communicating openly and at eye level, the project with gather momentum and live up to its potential.
Design: As soon as the evaluation is complete, the next task is to agree upon a design solution and to identify the creative tools and resources that will lead to this solution, rendering the design process constructive, time-saving, and cost-efficient for all involved.
Implementation: For the implementation phase it takes experience, reliability and perseverance. Many of our clients have been working with us for years, rely on several of our services and entrust us with their projects through many stages of its development.
We assemble our team according to the respective phase of the project and rely on a network of partners and experts for very specific tasks.
In the roughly 30 years of our company’s existence, we have accompanied more than 175 exhibitions and complex museum projects. We offer the experiences gathered from these projects to our clients for other projects as well, for instance creating durable brand designs (Berlin Congress Center since 2002 bcc), globally trend-setting products (velotaxis City Cruiser I, II and Delivery Crusier), or internationally awarded graphic designs (Logo of the Berlin Wall). We also provide consultancy services for project management and design processes, and organize strategy workshops for developing a sustainable future vision for a project (Masterplan study Bremer Landesmuseum).
A
• Amt für Kultur der Stadt Dessau-FRoßlau
• ARD Hauptstadtstudio
• Arolsen Archives – International FCenter on Nazi Persecution
• Augustinermuseum Freiburg
B
• Bauhaus-Archiv, Museum für FGestaltung Berlin
• BBWA Berlin-Brandenburgische FAkademie der Wissenschaften
• bcc Berlin Congress Center GmbH
• Berliner Forsten – Landesforstamt
• Berliner Forum für Geschichte und FGegenwart e.V.
• Bertelsmann AG Berlin
• Bundesbeauftragter für die Unterlagen Fdes Staatssicherheitsdienstes der Fehemaligen Deutschen FDemokratischen Republik (BStU) FBerlin
• Bundeskanzler-Willy-Brandt-Stiftung FBerlin
• Bürger Museum Wolfenbüttel
C
• Cronos Verlag, Zürich (Switzerland)
D
• Danfoss Universe Nordborg F(Denmark)
• Das Verborgene Museum, Berlin
• Der Beauftragte für Kunst und Medien Fder Bundesrepublik Deutschland FBerlin
• Design Zentrum Bremen
• Deutsche Bahn AG Berlin
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für FGefäßchirurgie Berlin und Dresden
• Deutsches Architektur-Museum FFrankfurt
• Deutsches Historisches Museum FBerlin
• Deutsches Museum München
• Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin
• Deutschlandradio Kultur Berlin
E
• Europäische Kommission Berlin
F
• Focke Museum – Bremer FLandesmuseum für Kunst und FKulturgeschichte
G
• Gasometer Oberhausen GmbH
• Gärtnermuseum Wolfenbüttel e.V.
• Gedenkstätte Berlin-FHohenschönhausen
• Georg-Kolbe-Museum Berlin
• Grün Berlin GmbH
H
• Hansestadt Wismar
• Haus der Brandenburgisch-FPreußischen Geschichte Potsdam
• Haus der Geschichte Nordrhein-FWestfalen
• Hertha BSC GmbH + Co. KG
• Hochschule für Künste im Sozialen FOttersberg
• Hochschule Luzern (Schweiz)
• Hochschulübergreifendes Zentrum FTanz Berlin SODA.WORKS
I
• Industriemuseum Chemnitz
• Interstuhl Büromöbel GmbH + Co. KG FMeßstetten-Tieringen
J
• Jüdisches Museum Berlin
• Jüdisches Museum Frankfurt
K
• Kernkraftwerk Gösgen-Däniken AG F(Switzerland)
• Knesebeck Verlag, München
• Kulturstiftung des Bundes
• Kulturstiftung Dessau-Wörlitz
L
• Landesmuseen Schleswig-Holstein, FMuseum für Kunst und FKulturgeschichte Schloss Gottorf
M
• Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur FFörderung der Wissenschaften e.V. FMünchen
• Miraikan – National Museum of FEmerging Science and Innovation, FTokio (Japan)
• Modulor GmbH Berlin
• MODUS Möbel GmbH Berlin
• Museum für Kommunikation Berlin
• Museum für Kommunikation Bern F(Switzerland)
• Museum für Kommunikation FFrankfurt
• Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe FHamburg
• Museum für Kunst und FKulturgeschichte Dortmund
• Museum für Natur und Mensch FOldenburg
• Museum für Naturkunde Berlin
• Museum für Sepulkralkultur Kassel
• Museum Neukölln Berlin
• Museum Strauhof Zürich F(Switzerland)
• Museum Wolfenbüttel
N
• Naturhistorisches Museum Bern F(Switzerland)
• Nicolai Verlag, Berlin
• Nobel Museum Stockholm (Sweden)
• Norstedts Verlag, Stockholm F(Sweden)
O
• Ostfriesisches Landesmuseum FEmden
• Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg
• Ökodorf Brodowin
P
• Porzellanfabriken Christian Seltmann FGmbH
• Posteo e.V., Berlin
• Projektbüro Gartenregion Hannover
R
• Ricordi & C.S.r.l. Mailand (Italy)
S
• SCC Events GmbH
• Schiffahrtsmuseum der Foldenburgischen Unterweser e.V.
