The Best German Book Design: The Institut für Museumsforschung’s Publication “Ausgerechnet: Museen 2023” Selected for the Longlist

28.05.2026
Institut für Museumsforschung

With its innovative and lively design for “Ausgerechnet: Museen 2023” (PDF, 1,6 MB), the Team Mao graphic designers at Siyu Mao convinced the jury of the Stiftung Buchkunst. The Institut für Museumsforschung’s Ausgerechnet: Museen 2023 (German) edition has been included on the current longlist for “Die Schönsten Deutschen Bücher” competition in the “specialised publication” category.

In addition to providing central statistics related to the museum landscape, the 2023 special survey focuses particularly on museum staff and other employees:

  • What types of professionals work there?
  • What is the ratio between full-time staff, project-based employees, and volunteers?
  • Who directs the museum?

Team Mao transformed these questions into a visually powerful publication, including a sticker sheet that allows the booklet to be designed individually.

The Ausgerechnet: Museen Series

Especially in turbulent and uncertain times, museums stand for consistency, research, creative communication and education. The annual surveys conducted by the Institut für Museumsforschung (Institute for Museum Research) show how diverse and highly effective the 7000+ museums in Germany really are. Each year, central statistics, data and facts are presented in infographic form in the Ausgerechnet: Museen series, produced and made available by various designers and museums, as well as researchers and specialists from the cultural sector.

Stiftung Buchkunst Competition

Through its “Die Schönsten Deutschen Bücher” Competition, the Stiftung Buchkunst annually awards outstanding design and exemplary production, thereby acknowledging groundbreaking impulses in the book and design industry.