SUBVERT THE ORDINARY
Todd van Hulzen is an exhibitionist. At his design studio a shameless love of history and beauty are harnessed to help you connect with the public immagination
Todd van Hulzen Design is an Amsterdam based design studio specialized in showing off: creating museum exhibitions, visitor experiences, design presentations, exhibit furnishings, art objects and theatrical environments. We combine vision with pragmatism, and fantasy with professionalism
Services
Exhibitions can be emotional experiences: when done right. Let us help you create a compelling visitor journey without losing sight of your institutional principles. We offer display solutions for all budgets, innovative concepts, […read further]
If you require an unusual film set you need a broadly experienced designer. Todd van Hulzen has 25 years of film experience. He’s built on his love of historic architecture to become the go-to guy for the design of period sets […read further]
No project gets pulled perfectly formed out of a hat. We can help you do early development for vision-statements, fundraising, PR or just brainstorming. With our partners we make workshops, presentations, proposals and brochures […read further]
Producing a large project doesn’t have to be a leap of faith. With our dependable partners we have all the tools to create not only scenography, but also research, content, graphics, construction and project coordination […read further]
recent News
Animation of Historic Harbor receives 50,000 unique visits!
In between all the hard work, we noticed that one of Todd’s Twitter posts had achieved more than 50,000 unique viewers and a lot of positive feedback. What a surprise. Somehow it had hit a chord among fans of Amsterdam history, and it is not hard to see why. The animation is a simple fly
Kick-off for ‘Hof van Nederland’, in Dordrecht
We are very happy with our newest commission for the Hof van Nederland / Dordrechts Museum. The Hof, or “court”, a former Augustinian monastery, occupies a very special place in Dutch history. You could almost call it the “cradle of Holland” because of two important events there: the first independent meeting of the States General
A New Intern
Since June we have a new intern in the Lutmastraat, Ludivine Pabeau. Ludivine comes all the way from France to do an internship at Todd van Hulzen Design, and that’s going very well. Ludivine has a background in architecture in France and now focuses on spatial design with an ecological twist. But she is also
Graphic work for “Mad for Money”
In addition to the architectural design for the exhibition “Mad for Money” in the Tax & Customs Museum, we also worked rather hard on the graphic layer. We wanted to highlight that separately. Together with graphic designer Rob Meerman (formerly from Mannschaft) I, Todd, did a lot of illustration work for, among others, a timeline
The Printer Enschedé in the Archives of North Holland
In October 2018 we wrote a post about our collaboration with the Archives North-Hollands in Haarlem. We made a “bid book”, or a presentation brochure for a subsidisable exhibition concept. Many months later we can report that we are already well advanced with the design and production of the tangible exhibition “Joh. Enschede: Printer of
A Vision for Ammersoyen Castle
Ammersoyen Castle in the town of Ammersoden is one of the seven castles owned by the foundation Gelderland Landscape and Castles. Of all their properties, Ammersoyen Castle exudes the atmosphere of the Middle Ages the most. After all, it dates from the fourteenth century and has almost stood the test of time in its original
old news
RANDOMIZED POSTS
Now designing the inaugural exhibit of the National Archives of the Netherlands.
Het Nationaal Archief (the Dutch National Archives)is the largest archival institution in the Netherlands. It oversees over 600 separate archival collections and is, in a sense, the memory of the Dutch people, from the Middel Ages, through the Republic and into the 21st century. In 2012 it will be opening its new 800 square meter
Video walkthrough of Zeeslag!/Naval Battle!
For those of you who can’t make it up to Den Helder (North Holland) to see our latest exhibition “Zeeslag! / Naval Battle!” we’ve made a walkthrough video of the exhibition for you.
Museum Broekerveiling phase III. Permanent exhibit Leven van het Land is a fact
After more than a year of hard work Museum BroekerVeiling in Broek op Langedijk finally opens the doors to its new permanent exhibit in the visitors’ center: “Leven van het Land” or “Living from the Land”. Princess Maxima cut the ribbon and did the honors of inaugurating some of the multimedia and games, and is
Pride & Prejudice keeping LGBT refugees in the public discourse
Life as an immigrant is fraught with enough challenges; life as an asylum seeker even more. But life as an LGBT refugee has its own set of hurdles, traumas and triumphs. For the organisations that are committed to taking care of this special group of refugees it’s important to keep the public conversation alive and
Installation opens for the exhibit “Gold” at the Museum Catherijne Convent in Utrecht.
