Introduction

The wishes and needs of the clients form the basis for the communication strategy and the creative design chosen for every project. The translation of the client’s message into an outstanding and attractive presentation for the intended audience happens when both parties are present together. In that way Ars Longa creates a unique world full of experiences which invite the visitors to absorb information.

For twenty years already Ars Longa has been developing and realising projects commissioned by museums, visitor centres, company’s and non-profit organisations, governmental institutions and organisations of public events. The possibility to produce the designs within the company itself has a positive effect on the costs and prices. Projects are therefore achievable within the available budget and always specifically made for the intended audience.


Concepts

Ars Longa delivers a customized product, appropriate to the communication strategy and context of the client’s organisation. The creative concepts precisely match their objectives and they are achievable visual designs, executed within the available budget and specifically made for the intended audience. Since the procedures become more and more effective, it has become possible that the product can be developed in close consultation with the client.

Ars Longa designs and realises the following attractions:
- Exhibitions and public presentations
- Interactive installations
- Multimedia exhibitions
- Experiences, 3D specials, theme events
- Animations
- Interactive routing systems, iPod applications
- Internet applications, games

Over the last twenty years Ars Longa has built up expertise in different design disciplines. The experience in spatial and graphic design exhibitions is extensive and especially in the field of multimedia, ‘experience’ exhibitions and interactive forms of presentation, Ars Longa has been very successful. A surprising design can namely make the visit to an exhibition an unforgettable experience. Multimedia exhibitions and ‘experiences’ are then the most effective communicative strategy for raising interest in a certain theme and connecting that with fascination or emotions. The interactivity of the means of presentation is a crucial characteristic in most of Ars Longa’s products, for it establishes a playful dialogue between the audience and the message that the client wants to get across. Ars Longa of course follows the latest developments in the field of interactivity, design, technology and communication. Through image manipulation and use of 3D animation programmes Ars Longa for instance visualises spatial designs in high realism. An eye for creative uses and combinations of various techniques results in the design of surprising multimedia communication products, from touch screens to web tools and educational games to multi-screen setups.

With each project Ars Longa puts together a creative team. By working together with co-workers from the trusted networks of suppliers, freelancers, scientists and specialists Ars Longa has the ability to execute concepts itself. In combination with a proper budget control this ensures that the client’s money is optimally used. Also, the client benefits from the experience and favourable pricing of certain products which is built up by the already developed applications and products.

Besides developing visual concepts Ars Longa also provides and takes care of the textual aspect of the exhibition. Additional content research and the writing and editing of texts and captions can for example be part of the client’s wishes. The form and contents will naturally be effectively adapted to the intended audiences. Ars Longa is also experienced in the development of educational materials and graphic designs such as posters, brochures or catalogues.


Exhibitions and public presentations

Ars Longa has much experience in the development of theme exhibitions, expositions, travelling exhibitions, visitor’s centres, educational spaces and many other forms of presentations. In all of them it develops inspiring exhibitions and special presentations, which all focus on the subject from surprising angles. The content of the message the exhibition tries to convey is translated into an attractive story and visualised by a spatial presentation. Thinking along with the client to develop such a translation is combined with the realisation of the concept itself and with the writing and editing of the texts and educational materials.

Together with the client Ars Longa develops extraordinary communicative exhibitions which have the possibility to present the many layers of a certain subject and to attract a wide and diverse audience. By using a wide variation of communication tools and presentation techniques the audience is provided with an experience they will remember for the rest of their lives.

An exhibition design is always based on the idea that form and content are connected to each other. Ars Longa therefore tries to make use of the space in a clear, but surprising, way, while focusing both on the big idea as well as on the details. Also, agreeing that a museum collection deserves to be shown to its full advantage, Ars Longa is aware of the demands of aesthetics and conservation. The general lighting levels, the various lamps used in the exhibition and the places of the accentuating spotlights are harmoniously integrated in a lighting plan that shapes the atmosphere.



Multimedia projects and experience installations

Over the past few years, the number of possibilities for multimedia communication has increased enormously. Ars Longa is therefore often asked by clients to come up with ideas for interactive installations for interested audiences. Here the participation of the audience in the exhibition is a central starting point. In that way multimedia installations are a perfect tool for triggering emotions such as astonishment or enthusiasm.

Ars Longa develops many innovative multimedia products and internet applications. Audiovisual programmes such as interviews and mini-documentaries are only one example, and if desired they can also be combined with animation or image manipulation techniques. Ars Longa also develops and directs multimedia experiences and cross media projects and coordinates their realisation. If desired by the client taking care of the hardware can also be concluded in the contract.


