In 2011, Germany hosted the competition in Düsseldorf, and ARD and NDR hired our Berlin-based design studio to redesign the event's platform. The brief came with strict requirements: the entire visual identity had to be adapted annually to the new theme, the broadcasters’ central CMS dictated all image and media sizes, and accessibility was an absolute must.

So we designed a modular system.

Each module was based on a single, uniform grid, and at the client’s request, all three columns had identical widths, so that any teaser or module could be placed anywhere. A special concept for cross-references transformed the competition’s extensive historical archive of participants, countries, and years into context-based, browsable content rather than searchable data.

The outcome: the same structure served as the basis for a completely new visual identity every year. Our studio was responsible for the design direction and visual language, presented milestones, and supported two UI designers throughout the implementation, handing over a complete module library and a style guide.

What is now considered an everyday scenario in platform design was only just beginning to take shape back then.