Celebrating Fritz Koenig

Fritz Koenig (1924 - 2017) was a famous German sculptor and particularly known for his monumental and abstract sculptures. Many of his works are featured in public spaces and parks around the world. The city of Landshut, where Koenig lived for most of his life, and the local KOENIGmuseum planned a QR code campaign at the locations of his best-known public works. D-LABS designed and developed an accessible website that uses those QR codes to provide more information on Koenig’s art in a digital collection.

Fritz Koenig is 100 years old.

Fritz Koenig’s work is still relevant today. Whether it is the Klagebalken memorial at the Olympic Park in Munich, Germany, which commemorates the victims of the 1972 attack, or Liberty Park’s The Sphere, which outlasted the collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 and is still located in New York City: The art of Koenig claims space for itself and fascinates. The goal of the 100 Jahre Fritz Koenig campaign was to give his life’s work greater visibility and make it accessible to all in a digital collection.

Supported by the city of Landshut and SAP, the KOENIGmuseum’s gift to Fritz Koenig went live for his birthday on June 20th 2024 and has been continuously expanded ever since. Curious onlookers and art enthusiasts alike can use the QR code on site to access the exhibition, thus combining physical art and digital art history. This motivates users to become more aware of art in public environments and to engage with the significance of the works.

Project lead Lilika, Senior Digital Experience Designer at D-LABS, explains:

By integrating QR codes close to the sculptures, we invite users to a deep-dive into the world of Fritz Koenig so they can experience his artworks in a new, interactive way.

Accessible from the very start

D-LABS designed this responsive website with its users in mind. Like public art itself, this exhibition is available around the clock and has a broad target group, which made accessibility a key aspect of the design. The first step in achieving that was to define different user groups and map their needs via proto-personas. How Might We questions helped to gather early ideas for possible features of what lies behind the QR code. Bit by bit, the digital exhibition took shape.

Nicole, Digital Experience Designer at D-LABS and also involved in the project, says about this phase:

This was a very refreshing project for my colleagues and I to get creative in many different directions. Our ideas ranged from augmented reality (AR) feeding on real-time information to an interactive soundscape that supports the visual art experience. Still, we never lost sight of our goal to highlight the context and significance of Fritz Koenig’s works.

One particular challenge was to inform international partners about the campaign to, for example, coordinate the installation of the QR codes. Additional to the concept of the website, we created a service blueprint that covers the whole process and includes all necessary steps for the museum to make things more tangible. After validating both of these elements with the museum staff, we were ready for the final implementation.

We used an open source design system when creating the homepage and various subpages to enable modular extensions at any time. The museum can easily add and edit entries thanks to a customized content management system (CMS). 100 Jahre Fritz Koenig is broadly accessible and available in German, English and German Easy Read (Leichte Sprache).

Project lead Lilika summarizes:

Accessibility is possible even on a limited budget when it is prioritized in the user-centered design and development process from the very start. Our aim here was to create a digital platform that is not only informative and appealing, but also available to all users.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank KOENIGmuseum and the city of Landshut for this exciting project and our great collaboration!