Cross media projects

The term ‘cross media’ includes the concepts of edu-tainment, serious games, several web technologies and multimedia applications. Together with the client, Ars Longa develops innovative concepts for communication, marketing and education. By searching for the most creative applications and for combinations between different techniques, many surprising products are developed. Often applications from web-based programmes and digital techniques are integrated in these products.

Today’s youth is especially attracted to innovative forms of media in which they can co-create or contribute something. Ars Longa develops many special tools and applications to adapt to those new desires. Often it is possible to connect the experience of the exhibition to the internet during, but also after, the visitor’s stay. Multimedia applications are namely perfectly useful for dispersal of information to the outer side of the museum walls.

Free 2 Choose: Anne Frank House, Amsterdam

(Selected project www.arslonga.nl)
Free 2 Choose is a debating machine in the form of a system in which visitors can express their opinion on current issues. The installation explores de modern boundaries of social rights and liberty. Up to date examples of clashes between freedom and democracy from all over the world are offered. Each question is introduced by a short film to sketch the situation. The viewer is then asked to give his or her opinion on the matter. Questions could for instance be ‘What happens if the constitutional rights of democracy are conflicted?’ and ‘Do we prefer freedom of speech above religious freedom or privacy rights?’.

The installation Free 2 Choose has been installed successfully in the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, where large numbers of visitors daily express their opinions. The contents of the case models were developed in cooperation with the Anne Frank House. Lately the system has been equipped with a number of extra applications which make it easier to use for big groups. The main goal of the presentation is that the voting system can save the data and therefore can compare different outcomes. The voting results can thus be plotted in time and different groups of visitors (judged on nationality or age) can be compared. These data can be made available to the public through any net and adding a new case to the voting machine is very easy.

Visualisation concept: House of Humanity, The Hague

(Selected project www.arslonga.nl)
For the Dutch Red Cross Ars Longa is developing a visualisation of their new initiative: The House of Humanity in The Hague. It is going to be a public centre focusing on humanitarian questions. It shows the aftermath of disasters, conflicts and social problems both world-wide and in the Netherlands, emphasising on the vulnerability, strength and defensibility of people. The exhibition has the ambition to move or inspire visitors and to make them think and act.

Interactive Panoramic Film: Harbour Pavilion of the Museum aan de Stroom, Antwerp

(Selected project www.arslonga.nl)
Being the founder of the new Museum aan de Stroom, the Municipal Harbour Company Antwerp tries to make it a new landmark for the harbour community of Antwerp. They want it to become a place that shows customers and visitors the importance of the harbour. In cooperation with Live Media from Brussels Ars Longa was selected to develop and realise a public attraction in this museum. The project concerns an interactive film showing a monumental 360-degrees panorama of the Antwerp harbour by using dynamic images The film is not only shown through an enormous cylindrical projection, but can also be viewed on several touch screens. Here visitors can interactively zoom in on the images. In that way the different layers of information are conveyed simultaneously and various themes are touched upon. The ‘experience’ will be opened for visitors in the spring of 2011.

Dealing with the Gods, Rituals in Hinduism: Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam

(Selected project www.arslonga.nl)
From December 17, 2005 to September 10, 2006 the exhibition Dealing with the Gods: Rituals in Hinduism was shown in the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam. In the colourful exhibition the relationship between Hindus and their Gods was explained. An insight was given in fascinating rituals connected to significant moments in life such as birth, marriage and death. The dazzling colours and surprising effects caught the eye while the visitor was shown the numerous appearances of Hindu gods and unique religious artefacts. A small pool was even constructed to introduce the Indian ceremonies connected to the river Ganges. Ars Longa made the concept for this exhibition and was responsible for its interactive aspects and its graphic and spatial design.

To keep the attention of the differently aged visitors Ars Longa chose an interactive approach. A special key was given to the visitors and provided access to a personal route. Visitors could choose the key for the Krishna-tour, which was connected to love, the Ganesha-path, emphasising wisdom or the Lakshmi-route of richness and beauty. With his key pass the visitor could personally start video fragments, bring a setting or interactive presentation to life, or activate sounds and smells. Therefore all routes led to surprising insights, new information and unique experiences.

