Häfele, specialist for intelligent hardware technology, lighting and electronic locking systems, opens a showroom together with its subsidiary Nimbus: A place for lively dialog with customers, partners and creative minds as well as a venue for various events.

The Blackbox in the Römerkastell in Stuttgart is a flexible and highly functional space and works like a theater stage of possibilities. Furniture, light, space and connectivity form exciting interplays – staged in an all-black backdrop. A floor-to-ceiling LED wall extends the physical space into the digital worlds, opening up limitless space for high-end brand presentations and interaction with visitors.

For the building of the new Mercedes-Benz »Campus V« in Stuttgart-Vaihingen, a representative signage system had to be developed that strengthens identification with the brand, shapes it and lives its values.

The new »Campus V« of Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart-Vaihingen is a modern representation of the brand and its values. The urban architecture is accompanied by four graphic living worlds that guide employees and visitors through the entire brand cosmos of Mercedes-Benz. Each level in the »Campus V« buildings is characterized by one of four lifestyles: nature and adventure, urban mobility and city life, sport and activity, and lifestyle and fashion.

In the buildings, the visual and emotional themes are made present with large-format images. Functionally, they serve as orientation, but they also strengthen the bond between employees and the brand through their visual language and the motifs and topics chosen. »Campus V« offers a modern and inspiring working environment that can react modularly and flexibly to different needs. Visitors find an inviting place whose design makes the brand values of Mercedes-Benz tangible.

IAA MOBILITY 2021 redefines itself: At the new Munich venue, the car and industry trade fair will be held as a decentralized event for the first time – on the grounds of the trade fair and throughout the Munich city centre. Thus, offering the opportunity to implement the diversity of the Mercedes-Benz brand with two contrasting concepts.

While the brand presentation in the Open Space creates an experience with a high social and cultural value in the public space, the brand presentation at the Summit focuses on digitization and the software for future mobility.

A cultural contribution for Munich

The Open Space architecture serves not only as a brand presentation, but also as a public park and cultural get-together, adding a new dimension to the prominent Odeonsplatz with its historic buildings.

A platform that is tilted in the middle creates two sections underneath, used to present the brand. In stark contrast, extending to a height of five metres, an accessible, green roof serves as observation deck and promenade.
The path leads the visitors past various stations of the “Grüne Spur” (Green Trail), showcasing sustainability topics according to the business strategy, and ends at a multicoloured Mercedes-Benz star as the “Instagrammable Moment”.
Floating above the gardens is the sculpture “Earthtime 1.26 Munich – presented by Mercedes-Benz” by US artist Janet Echelmann. The piece of art constantly changes its shape and colour through wind, sunlight, and a light show, symbolising the dynamics of our ecosystem.
The audiovisual highlight of the event is the concert series “Artificial Soul presented by Mercedes-Benz”. At dusk, the centre of the pavilion architecture is transformed into a stage.

The booth creates a multi-faceted meeting place in the heart of Munich. Open and inviting – and free of charge to everyone.

Four brand worlds, one brand experience

At the Summit, the overall digitisation of the brand is staged – in the shape of a built network: luminous struts connect the wall elements and form an open spatial structure extending over two levels. The symbolic grid architecture divides the space into four communication areas and thematic worlds, that are grouped around the centre of the brand space. Each area offers an interactive experience. Additionally, an installation consisting of graphic and media surfaces in combination with a sound and light installation build the frame for different highlight vehicles.
Several approaches and communication formats transform the digital world and its services into an intensive interactive space. In addition to explainer lectures from various development divisions, exhibits provide more detailed information, both analogue and digital.

»Start to DRIVE Electric«. The name of the exhibition in the Volkswagen Group Forum in Berlin-Mitte is both a message and an invitation to get to know the new drive technology and try it out for yourself. The idea was to inspire one thing in DRIVE visitors: desire for e-mobility. In addition, a range of interactive installations designed by jangled nerves is designed to encourage visitors to look at the topic of e-mobility holistically. Just like in the true highlight of the exhibition: the »Accelerator«.