The third unveiling this year is “Goud” (or Gold) at the Catherijne Convent in Utrecht. The Catherijne Convent is the museum of eccliastical heritage in the Netherlands, and by extension also a podium for the ritualistic and medieval. It is known for its innovative exhibits on popular customs and spirituality. For the exhibit “Goud” (gold in Dutch)
Museum Broekerveiling, phase I: “The Auction Day”
The first phase of Museum Broekerveiling’s debut as an important new regional museums is finished. “The Auction Day”, an installation found in the visitor’s center/museum of the Broekerveiling, is a first introduction to life in the Realm of 1000 islands, and tells the story of a typical auction day from a macro level: at dawn
“Brave Beasts” at the Royal Dutch Army Museum
How do you make a fun and compelling family exhibit about animals and war, without avoiding the hard realities? By forging a risky and stimulating marriage between Army and Carnival . Sculpted black “Shadow Animals” carried the collection on rotating carrousels and the multimedia was ensconced in carnivalesque army tents. The Subtext? “War is not
Now designing the permanent exhibit for the regional agrarian museum “Broekerveiling”.
The Museum Broekerveiling showcases the phenomenon of the Dutch agricultural auction, an institution originating in the 19th century as a product of cooperation by independant produce farmers in the watery regions of the Province North Holland. Centered around a historic “water-borne” auction house, where auction lots are proffered by boat and are bid on using
who is Tvh?
From a little studio in Amsterdam Zuid Todd (and occasional intern) is conquering the world of museum design. At least, that’s the idea.
todd a van hulzen
designer
Todd van Hulzen (1967) hails from the state of Oregon in the U.S. from a family of Dutch Reformed rancher-farmers. He studied history and art in Portland, Oregon (Lewis & Clark College.) After an initial stay in the Netherlands in 1989 and in Italy after that he settled permanently in Amsterdam in 1999. He returns yearly to Klamath County, Oregon to work on his cabin.
After an early career as a fine artist and sculptor in the film world Todd moved on to be a designer of film sets, with as a specialty period architecture and design. As Art-Director/Set-Designer Todd designed film sets for the Oscar nominated films Girl with a Pearl Earring and Fantastic Mr. Fox. Recent Dutch productions are Bloed, zweet en tranen, Michiel de Ruyter en de western Brimstone. Since 2007 he has turned towards the museum world as an exhibition designer. In his own words, “the scientific side to museums gave me something that I could never get from the fiction of film.”
At Todd van Hulzen Design it’s all about making unforgettable experiences and inspiring emotions such as admiration, amazement, and self recognition. We love to help people discover how awesome the world is.
The love of a museum for it’s collection is something we admire. We encourage clients to rediscover the beauty of their own missions. Yet, making an exhibition that is also an artistic sensation in itself is the designer’s valhalla. So let’s combine the two!
Here’s a guide to a proper work strategy when making an exhibition:
- Immersion
You begin designing a space by first immersing yourself in the content. Draw everything you can out of historic and scientific material. Draw connections and dare to make thematic leaps. - Integration
Make sure that you can unite as many exhibit elements as possible under one umbrella: graphics, multimedia, architecture, PR and story. Encourage as much cross-pollination as possible. - Distillation
Distill all the themes into one visual brand; if possible one that represents your narrative in a nutshell and one that visitors can have an emotional bond with. Couple it to a slogan. - Respect
Value the building and its history and keep the unique mission of the institution in high regard. Don’t let an exhibition clash with its surroundings. Remember accessibility. - Visitor orientation
Make sure the design answers basic questions of orientation:
Where. Where am I? Where am I within the whole and what is my next step? (Give a clear structure)
Why. Why am I here? What draws me onward. (Reward curiosity with amazement)
What. What is the key question? (Make the raison-d’être of the exhibition apparent)
How. How is my world view changing? (Effective means of communication)
Todd keeps up an Instagram feed where he shares his observations over art, design and museums.
Contact
Come visit Todd at the studio in Amsterdam’s De Pijp, or call for an appointment to see a presentation
- Studio / Atelier
- Lutmastraat 191D, 1074 TV Amsterdam
- +31 626196137
- Postal Correspondence
- 2e Wittenburgerdwarsstraat 172, 1018 LP Amsterdam
- info@vanhulzen.com
"Give me a museum and I’ll fill it."
—Pablo Picasso
SUBVERT THE ORDINARY
Todd van Hulzen is an exhibitionist. At his design studio a shameless love of history and beauty are harnessed to help you connect with the public immagination
Todd van Hulzen Design is an Amsterdam based design studio specialized in showing off: creating museum exhibitions, visitor experiences, design presentations, exhibit furnishings, art objects and theatrical environments. We combine vision with pragmatism and fantasy with professionalism
