Literatuurmuseum

From Vruchtvlees:

The Literatuurmuseum is the digital equivalent of the Letterkundig Archief, or ‘Literature Archive’, and a revolution in the museum world. We are responsible for the creative direction of the brand, the online strategy and the website, and continue to devise digital exhibitions as a way to present new discoveries from the archive. The concept of Literatuurmuseum is created by Stichting Nederlands Literatuurmuseum and Literatuurarchief, and Huygens Insitituut voor Nederlandse Geschiedenis (KNAW).

The Literatuurmuseum was looking for a new way to display its archive digitally. The books are simply too fragile to be handled by everyone. And who wants to get lost in a dusty archive anyway? We were asked to build a website and develop creative concepts to tell these stories online. We presented one literary treasure at a time, inviting print enthusiasts to get lost in the online world, and appointed contemporary writers, or curators, to guide visitors through works from the past. By taking the lead in art direction of the strategic campaigns, we were able to generate a lot of attention for the online museum.

The design pairs texts, photographs of artefacts and – partially commissioned – portraits of Dutch authors (see also a book about the museum’s author portraits collection) and presents them in a neatly arranged blocks in bright, warm colors.

The typography follows the same idea of opposites. The sleek Value Sans is used for the logo, and warmth is represented by headlines set in Windsor (Bold and Regular). Running texts, quotes and navigational items use Merriweather and Theinhardt.