At the end of every route the chosen god received an offering and a favour could be asked from him in return. This meant that the visitor could take a picture in a photo booth, which he or she could send as a souvenir to friends or family. A personal text could be added to have the people at home share in the blessings: “We asked the gods in the Tropenmuseum to make sure that you: will pass your exams/will meet a nice man/win the lottery/etcetera”. This message brought of course extra attention to the exhibition for the people that had not been in the museum yet.

War Child: Travelling exhibition for DIWD, Amsterdam

(Selected project www.arslonga.nl)
In 2005 it was exactly sixty years ago that the Second World War ended and that the Netherlands gave up most of their colonies in Asia. This was the motivation for the Dutch Institute for War Documentation to construct a nationally travelling exhibition around the theme of war children. The histories of several families have been related to the experiences of their children. In 2005 the spacious presentation travelled to all Dutch provinces, paying special attention to the war children of the specific region.

The exhibition contains many audiovisual materials and parts of documentaries. By using a special morphing technique the visitors for instance see the seniors, while telling their histories, change back into the innocent children they were when they got involved in the war. Ars Longa provided the special effects present in the exhibition, the creative concept, the visualisation design, the accompanying prints, and even the corresponding website. This website (www.oorlogskind.nl) plays an important role in the interactivity of exhibition.

Power and Media: Dutch Institute for Image and Sound, Hilversum

(Selected project www.arslonga.nl)
When Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands opened the new exhibition at the Dutch Institute for Image and Sound the event gained much media attention. The opening was even broadcasted live on television in a full-night show. The exhibition namely contains an endless collection of audiovisual heritage and presents it with the motto ‘media shape my world view’.

In sixteen pavilions, sorted by theme, visitors can discover and experience the phenomenon of mass media. They are for instance able to make their own radio or television programme and they can watch the children’s programmes of their youth again. In this museum Ars Longa designed and developed one of the pavilions, focusing on experiencing the power of the media. The game called “Power & Media” is the most important aspect of this presentation.

The modern design of the desks in the pavilion seems to merge with the architecture of the pavilion and invites the visitors to take a seat. While playing a collective game the relation of dependence between politicians and media is shown and emphasised. Example cases, focusing on norms and values, lying and diplomacy, and aspects of behaviour, accentuate many facets of this contemporary tension. After the visitors have expressed their opinions, the outcomes of the voting are immediately shown on the screen. At the back of the pavilion more individual presentations are situated. Amongst other things they show how politicians, under dictatorship and in times of crises, can misuse the media to proclaim their ideologies and how the media construct their image and that of politics in general.

Anne Frank, Her Life in Letters: Amsterdam Historical Museum

(Selected project www.arslonga.nl)
In the exhibition Anne Frank: Her Life in Letters many writings that have never been shown or published have been collected. Anne Frank sent them to family and friends when she was a child. The exhibition shows Anne’s development from an ordinary girl to a now world-famous author against the background of a city in war time. The exhibition was opened by the Princess Máxima of the Netherlands on April 11, 2006. It concerned a coproduction between Ars Longa, the Anne Frank Foundation and the Amsterdam Historical Museum.

The exhibition begins in a setting of the Merwedeplein, where she was born and raised. The visitors can get to know Anne there as a girl without any worries. Then gradually the exhibition space narrows, while the letters show that Anne, her family, and other Jews become more isolated. Adding to the letters, the experiences and memoires of survivors and other witnesses are related to Anne Frank’s life. Photos and objects also illustrate the appearance of the city during the Second World War. The experience of Anne’s hiding is visualised by a reconstruction of her small room and by a touching multimedia installation showing images of raids and deportations. A letter which Anne wrote to her father in 1944 receives special attention. In this letter Anne’s personal development in becoming an adult and her development in becoming a writer come together.

Route Guide: An interactive routing system

(Selected project www.arslonga.nl)
Ars Longa Media has developed a special programme for guiding interactive tours and which can be offered to the client for a low price. In close discussion with the client this route can be provided with informational contents. The application allows visitors to walk or cycle existing or specifically developed routes and to enjoy the information they receive on their way. Users can do the navigation themselves and and by that explore the route in their own way.

The Route Guide can be used for interactive tours in museums, historical or touristic organisations, centres for architecture or nature attractions. Locations are connected to video and audio recordings, historical images or informative details. It is possible to add specially developed animations (either in 2D or 3D) or interactive game elements. Users can interactively call upon the information with an iPod or iPhone. By using a corresponding CMS-system the client’s organisation can easily change or adjust the contents of the route. In that way the tour will always stay up to date.