Communications & Design
Head: Maria Einhorn
Developments During the Reporting Period
Areas of Work
Achievements and Highlights of the Reporting Period
The Communications & Design (ComDes) service unit supports the Institute with a comprehensive portfolio covering modern science communication, design, editorial work, internal communication, web services, and event management. Its aim is to make research findings accessible to diverse audiences, support internal processes, and enhance the Institute's visibility both within the Max Planck Society and in the public sphere. During the reporting period, the unit modernized its structures, professionalized its processes, developed new areas of responsibility, and established new formats.
Developments During the Reporting Period
As part of an internal restructuring, the former Desktop Publishing (DTP) and Public Relations (PR) teams were merged into the new ComDes unit in December 2024. By combining the diverse expertise of these historically separate teams, the Institute established a modern and strategically oriented communications unit. The new team's objective is to deliver services that align with the demands of modern cross-media internal and external communication.
In 2025, the focus was on team development and introducing shared tools, standards and processes. Communication channels were streamlined, redundancies were reduced, and responsibilities were clearly defined, ensuring transparent points of contact for the Institute. The team's physical consolidation in one location in September 2025 further strengthened alignment and enabled the effective use of synergies.
Team Profile: Communications & Design
We firmly believe that science plays a vital role for societal progress. We are therefore committed to communicating our research in an accessible and impactful manner. In doing so, we strengthen public trust in science, enrich public dialogue through knowledge transfer, and shape the public image of our Institute and the Max Planck Society.
Our portfolio encompasses all aspects of modern communication, including public relations, editorial work, data visualization, graphic design, and comprehensive production. Working closely with our researchers, we transform complex findings into engaging formats.
As a team, we combine expertise, creativity and technical skill. We value flexibility, reliability and a focus on solutions, as well as maintaining the highest professional standards. We actively track developments in science communication and participate in professional networks, continually bringing fresh ideas to our daily work.
Areas of Work
There is a designated contact person within the ComDes team for each area of responsibility. Tasks are then allocated to smaller teams. This project structure allows us to work in a flexible and resource-efficient manner while fostering creative ideas through the integration of cross-disciplinary skills.
Concept & Strategy
Led by ComDes head Maria Einhorn, this area oversees the Institute's overall communication strategy. Responsibilities include positioning the Institute, communicating research findings—particularly those involving sensitive topics, continually adapting core communication components and providing strategic communication support for major institutional initiatives, such as campus development, construction projects, and appointments. The key objectives are to present the Institute and its researchers effectively, to fulfil the Institute's responsibility to communicate science to society, and to ensure transparent internal communication. Regular coordination meetings with the leadership and members of the various Institute departments, as well as active participation within the MPG network and the Berlin research network BR50, support these goals.
Editorial
The Editorial team handles press relations, the press distribution list, website content, social media activities, and in-house publications. Over the past three years, the team has focused on revising and developing the Institute's portfolio of communication formats, particularly with regard to the website, effective content distribution, and expanding video and animation formats.
Creation
The Creation team develops illustrations, corporate design elements, and templates, produces communication materials, and designs key visual assets for the Institute. Since late 2024, the team has been systematically reviewing and standardizing the highly heterogeneous existing materials to strengthen the Institute's visual identity.
Graphics & Technology
Responsibilities include the production of everyday communication materials. These include, among other things, the printing of posters and leaflets, the provision of materials for conferences, as well as photography and event documentation. It also maintains and oversees the Institute's production technology.
Events, Outreach, & Project Management
This area was established in late 2024 to consolidate cross-institutional activities within the ComDes team. Today, the unit centralizes the Institute's event expertise, coordinates guided tours, and oversees cross-institutional projects, such as the Long Night of Sciences and preparations for the meeting of the Scientific Advisory Board. In 2025, work also began on designing new outreach activities for schoolchildren, including an exhibition and a learning space at the Institute.
Web
The Web team maintains and develops the Institute's website, project pages, MAX intranet, newsletters, and in-house information displays, and provides first-level support. Since late 2024, both the website and MAX intranet have undergone structural redevelopment. The aim is to create a needs-based information architecture informed by employee survey results and insights from public outreach.
Max Planck Foundation for Human Development
In the context of a team member's secondary employment, the team also supports the Max Planck Foundation for Human Development, a foundation under civil law administered by the Max Planck Foundation (MPF).
Achievements and Highlights of the Reporting Period
Key achievements during the reporting period, in addition to the successful structural and spatial merging of the DTP and PR teams into ComDes, include:
- Revision of the Institute's website, including a target-group-oriented restructuring of the navigation, updating existing formats, and establishing a newsroom.
- Expansion of the Institutes social-media presence, with a focus on BlueSky and LinkedIn.
- Establishment and ongoing development of video and animation formats to communicate research in modern and accessible ways.
- Overhaul of the MAX intranet information architecture, including the introduction of the "Institute A–Z" section in response to employee survey results.
- Development of MPG-compliant design templates and the systematic standardization of visual materials to strengthen the Institute's identity.
- Introduction of a central projectmanagement tool to support crossinstitutional events and projects and improve collaboration.
- Participation in the interactive exhibitions of 2024 and 2026 on board the MS Wissenschaft, a converted cargo ship, as well as in the MPG's new central public outreach format Heimspiel.
A major highlight was the Long Night of Sciences in 2025. Managed by ComDes as an Institute-wide event, it achieved a record number of visitors (nearly 1,000), significantly strengthened internal cohesion, and presented the Institute's research in a highly accessible and engaging way both externally and internally.
