Same place, new ambition: how to elevate a local gallery into a tourist destination

Client

Kladenský zámek

The Baroque Kladno Chateau served in its modern history as the seat of a museum, a library, a gallery, and a concert hall. After the museum and library moved to new spaces, the city of Kladno decided to transform the chateau into a cultural institution that, alongside locals, could attract out-of-town visitors. And it needed to adapt its presentation accordingly.

What we did

Logo, visual identity, and presentation of a confident cultural institution

Decide how they should call you

The client approached us with a brief for a new website. But the first meeting indicated that for successful communication, it was first necessary to find the answer to a broader question: how to actually talk about the institution?

Until then, a presentation on one of the tabs of the city website was enough for the chateau. It housed the Chateau Gallery of the City of Kladno, which also had its own logo, but that no longer stood up in the new context. The new concept conceived the chateau as a complex with a diverse range of exhibitions and activities – from an art gallery through a children's playroom to a wedding destination.

Fragmented communication needed to be unified. Therefore, we proposed a brand referring to the chateau's silhouette, which, based on interviews with local stakeholders and verification via a user survey, emerged from other considered variants as the most understandable, accurate, and economical. It was also practical because it could easily be extended to specific parts of the complex.

Distinctive... and ours

In the next step, we developed the name concept into a new visual identity. The client preferred a minimalist, timeless solution that would highlight the Baroque architecture itself and the exhibited works. At the same time, they did not want to completely abandon the previously used element of the building's silhouette.

However, the stylization of the building felt too literal to us, and it did not work very well in digital media. Through simplification and gradual abstraction, we finally arrived at what makes the chateau truly unique – and that is the shape of its clock tower. The moment we began working with it as the stem of a capital letter "K", referencing the noble house of the Kladenský of Kladno, who were instrumental in building the chateau, everything began to fit together perfectly. This included the concept of the navigation system through the complex, which followed the shape of the logo.

So that time is left for the essential: Website management that runs almost by itself

With the web presentation, we primarily wanted to show what a diverse range of experiences the Kladno Chateau offers. It was clear that, with regard to the personnel capacities and operational processes of the chateau team, the website administration needed to be as self-service and user-friendly as possible.

A specific challenge was the method of entering and administering events. The functionality of the website in this case was based on a thorough analysis of the needs of the chateau's program directors. It was essential for them to be able to manage a specific event in one place without having to address where and in what form the entered information is populated. Thanks to the use of meta CMS JellyPot, it was possible to significantly automate the entire system.

An example of the most typical situation: You arrange an exhibition date. You create a record on the website with the first information, which you gradually supplement with descriptions, photos, etc. The record is displayed in the "Upcoming Exhibitions" section. On the opening day, the situation changes – the record starts appearing in the "Current Exhibitions" section and also on the presentation of the space where it takes place within the complex. Supporting side events can be added to the exhibition, which are then listed in the event overview as well as on the exhibition record. And when the exhibition ends, its record automatically moves to the archive.

Since the creation of the website, nothing fundamental has needed adjustment. It works with minimal effort – and in combination with the visuals, it helps the Kladno Chateau attract thousands of visitors every year.