Exciting journey through archived history

Files, maps, images, films and audio recordings in analogue and digital form, from the Holy Roman Empire (from 1495) to the present day: the Federal Archives safeguard this archive material of the Confederation and make it accessible in order to preserve it for research, citizens' interests and the administration of justice.
The Federal Archives also collects the estates of important personalities as well as documents from political parties and associations and edits historical documentation. The Stasi Records Archive has also been part of the Federal Archives since 2021.
Following the multiple award-winning realisation of the TYPO3 websites for the Stasi Mediathek and the Stasi Records Archive, we also redesigned and implemented the website of the Federal Archives using TYPO3.

bundesarchiv.de

Immerse yourself in original documents, gain new insights through images and texts from the past, browse through kilometres of files - without any dust: this is made possible by the new TYPO3 website of the German Federal Archives, into which we have also integrated the site of the Stasi Records Archive, which previously ran under its own address, as part of its relaunch.

We have been involved in the media presentation of today's Federal Archives since 2015 through our work for the Special Representative of the Federal Government for the Stasi Records:

Stasi Mediathek (2015)
Relaunch of the Stasi Records Archive (2018)
Relaunch of the Federal Archives including integration of the Stasi Records Archive (2024)

Convenience in the front and back end

In addition to the new features visible to users on bundesarchiv.de, a lot more has happened in the background. In addition to conception and design, we paid attention to BITV-compliant programming during implementation, created additional subsites and also took over hosting, maintenance and support with the relaunch.
TYPO3 11 LTS, which has replaced the Federal Archives' Government Site Builder , is now used as the content management system.
Variable display options

More than 40 editors benefit from a convenient workflow with secure work processes thanks to the backend customised to their needs. Content can be flexibly integrated into the modular website and display styles can be easily customised. Interfaces ensure that current data such as events from the Federal Archives database can also be integrated.
Integrated AI provides additional benefits

We have also incorporated findings from the "Digital Curation Technologies" research project for the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), in which 3pc is involved: An AI-based extension for TYPO3 makes it possible to easily manage and use abbreviations and their explanations as well as glossary entries. This contributes to improved accessibility and optimisation of the search function, and users receive additional information.
Immerse yourself in the past

Perhaps particularly exciting for visitors to the new website are two features that have been incorporated into the new site:
The publications of the Stasi Records Archive now also allow visitors to view all the years of the secret reports of the 'Central Evaluation and Information Group (ZAIG)' of the Ministry of State Security on their own detailed pages.
History within reach

And stories - and therefore history - can now be discovered online via dedicated topic areas. Whether special incidents in the Bundeswehr, German colonialism or events surrounding the fall of the Berlin Wall: images, documents, audio and video material where available, supplemented by related information and transcripts as well as glossary terms and explained abbreviations, encourage you to embark on a research journey through the digitised material.

„Das Fachwissen von 3pc bei der Migration in eine moderne, ansprechende TYPO3-Implementierung hat unsere Websites einen großen Schritt nach vorne gebracht: Nun können wir Datensätze effizient über Schnittstellen anzeigen, die speziell auf unsere komplexen Archivbedürfnisse und auf globale Nutzer:innen zugeschnitten sind.“

Nina Schwarz, Bundesarchiv

All projects

Projects with purpose

For over 30 years, we have been working with remarkable institutions from the education, science, culture, administration or business sectors.

All our projects are based on common features: their demand for a high standard of editorial quality, their complexity and the fact that they are part of a greater societal change.

Throughout our work, an innovative and strategic outlook is key. At the same time, we have the highest demands on usability, design and the underlying technology of our work. All of these components must prove sustainable in the long term.

The projects that move us are socially relevant, they matter. At the same time, they enable and inspire us to try out new ideas and concepts.

In all contexts, we value a comprehensive understanding of the diverse organizational cultures of our clients. We know how to support employees in change processes and how to moderate cultural change.

We see consulting as a joint process in which we use co-creative elements as effective and active forms of collaboration. Our aim is to involve all relevant stakeholders in finding solutions in order to achieve an optimal result that will be accepted in the long term.

Awards

Our work has received many awards. We work on projects with journalistic standards and high benchmarks for design and usability. Thanks to these criteria, 3pc was awarded the Grimme Online Award as well as other prizes.

"In a world permanently surrounded by media and technical evolution our perception is changing, user interfaces - the interfaces between human and machine - play a key role. This is where the future is negotiated and where we help shape it.“

Armin Berger, founder and CEO

Selected Projects

Germany's most popular voting tool

The interactive voting tool, Wahl-O-Mat (‘VotAutomaton‘) has become an indispensable part of voting behaviour in Germany since the 2002 parliamentary elections. The award-winning tool, and its ergonomic and distinct look, was developed by 3pc in close collaboration with the German Federal Agency for Civic Education. During election time, it is number 1 in the app store and is one of Google's most popular search terms. Its unique gamification of politics and user-centric sets Wahl-O-Mat apart from any other election tool.

Our app has been played over 100 million times and is compatible with iPhone, iPad and android smartphones.
Federal Ministry of Education and Research - #innovationsland Deutschland campaign

Innovation - what does that actually mean? For Germany, the world, and for each and every one of us? How can we encourage the powers of innovation in our country? - These are the kind of questions that we have dealt with in the #innovationsland Deutschland campaign. On behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and together with the lead agency, we developed a strategy and a design concept for their digital campaign. We are also jointly responsible for the design of their campaign program.
A new digital identity for the Goethe Institut

The Goethe-Institut is the cultural institute of the Federal Republic of Germany and has been advancing globally the foreign cultural and educational policy worldwide for over 50 years. What does the Goethe-Institut with its 157 offices in 98 countries stand for in the digital age? With an audit on its overall digital presence, we systematically analyzed the Goethe-Institut's digital strategy to date and developed recommendations on how the renowned organization should position itself in the future. With the establishment of the Goethe Lab as a new organizational unit, the Goethe-Institut is now repositioning itself in the area of innovative language technologies.
Berlin Institute of Health: How Research becomes Healthcare Policy

The Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), located at the renowned university hospital Charité, is a scientific institution for medical translation and precision medicine. The BIH is dedicated to new approaches for better prognoses and novel therapies as well as unsolved health problems. We provide support for the BIH and have completely relaunched their website. In the course of a relaunch process, the multisite www.bihealth.org was subjected to a continuous technical, content-related and visual refresh in individual work packages. Our challenge was to present the technical system, which had grown over time into a complex content structure, in a user-optimized manner containing information appropriate to their target group.

Our Clients

For over 27 years, we have been successfully working with federal ministries and public institutions, cities and communities, universities, research foundations, museums, cultural institutions as well as private businesses.