National Museum of Finland
New customer experience
Client
National Museum of Finland
Information
2016 & 2018
What we did
Customer Service Concept
Interior Design
Furniture Design
Wayfinding signage
Exhibition signage
Participatory Design
Location
Helsinki
The National Museum of Finland is a National Romantic building in central Helsinki designed by Herman Gesellius, Armas Lindgren, and Eliel Saarinen. In time for the museum’s centenary, large-scale development work began, carried out through co-development with museum employees and various stakeholders. The customer service facilities were developed in several ways. Renovating the museum shop and relocating the ticket counter to the center of the lobby, below Akseli Gallén-Kallela’s ceiling fresco, were some of the most significant changes.
The facilities were designed to be more inviting, more open, and more flexible. Furniture choices emphasize Finnishness, from classics to more contemporary pieces that fit into the spaces harmoniously. The visual language of the new signage is intentionally minimalistic. Highly functional, it allows the museum’s main acts, exhibitions, and architecture, to shine.
A new customer experience
The main goal of the customer experience design was to lower the bar for entering the museum, facilitating the spatial experience and opening the museum to new target groups.
Participatory methods
Museum shop
Customer service spaces
Iconic fresco hall
Signage design
Listed building
Participatory methods
In addition to working closely with the steering committee and the board, we facilitated various types of interactive workshops and interviews, e.g. service provider workshops, stakeholder workshops and targeted user interviews.
Customer service spaces
The project included the café, museum shop, pedagogical spaces, meeting and seminar rooms, cloakroom and lockers, ticket sales and lobby areas. A picturesque space on the second floor is intended for different workshops and events.
Museum shop
The new museum shop is located in a beautiful arched hall, which previously housed the pre-historic exhibition. The museum shop was expanded, which resulted in increased sales. The museum shop also includes a pop-up exhibition area.
Iconic fresco hall
The listed fresco hall, featuring ceiling frescos by Akseli Gallén-Kallela is an iconic sight. We improved the functionality of this space by moving the customer service point to the middle of the space. The round service desk invites visitors to enter and enjoy the stunning hall.
Signage design
The signage was divided into four categories: wayfinding, services, exhibitions and museum gems. The graphic language is minimalistic and conforms with the museum’s visual concept. The signs are informative without overpowering the exhibition or architecture.
Listed building
The National Museum is a class-I listed masterpiece by architects Herman Gesellius, Armas Lindgren ja Eliel Saarinen. The protective measures set a framework for the design plan, which was developed in collaboration with an extensive design team.