• Schloss Eutin
• Schwedische Botschaft Berlin
• Schwedisches Architekturmuseum FStockholm (Sweden)
• Senatsverwaltung für Umwelt, Verkehr Fund Klima Berlin
• Senatsverwaltung für Wissenschaft, FForschung und Kultur Berlin
• Sprengel Museum Hannover
• Staatliche Kunstsammlungen FDresden
• Staatliche Schlösser, Burgen und FGärten Sachsen gGmbH
• Stadt Doberlug-Kirchhain
• Stadt Frankfurt am Main
• Stadt Wolfenbüttel
• Stadtmuseum Oldenburg
• StadtPalais – Museum für Stuttgart
• Städtische Museen Freiburg
• Suhrkamp Verlag, Berlin
Stiftungen
• Stiftung Berliner Mauer
• Stiftung Flucht, Vertreibung, FVersöhnung Berlin
• Stiftung Gedenkstätten Buchenwald Fund Mittelbau-Dora
• Stiftung Historische Museen FHamburg: Altonaer Museum, Museum Fder Arbeit
• Stiftung Humboldt Forum
Fim Berliner Schloss
• Stiftung Luthergedenkstätten in FSachsen-Anhalt
• Stiftung niedersächsische FGedenkstätten Celle
• Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und FGärten Berlin-Brandenburg
• Stiftung Sächsische Gedenkstätten: FGedenkstätte Bautzen, Gedenkstätte FMünchner Platz Dresden, FGedenkstätte Pirna-Sonnenstein
• Stiftung Schleswig-Holsteinische
FLandesmuseen Schloss Gottorf
• Stiftung Topographie des Terrors FBerlin
T
• Technische Universität Eindhoven
• Technoseum, Landesmuseum für FTechnik und Arbeit Mannheim
U
• Übersee-Museum Bremen
• Universität der Künste Berlin
• Universität Hamburg
• Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-FHolstein Campus Lübeck
• Universitätsstadt Marburg
• Universum Managementges. mbH FBremen
V
• Velotaxi GmbH Berlin
• Vertretung der Europäischen FKommission in der Bundesrepublik FDeutschland
• VolkswagenStiftung Hannover
W
• Wartburg-Stiftung Eisenach
• Whisky & Cigars Berlin
• Wilhelm Wagenfeld Stiftung Bremen
• WonderWolf Productions Düsseldorf
• Worpsweder Touristik- und FKulturmarketing GmbH
Z
• ZBW – Leibniz-Informationszentrum FWirtschaft, Kiel
• ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd FBucerius
• Züricher Hochschule der Künste F(Switzerland)
We admit that it might sound a bit idealistic, but we believe that a good design will have positive effects on our work and life in general. Therefore we sometimes dedicate some of our time and financial resources to implementing one of our own concepts.
This might be an event (e.g. a workshop about luck and felicity at Bazon Brock’s »Denkerei«), a publication (e.g. a richly illustrated monograph about Nelly Sachs together with the writer Aris Fioretos) and sometimes an item surmounting lingual barriers (the sign language card game »Nomo« together with Andy Costrau).
Pursuing our own projects sharpens our design focus, liberates us from restraints for a while and allows us to explore new design areas.
There are many projects waiting to be implemented … stay in touch to see what happens next!
The increasing complexity of our design projects can only be mastered with a competency network and new inspiration. We aim at constantly widening our horizon and to improve the skills of our team. Thus, we always value respective contactings and qualified applications.
Speculative Applications
Feel free to send us an email with your descriptive application in which you outline how your skills would match our profile and why you would be a good addition to our team. Should you be invited to an interview, it facilitates the decision if you show us how you have arrived at your results. You should then be able to present to us your sketch books, architecture models and/or completed projects.
Please send your speculative application to
Christina Storch, eingang (at) gewerk.com
Internship Positions
Our internship positions – one for the three-dimensional/spatial area, one for the two-dimensional/media area – are intended for students of all design disciplines who require a mandatory specialized internship as part of their education. The duration should be between 3 and 6 months.
Currently, no internship positions are vacant.
You may inquire by e-mail whether an internship position becomes available in the near future:
Christina Storch, eingang (at) gewerk.com
gewerkdesign is a member of the following institutions:
IDZ Berlin / VerA / ICOM
Many of our competitions have evolved into projects and some of our projects have won international awards. But of course we don’t win every competition. Nontheless we are proud of the designs submitted to these competitions and consider them quite presentable.
If you plan to invite us for a competition or a negotiation for a project, we would appreciate giving us a short personal notice beforehand. It would make it easier for us to determine, whether the competition’s conditions suit our profile and our capacities.
A comprehensible tender answering all of the basic questions (who, what, where, when, why and how much?), too, will make it easier for us to commit to the competition. As a matter of course, the decision-making procedure should be transparent, the selection should be fair, and the jury should be competent and mentioned by name.
If you are unsure, whether your competition meets the requirements and codes of ethics for design competitions, please refer to the German Architectural Association (Architektenkammer) or the Association of Exhibition Designers VerA for further information.