What Gagarin does

Gagarin (legal name Gagarín) is an Icelandic experience design studio founded in 1994 in Reykjavík, operating as a private, founder-led company with 11–50 employees. The firm designs and produces immersive exhibitions, visitor centres, brand environments, and interactive installations for museums, national parks, cultural institutions, corporations, and international expo pavilions across the Nordics, North America, and Asia. Its core offering integrates four service areas — concept development, visual communication, interactive media, and spatial design — delivered through project-based commissions. Notable proprietary components include turntable-based multi-user interactive tables, mixed-reality binoculars, holographic display systems, real-time data visualisations (e.g., seismic data for Lava Centre), and an emotional-tracking installation using face-scanning feedback loops.

Revenue is generated through professional-services engagements billed per project, with pricing not publicly disclosed and varying by scope, complexity, and client requirements. Go-to-market is sales-led and event-driven: the studio acquires institutional and corporate clients through its portfolio of 100+ projects, international design-award recognition (European Design Awards, SEGD, Red Dot, ADC*E, German Design Awards, FÍT Awards), and participation in industry events such as DesignMarch, MuseumNext summits, and EXPO pavilions. Distribution is direct, with projects commissioned by museums (Reykjavik City Museum, Natural History Museum Oslo, Canadian Museum for Human Rights), national parks (Norway's 44 parks across 15 visitor centres), visitor centres (Lava Centre), brands (Climeworks, Harpa, Icelandic Museum of Rock 'n' Roll), and governments (Icelandic/Nordic Pavilion at EXPO 2025 Osaka, Icelandic Pavilion at Venice Biennale 2026). Long-standing co-production partnerships with Basalt Architects, Art+Com Berlin, Kvorning Design, Interactive Scape, and Viz extend technical and architectural capacity for larger tenders. Cumulative disclosed public funding from Iceland's Technology Development Fund totals approximately $416K; no venture capital or external investors are reported.

Name

Gagarin

Legal name

Gagarín

Website

https://gagarin.is

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Gagarin is an Icelandic experience design studio, founded in 1994 in Reykjavík, that designs immersive exhibitions, visitor centres, and interactive installations for museums, national parks, cultural institutions, corporations, and international expo pavilions across the Nordics and beyond.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Experience Design Services

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (541430), Graphic Design Services (54143), Interior Design Services (54141)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Exhibition, Retail & Experiential Design (BPAHAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX) (MPAAAAAD), Event Signage, Props & Custom Installations (HSACAOAG)

Keywords

• Exhibition design services
• Interactive installation design
• Experience design studio
• Museum exhibition design
• Visitor centre design

Headquarters

HQ city

Reykjavík

HQ country

Iceland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Exhibition Design Services: Project-based professional services for designing and producing exhibitions, visitor centres, brand environments, and interactive installations. Revenue generated through direct client commissions for concept development, visual design, interactive media, and spatial design.
2. Interactive Installation Production: Custom design and fabrication of interactive installations including hardware development, software design, and physical prototyping for museum and public space projects

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Gagarin is an experience design studio that creates immersive exhibitions, visitor centres, brand environments, and interactive installations for museums, cultural institutions, national parks, and brands. They integrate concept development, visual communication, interactive media, and spatial design into coherent experiential environments, blending physical design with proprietary interactive technologies including touch tables, mixed reality binoculars, holographic displays, and VR systems. Projects are delivered as commissioned, custom-built installations on a project-by-project basis across the Nordic region and internationally.