Conveying e-mobility emotionally

The »Accelerator« is a walk-in, 360-degree cinema. The impressive visual worlds it shows incorporate all areas of e-mobility: from the environment, to technology, to people and nature. Visitors are »beamed« into another world, creating an immersive experience of a very special kind: visually powerful, emotive access to e-mobility.

Promoting holistic discussion 

The Volkswagen Group conceives of e-mobility as a holistic whole. Which is why it wishes to provide DRIVE visitors with qualified answers and diminish any preconceptions and concerns about the new technology by getting to know it better. The exhibition in the spacious showroom area therefore answers important questions about charging infrastructure and driving range, and about the origins, processing and recycling of raw materials. These topics are discussed in detail via exhibits, information boards and numerous multimedia presentations.

Playful, exploratory presentation

The installation explores new possibilities in automotive design, as well as the opportunities and limitations of employing sustainable materials. However, all the fun aspects of the new technology are not forgotten: Topics such as driving experience, design and individual mobility are discussed in a playful and explorative way. Crucially, the exhibition helps you to understand how an electric vehicle or a modular electric drive kit actually works. DRIVE also shows prototypes and vehicle studies that provide insights into the mobility of the future, including current electric and hybrid models from the Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche and SEAT brands.

Diverse supporting programme

For the duration of the »Start to DRIVE Electric« exhibition, various aspects relating to future mobility will be added and brand focal points will be set. The exhibition is supplemented by a varied supporting programme of events, talks and panel discussions, as well as congresses and workshops. The exhibition at Friedrichstrasse / corner of Unter den Linden is expected to be on view until spring 2021.

jangled nerves orchestrated the highly anticipated start of production of the Volkswagen ID.3*. The first vehicle rolled off the production line at the Zwickau plant on 4th November in the presence of German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel, Minister President of the Free State of Saxony Michael Kretschmer, and VW CEO Dr Herbert Diess. This marked the official start of series production by Volkswagen of the ID.3 electric car. The one-hour launch event, attended by several hundred guests from politics, industry, media and VW employees, focussed on the system change to e-mobility.

The proceedings took place at the Zwickau plant to underscore the authenticity of the event – because a successful process of transformation always has a lot to do with identification. The conceptual idea behind the event was for guests to experience at first-hand how the Volkswagen workforce has boldly tackled these far-reaching changes. There is a long tradition of change at this particular production site: It started out producing vehicles from Horch, followed by the famous Trabbi, while the VW Golf is still being produced there today.

Immersive media orchestration

The event was orchestrated in such a way as to create fascinating images for audience members and media alike. To this purpose, jangled nerves produced a series of immersive films to mark the start of production of the ID.3. These were shown on a huge, 270-degree screen, which wrapped around the stage and spectator area. Consequently, guests and employees were not only spectators at an automotive event, but became part of the proceedings.

The film footage showed the diverse transformation processes involving the Zwickau site today and in the past: employee statements, the latest technological changes for electric car production, as well as a historical retrospective of events stretching back to 1904. Interviews with the workforce formed the core component of the message that Volkswagen is transmitting to the automotive world.

Individual settings for all speakers

Each speaker was given their own setting to make it possible to experience the event cinematically. Thomas Ulbrich, Head of E-Mobility at Volkswagen, could thus be seen at his own plant, while Jens Rothe, Chairman of the General Works Council, spoke in a circle of employees and Minister President Michael Kretschmer stood in Zwickau’s main marketplace. Dr Herbert Diess gave his speech in front of Volkswagen’s new ID. family and an expressive key visual that impressively highlights the carbon neutral-balanced production of the ID.3.

Complete backstage TV studio

The event was held in the logistics building at the plant. Three interconnected zones were implemented in the 150 metre-long space: a 800m² reception area that doubled as a brand space for the ID.3, a similarly sized show arena with staging, and a 1000m² after-show area that functioned as a complete TV studio. This offered the many media representatives the necessary space: Camera teams had no fewer than five ID.3 vehicles at their disposal. Moreover, the studio offered diverse options for uninterrupted interviews and in-depth information. The backstage environment was designed to resemble a vehicle assembly line. It was closed during the show and only came into play with the real highlight of the event – the official start of production. As the screen opened and the first real-life ID.3 drove through a light tunnel and out onto the stage, the media presentation and the orchestrated space on that day merged completely into one.

