Nikos Kazantzakis Museum Educational Kit

Lazy Snail Design wins the iF Design Award 2026 for the Nikos Kazantzakis Museum Educational Kit

The Nikos Kazantzakis Museum Educational Kit, designed by Lazy snail Design, has received the iF Design Award 2026. Developed for the Nikos Kazantzakis Museum in Myrtia, Heraklion, Crete, the kit was created as an educational tool aimed at introducing younger audiences to the life, ideas and literary legacy of the renowned Greek author.

Designed for primary, middle and high schools in Greece, as well as Greek schools abroad, the kit seeks to provide teachers and students with an engaging way to explore Kazantzakis’ work, travels and intellectual journey.

For Lazy snail Design, the objective was to visualise and materialise the content and ideas developed by the educational advisors, while collaborating with specialised experts to ensure that the material would be visually accessible to all.

The project was conceived as a meeting point between past and present. Designed by Lazy snail Design in collaboration with industrial designer Sophus Bang, the kit translates the spirit of Kazantzakis’ era into a contemporary educational object intended to spark curiosity and discovery among students.

Inspired by the way children carried their schoolbooks with a leather belt during the mid-20th century, the kit takes the form of an object that merges the characteristics of a book and a suitcase. Every dimension of the “suitcase” was carefully designed to accommodate its contents while reinforcing the narrative experience of exploration.

At the heart of the kit is a series of five themed guides, each exploring a different aspect of Kazantzakis’ life and thought: The Writer, The Human, The Cretan, The Traveller, and The Intellectual. Each guide features distinct visual and structural elements, while a colour-coding system helps students navigate the themes in a clear and intuitive way.

The materials of the kit — including wood, fabric and paper — were carefully selected to evoke a sense of authenticity and tactility. Combined with replicas of personal objects belonging to Kazantzakis, the kit invites students to explore his world through a tactile and immersive learning experience.

The Nikos Kazantzakis Museum, founded in 1983 in Myrtia, Heraklion, is dedicated to preserving and promoting the life and work of the internationally renowned Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis (1883–1957). Best known for novels such as Zorba the Greek (1946), The Greek Passion (1948), Freedom or Death (1950), The Last Temptation of Christ (1951), and the semi-autobiographical Report to Greco (1961), Kazantzakis’ works have been translated and published in more than 50 countries and adapted for theatre, cinema, radio and television.

Among his many distinctions, Kazantzakis served as president of the Hellenic Literary Society, received the International Peace Award in 1956, and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Through this educational initiative, the Museum continues its mission to make Kazantzakis’ work accessible to new generations, encouraging students to engage with one of Greece’s most influential literary voices.

Credits:

Design Team

Lazy snail Design: Ioanna Drakaki Weylandt, Serafim Stroumpis, Maro Tsagkaraki, Joanna Poupaki, Alice Lado

Industrial Design: Sophus Bang

Nikos Kazantzakis Museum: Voula Vasiliadi, Chara Vavadaki

Educational content design: Vicky Christaki and Eleni Veltanioti

Accessibility: liminal.eu