Product overview

Gagarin is an Icelandic experience design studio founded in 1994 that creates immersive exhibitions, visitor centers, brand spaces, and destination experiences. The company offers four core service areas: Concept Development (experience concepts, narrative development, workshops and co-creation, concept visualization, early prototyping), Visual Communication (visual identity, illustrations, wayfinding, UI/UX design, animation, film and photography), Interactive Media (interactive installations, digital storytelling, mobile experiences, augmented and mixed reality, real-time visualization, software and media design), and Spatial Design (exhibition design, brand environments, scenography, architectural integration, visitor flow planning, destination interpretation). Their projects range from individually curated installations to large-scale international exhibitions for museums, public spaces, and brands worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Experience Design Services Comprehensive experience design service combining concept development, visual communication, interactive media, and spatial design to deliver immersive exhibitions, visitor centres, brand environments, and trade fair installations for museums, cultural institutions, national parks, corporations, and national pavilion commissions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple SEGD Honor Awards, European Design Awards (Gold, Silver, Bronze), Red Dot Best of the Best recognition
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Basalt ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration on architectural and exhibition projects including SOAK for Icelandic Pavilion at Venice Biennale and Lava Centre. Basalt Architects partner Marcos Zotes serves as curator on major projects.
• Art+Com BerlincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production of interactive installations for the Settlement Exhibition in Reykjavik. Partnership combines Gagarin's exhibition design with Art+Com's technical expertise in interactive media.
• Kvorning DesignminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Heavy Water Cellar exhibition at Vemork, Norway. Kvorning Design contributed exhibition design expertise to the UNESCO World Heritage Site project.
• Basalt ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Nordic Pavilion design for EXPO 2025 Osaka. Joint development of Nordic Circle exhibition concept representing Nordic countries.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Designworks (BMW Group): Global brand-experience design firm (BMW subsidiary) creating immersive brand environments, exhibition spaces, and visitor centres for major corporates and public institutions. Comparable on brand-environment and visitor-centre design capability, though operating at much larger scale and with parent-co backing.
• UNStudio: Dutch architecture and experience design firm working across museums, cultural buildings, and brand environments internationally. Comparable on integrating spatial design with interactive media for cultural institutions, though more architecture-led and at larger scale.

Direct peers

• C&G Partners: New York-based design firm creating exhibitions, brand environments, and wayfinding for museums, cultural institutions, and corporate clients. Comparable on exhibition design, narrative/spatial design integration, and museum/brand environment portfolio.
• Moment Factory: Montreal-based multimedia entertainment studio creating immersive installations for museums, public spaces, and brands worldwide. Direct competitor in large-scale immersive cultural experiences (e.g., national pavilions, visitor centres), comparable on technology stack (projection, AR, interactive media) and international project delivery.
• Ideum: New Mexico-based design firm developing interactive exhibits, multitouch tables, and digital installations for museums, visitor centres, and science centres. Directly comparable on multi-user interactive table technology and the museum/visitor-centre client base.
• Tellart: US design studio specialising in interactive experiences, brand installations, and exhibitions blending physical and digital media. Comparable as a small-team experience design firm serving museums, science centres, and corporate brand environments with custom-built interactive technology.
• Local Projects: US-based experience design firm specialising in interactive museum exhibitions and public-space installations. Closely comparable to Gagarin in terms of fusing narrative development with technology-driven interactives for cultural institutions and visitor centres.
• Ralph Appelbaum Associates: Global leader in museum master planning and exhibition design (e.g., Canadian Museum for Human Rights, which is also a Gagarin client). Comparable in serving large institutional museum clients with multidisciplinary exhibition programs, though primarily operating at larger scale.
• ESI Design: New York-based experiential design studio producing interactive exhibitions, branded environments, and immersive media installations for museums, visitor centres, and corporations. Comparable in scale (40-60+ employees), client verticals (museums, science centres, corporates), and integrated spatial/technology offerings.
• Art+Com: Berlin-based studio specialising in interactive media installations and exhibition design for museums, public spaces, and brands. Explicitly comparable as a co-production partner on the Reykjavik Settlement Exhibition; serves the same museum/cultural-institution verticals with comparable technological approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubevimeo.com/gagarininteractive
• Facebookfacebook.com/gagarininteractive
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gagarininteractive
• Instagraminstagram.com/gagarininteractive

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gagarin