* The vehicle is not yet available to purchase in Europe.

With its IAA 2019 trade fair presence, designed by Atelier Markgraph and jangled nerves, Mercedes-Benz takes visitors on a fascinating journey into a brave new world of mobility. The core of the presentation is a partially interactive and digital-heavy installation, employing exhibition architecture that deliberately incorporates the festival hall at the Frankfurt trade fair. The focus is always on the customers with all their needs, questions and desires. The result is an exciting customer journey around current mobility issues, while also providing for some great selfie moments.

Inspiring future scenarios

Mercedes-Benz has always been a brand with a pioneering character. This is once again in evidence at the IAA 2019: Themes are no longer organised around sub-brands AMG, Smart, Maybach and EQ, but addressed through inspiring future scenarios that invite visitors to explore the mobility of tomorrow in interactive microcosms, and try it out for themselves. A greater use of digital and fewer cars bring a new kind of experiential dimension to the fore.

Beyond classic product concepts

The exhibition architecture designed by jangled nerves draws a building block across the festival hall. This houses a state-of-the-art exhibition across more than 5000 m²: the »Experience«. The creative concept behind it was to approach the time-honoured building in a vastly different way to previous years. Thereby creating a stronger relationship to the hall and the city itself, and rendering the future human-automobile relationship as authentic as possible.

The adjacent »Forum« features a product show with 30 vehicles across 2500 m². It invites visitors to delve deeper into the various themes of the »Experience« by means of electric vehicles in the EQ area. A large fleet of plug-in hybrid vehicles fulfils the same purpose. The festival hall and »Forum« thus come together to form an ensemble.

Exhibition spaces give the »big picture«

How do we approach the future? How can individual mobility become more sustainable? And what might a more humane city of tomorrow look like? Questions such as these illustrate the broad spectrum of issues addressed by the Mercedes-Benz trade fair presence of 2019. The topics are examined in more depth in four immersive exhibition spaces. Atelier Markgraph created custom multimedia installations for each of these, and elaborated each one in its own design idiom.

The four scenarios (»Intuitive«, »Energize«, »Excite« and »Responsible«) form an urban context as an architecturally dramaturgical whole on different levels. At the end of the customer journey, the façade then provides the »big picture«. This is a vividly clear illustration of how Mercedes-Benz is laying the foundations for tomorrow’s new mobile world today, making it an ecologically and socially sustainable proposition.

Digital transformation is leaving its mark all over commercial business. Which is why Mercedes-Benz have invited their 14.500 strong, global sales team from 71 markets worldwide to join them at Dresden Exhibition Center. Here – over a two-month period – they’ll combine completing a physical training circuit with a digital educational experience.
The two-day training takes place under the motto »THE OPEN CAMPUS« and turns the exhibition area in an oversized, accessible interface. Already at the joint opening session participants sense their active role in a new digital movement. The brand’s own transformation becomes experiential when the sales team »ENTER THE GRID«. Housed in a listed building an immaterial, digitalized architecture leads from space to space. Alongside umbrella themes like the EQ City – the Mercedes-Benz future of electronic mobility – product innovations and a driving experience the training ground can be individually configures. Therefor the »LEARNscape« offers staff the chance to individually map their very own digital learning path and depending how digitally savvy they are.
THE OPEN CAMPUS experience is completed with a closing session to share and to consolidate the new knowledge and training content. Two days “Digital Deep Dive” in brand, products and sales tools. A state of the art experience in the fields of real and digital seamless B2B communications.

Eyes shut, ears open – that’s the motto of the special exhibition »Sound of Stuttgart«. The exhibition is an urban science centre for the sound of a city and created like an acoustic learning and activity trail.
At various stations, acoustic phenomena to do with hearing are made interactive. Visitors can find out what structure-borne sound means and how noise and anti-noise can cancel each other out. Other stations actively get to grips with the key question: what does Stuttgart sound like? What sound does the Kräherwald forest actually make? And how different does Stuttgart sound by day and by night?

