On a quest for impact
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 seek to create a unique signature for each project, and believe that creating impact is an artform.
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
Waterland Museum & Speeltoren
Preparations are underway for the redesign of the Carillon Gallery in the Waterland Museum and Speeltoren in Monnickendam. After an initial trajectory, together with Studio Louter, of making a bid-book and a very succesful fundraising, we have started to fully
First Americans at Museum Volkenkunde
Despite all the precautions due to Covid19, we enjoyed a lovely opening of our most recent project, First Americans at the Museum of Ethnology in Leiden. The exhibition is a contribution to –or answer to – the Pilgrim Year of
‘Johan Enschedé’ in the North Holland Archives
Finally, together with our partners Studio Louter and North-Holland Archives in Haarlem, we opened the exhibition “Johan Enschedé: Printer of Value” . Since 2015, the North-Holland Archives has aquired the unique and extensive collection frp, the printing house Royal Johan
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
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
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
old news
RANDOMIZED POSTS
Mariniersmuseum: Unit in Uruzgan (Museum of the Dutch Marinecorps)
The semi-permanent exhibit Eenheid in Uruzgan (Unit in Uruzgan) in the Mariniersmuseum in Rotterdam was conceived as a place of reflection about the human costs of the Dutch mission in Afghanistan. Studio Louter created four compelling —occasionally dramatic— films and Todd van
Dutch Navy Museum Photo App
The Marinemuseum (Museum of the Dutch Navy) in Den Helder wanted to create an application for a “photo souvenir” and a physical installation to accommodate it. The app takes a shot of a visitor against a backdrop and then renders
Fantastic Floor at NEMO
That marvelous, terrifying moment has arrived for our project at the NEMO Science Center: the first concrete installations are taking place. No longer a design process in which to endlessly vacillate between possibilities, we now have incontrovertible real objects being
Todd van Hulzen and Museumstudio win a prestigious award for Museum Broekerveiling.
As we described in an earlier post, we were nominated for an “InternationalMuse Award”, the prestigious award presented by the American Association of Museums, in the category of “Multimedia Installation” for our work at the Broekerveiling, the floating action house. Considering
“Mad for Money” in the Museum of Taxes and Customs, Rotterdam
“Mad for Money” (Gek op Geld in Dutch) in the Museum of Taxes and Money in Rotterdam is an exhibition about the history of money and the story of our relationship with money. In the design it was precisely the
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.
Zeeslag!/Naval Battle at the Dutch Navy Museum
The fate of the seaman is never certain. Will it be victory or defeat? One admiral ascends to national Valhalla, the other is to be commemorated for his vain valor. The sailors and marines have little choice but to follow
The National Archives opens Palace of Memory
After three years of hard work, the Geheugenpaleis (Palace of Memory) has come to completion. This project represents the crowning achievement of not only our studio, but of the long term ambitions of the National Archives itself. It is grand,
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