While the design of spaces is usually dominated by visual attractions, it’s the opposite here: to create a sensory space which is as neutral as possible, visual elements have mostly been eliminated. The darkened spaces are dominated by soft materials with an acoustic impact, and text explanations have been kept to a minimum. Visitors can fully engage with the audio and sound experience.
Finally, visitors step back into the light and help contribute to the Stuttgart soundscape. Using hands-on resources like paper, marbles or sheet metal, they can produce sounds themselves and bring a Stuttgart city scene to life. They become Foley – or sound-effects – artists, filling their city with sound.

At the EMO 2017 metalworking trade fair in Hanover, DMG MORI, the current leading partner for metal cutting solutions, presented its complete range of products alongside a Digital Factory in its very own 10,000 m2 hall. Using both content-based and constructed models with software and data-based products and services, the new DMG MORI ‘Path of Digitalization’, launched especially for EMO 2017, displays the company’s global and proactive future plans.

The corporate branding, upgraded by jangled nerves, as well as information on products and technology, complement this development and serve as a basis for the new architecture of the exhibition stand and all media and graphic staging. The central pathway, which plays on the overarching theme ‘DMG MORI Path of Digitalization’, leads up to the elevated central stage and allows clients and visitors to gain the best overview of the wide range of products and services offered by the company.

All product and service displays are organised across a large area surrounding this central stage. As with modern district planning, this design makes use of several diagonal walkways through the various machine models on display, all leading to the centre, the DMG MORI Core. This vibrant central stage of the exhibition stand is where the company’s most important future topics are presented. Here, visitors are invited to take a seat at the staircase-style seating area and watch the digital 4.0 show presentation on a large LED screen.

DMG MORI presents the new, digitally animated visual and graphic style with a modern twist in a unique design. The previous company colours serve as the basis for the new, distinctive corporate design. DMG MORI is recoded in red and green, underscoring the digital transformation.

In a ‘second line’ constructed behind the presentation area, specialist topics and product talks are delivered in connection to the show. This allows plenty of opportunity to speak with the relevant DMG MORI employees throughout the whole exhibition, including at the model machine park, on the ‘Path of Digitalization’, at the DMG MORI Core and in the various specialist departments.

The Bavarian State Chancellery in the Hofgarten in Munich serves as the official residence of the Bavarian minister-president and plays a pivotal part in the politics of Bavaria – a state of Germany that stills uses its adopted designation as a Free State. To accompany tour groups and improve the quality of visits to the building, a variety of exhibition units were developed using modern media.

The Orangery building at the chancellery is home to two displays containing awards, medals and honours, all of which have been used by Bavaria to recognise outstanding contributions to the Free State and exceptional examples of social engagement. The units offer a combination of original exhibits against a media backdrop showing an introduction to the person who was honoured using audio-visual technology. To showcase each honour with the esteem they deserve, they are positioned under a glass cloche with museum lighting to highlight their unique character. Each honour comes with a monitor in portrait alignment to play more detailed information on the award and place emphasis on the recipient of the honour. Five monitors for each award can be synchronised to show sequences across a larger display area and play excerpts of the award ceremony as well as short statements made by the honouree.

In the vestibule under the dome of the building, there is a media display reciting the chequered history of the building. To support tour guides as they show visitors around the building, large projections show historical events, providing a media narrative of the journey the building has experienced and its different functions over the years.

Very few trade fairs have that magical ability to turn a location into a city of the future like the Las Vegas consumer technology tradeshow CES. It’s a lot more than a trade fair, it’s a place where paradigms shift and pioneers rub shoulders, where new business models intertwine with innovations and, more than anything, the air is a-buzz with lively conversation. This was something Mercedes-Benz was keen to tap into while showcasing its new corporate strategy: CASE, a pivotal feature of its stand at CES 2017, not just in terms of information and content, but concept and design.

jangled nerves worked with Mercedes-Benz to turn CES 2017 into a meeting and communication hot spot. The atmosphere in the lounge beckoned visitors to linger and savour the quality of the stand and the conversation. The keynote speeches given by key figures were peppered with inspiration, the technology on the stand oozed innovation, there were places to discuss partnerships, engage in one-on-one conversations with brand ambassadors and champions of development – all part of the new brand experience that is Mercedes-Benz: approachable, personal, fascinating, inspiring.

The ceiling was designed to grab visitors’ attention with the recently updated Silver Flow, acting as a lynchpin for the auditorium around a central feature lined with LEDs. It was an immediate eye-catcher, even from a distance. Towards the back of the stand was the Mercedes me lounge, a relaxation area to withdraw from the hustle and bustle of the fair and enjoy a cool drink. Mercedes me ambassadors were on hand with all the right training to engage in one-on-one conversations and convey the intrinsic innovation in Mercedes me.

At CES 2017, Mercedes-Benz invited visitors to enter into personal dialogue and explore the fields of innovation of tomorrow, shifting the usual trade fair emphasis and going far beyond the conventional approach adopted for car show communications.

Steel, from every angle you can think of. The new 360° panorama is like a journey through the universe and the atomic structures of different kinds of innovative steel. Here, visitors to the centre in Duisburg, north of Dusseldorf, are plunged into the fascinating world of thyssenkrupp Steel Europe. How better to prepare people for a visit to the steel factory than to entice them through space and media, through an installation that is both emotionally appealing and informative.

Examples that make the sheer scope of steel so tangible as an amazing high-tech material include an ancient iron meteorite (no less than 4 billion years old), a race-winning luge (with runners made from advanced steel produced in Duisburg), a fascinating steel drum and innovative noise-protecting metal sheets, ready to tap on, touch and try out. 

Inside the room, everything is set up like a futuristic Star Trek steel holodeck. Sequences filmed by drones give the visitors a panorama of places that are otherwise simply too perilous to visit themselves, offering views the likes of which they will never have seen before: heaps of ore, the insides of huge furnaces, rows of manual workers dressed in protective silver overalls as they carefully process red-hot iron ore, slabs of orange-glowing processed metal sliding through huge rolls only to emerge on the other side next to some kind of ultra-efficient safety component for an automobile. To take visitors through the journey, the sequences are accompanied by the voices of the actual people who work at thyssenkrupp.

ŠKODA has now been a strategic partner of the Volkswagen Group for 25 years. To celebrate the big anniversary together, 500 special guests were invited to the Laurin & Klement Forum at the ŠKODA museum in Mladá Boleslav on 12 April.

The rooms at the museum took the guests down memory lane for the anniversary event, also walking them through the past, present and future by dovetailing videos with illuminations, music and moving vehicles to bring the company history to life and imbue the Laurin & Klement Forum with emotion. The centrepiece of the extravaganza was a plain white stage against a wide LED backdrop. The journey through time was filmed to show guests the genesis of the ŠKODA brand, how the company came to start working with VW and where the future might take it. All sequences were created specially for the event using archive materials, often keeping viewers riveted by original news footage that has documented the many changes and new beginnings at the company. To underscore the historical highlights of the ŠKODA story, vehicles that marked the main company milestones were brought onto the scene in time with sequences in the film, traversing the forum on a kind of catwalk. This special stage ran all the way between the rows in the audience, essentially extending the exhibition stage to the other end of the room. To add emotion and atmosphere to the show, 25 illuminated pillars were positioned in the area, each a different colour. The presenters then rolled onto the stage in the vehicles, each time transforming the room into a new virtual exhibition sequence. By combining the time travel on the big screen with the musical accompaniment provided by the Prague National Theatre and actual vehicles from the company, the guests were immersed in a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The Mercedes-Benz stand at CES Las Vegas 2016 revolved around the company’s new Mercedes me solution, a technological advancement that merges modern mobility with the digital world all around us. Another highlight during the show was a teaser for the new E-Class, which was about to celebrate its world premiere no less than a week later at NAIAS in Detroit.

The sweeping Silver Flow display enticed passing visitors away from the trade fair plaza directly into the welcoming arms of the world of Mercedes me. The plaza itself captured the imagination with variety and multiplicity, creating a special display area for showcasing highlights on an oversized LED screen, along with plenty of space for special presentations. This was a good opportunity to display the Concept IAA show car, with additional room for information units and vehicle presentations. To bring the innovative cockpit of the new E-Class to life for visitors (with its high-resolution screens, ultra-sensitive touch control technology and state-of-the-art smartphone integration), they were enticed by specially designed furniture – offering them the chance to enjoy and experience this new development before its official world premiere.

Again, the Silver Flow was used to play with the light, matching the mood by individually alternating the illuminative effects. At the same time, the Silver Flow created a canopy that attracted trade fair visitors from afar. After its foray into the future, the Silver Flow moved back to the present day and the world of Mercedes me. Panels on the wall were used to bring the many facets of Mercedes me to life, whilst a ‘touch-table’ with embedded screens and iPads allowed visitors to explore the app.

The International Motor Show in Frankfurt (IAA Cars) is a major opportunity to turn the awe-inspiring dome of the trade fair hall into an 11-day long live theatre for the Mercedes-Benz brand. As soon as visitors entered the hall, they were drawn into the diversity of the carmaker’s brand. The exhibition stand had three levels, offering a 97,000 sq ft display area running around all sides of an open arena at the centre.

Visitors could glide majestically up on an escalator, rising above the ground level to a height of 40 feet as they savoured the view of each display area and the exhibition stage. Once on the upper level, there was an exhibition, escorting visitors through different topics in different areas, each marked out by its own design. The two levels afforded different views of the 15,900 sq ft stage, with plenty of space to walk around, sit down and simply soak up the atmosphere.

To guide visitors as they walked around the stand, the familiar Silver Flow hovered above like a magical river through the memories of the 100-year-old hall, merging seamlessly into the digital media area on the stage – itself suspended like a majestic, moving, slatted LED curtain. The 400 individual strips that made up this dynamic curtain worked in perfect harmony with the illuminations, which helped move miraculously between different moods and atmospheres. To form a backdrop for the stage, there was a three-storey vehicle ‘shelving unit’, offering an oversized display of different cars from the Mercedes-Benz portfolio. This only became visible by rotating the giant slats of the magic curtain.

The shows on the stage were also a point of inspiration by showcasing highlights in real time, with actual cars travelling across the stage, video sequences, live images, music and presenters – effectively merging the whole brand into a carefully coordinated choreography of the company. To catch each movement during the drive, there was even a live spider cam over the arena, overlaying images on the screens to blend with touches of augmented reality.

Architektur LP 1-8, Interiordesign und Ausstellungsarchitektur, Gesamtkoordination: jangled nerves, Stuttgart

Kommunikation, Ausstellungs-, Set- und Mediendesign: Atelier Markgraph, Frankfurt am Main

Lichtdesign: TLD Planungsgruppe, Esslingen

Show: Atelier Markgraph, Frankfurt am Main mit Monomango, Berlin und NSYNK, Berlin

Tragwerksplanung: formTL, Radolfzell

Messebau: Display International, Würselen

This was the second outing for the sweeping Silver Flow spatial sculpture, having made its debut as a stand concept at the Paris Motor Show in 2014. Now it was time to take the adaptable design to a new level, bolstering the brand architecture across the entire area of the stand, appealing to visitors from afar. On the stand itself, the display area was transformed into an experiential brand zone. The rear of the stand featured a single-sweep homogenous background, providing a backdrop not only for the Silver Flow itself but also for vehicle presentations, subtly integrating the themed area of AMG. Four world premieres were placed firmly centre-stage at the show, including the F 015 Luxury in Motion research car, which had just been driven all the way from Las Vegas to Detroit. The highlighted vehicles were positioned proudly on a large screen and featured prominently in media sequences played on the huge 18 x 6 metre LED screen.

At the heart of the stand, the Plug-in Hybrid was displayed with the B-Class Electric Drive. These were accompanied by special, themed furniture to provide visitors with additional interactive product information.

Mercedes-Maybach and Mercedes-AMG were positioned centrally, next to the stage. To play to the exclusive image of Mercedes-Maybach, the area was adorned with icons of luxury placed discreetly in a glass cabinet by the displayed car. The ambience of the AMG zone was accentuated by a black screen with integrated AMG logo and strongly defined white lines. Integrated graphics were used to add depth to the display and provide the vehicle with an eye-catching platform.