Creative - necessarily
Tatort is the name of the young Bernese design and communications agency that has already made over 50 small and large clients happy in the last two years. Founder Diobe Daniel Wyss and his partner Francisco Rojas shoot fast, sharp and right on target. That's why most of their clients return to the «scene of the crime».
Diobe Wyss (40) was born in Cameroon. His father went to Central Africa as a missionary in the 1960s, giving his son a sunny start in life. When Diobe was two years old, the family returned to Switzerland, where Diobe grew up and went to school with three siblings in Bern-West. "We lived in a block on the 13th floor there," Wyss says. "After our experiences in the Cameroonian bush, the distance from the ground did us good."
It took Diobe Wyss a little time to figure out that he was an advertiser. However, he has been full of ideas, passion and drive for a lifetime. As a boy, Wyss dreamed of becoming a bus driver. The "Gummitram" simply fascinates him. After school, however, he heads for an apprenticeship as an electronics technician and, due to a lack of apprenticeships, starts a mechanic apprenticeship. "That was a good time, because even as a child I liked to tinker a lot. But even though I made the organ pipes of Basel Cathedral sound again and my Töffli could rival a Vespa, I soon realized that the mechanic's job was not my world," he says. So Wyss tried studying microtechnology at the Bern University of Applied Sciences for Technology and Information Technology. But: "That wasn't it either. I didn't just want to do something with my hands, but also with people."
Wyss is the scion of a family of teachers and pastors. So it stands to reason that he would also go in this direction. He completed a teaching degree and worked for several years as an educator, in adult education and as a teacher of German as a foreign language. Among other things, Wyss gets a handle on an eighth-grade problem class in Burgdorf as a young teacher and passes as a home tutor for a Swiss family on an Indonesian island in East Kalimantan. "My time in Indonesia had a big impact on me," Wyss says. "I learned that all people are equal and that you can communicate with each other without speaking the same language." Wyss is also successful as a teacher because he follows a clear line and doesn't pretend. "Clarity, authenticity, a lot of humor and a certain cheekiness are also essential for my work as an advertiser and designer now," he is convinced.
Any caliber welcome
Wyss has been working in the advertising industry since 2000: at the age of 30, he made his debut as a copywriter and concept developer at Fruitcake, an agency in Bern. "Together with my current partner Francisco Rojas, I worked for big clients and learned a lot about how the advertising industry and the agency business work." Wyss and Rojas receive a lot of positive feedback on their work, so that the idea to continue the success story under their own direction arises as if by itself. However, it takes another eight years for this wish to come true: First, Wyss works as a freelance copywriter and designer in the studio community zwei 13 in the "Berner Zentrum für Kulturproduktion Progr" (Bern Center for Cultural Production) and gets involved again as a ¬teacher and trainer. Finally, in 2008, he founds the design and communications agency Tatort.
The agency is not called Tatort because Wyss has a penchant for violent acts. Rather, to acts in general: "A crime scene is a place where something happens - that doesn't have to be negative," explains the agency boss. "We wanted to have a name that stands out from the crowd, that polarizes and stays in the memory. It also had to raise questions and provide something to talk about. Crime Scene is a good door opener." Consequently, Wyss and his collaborators call themselves "perpetrators," and they refer to their work as "deeds." Wyss and his fellow perpetrators provide their clients with everything that has to do with communication: from business cards to corporate design, from PR texts to posters and advertisements to guerrilla campaigns, from complete websites to brochures and magazines. Tatort is also the right contact for illustrations: Francisco Rojas is known for his ballpoint pen portraits and caricatures.
In the act
Tatort is particularly strong in the development of CI/CD, whether it's the Wölkchen logo and lettering for the architecture firm Freiluft, a complete campaign for the City of Bern's Directorate of Safety, Environment and Energy, or the CD for Bären Haustechnik, a subsidiary of Energie Wasser Bern ewb. "We find the right worms for all fish and develop spot-on concepts for both the big and the small," Wyss emphasizes. "It's not only the big deeds, but also the small ones that make us successful."
The fact that the "perpetrators" take on even the smallest jobs doesn't mean that two creative people muddle around with their private ideas and take the work as it comes. Tatort's clients quickly notice that, too. Wyss and Rojas are professionals - perhaps precisely because they are jack-of-all-trades. They combine a wide range of skills and a broad horizon with in-depth knowledge of how marketing, advertising and design work. What comes out is convincing. One example: In Bern, bears are omnipresent. That increases the danger of thinking the subject through ad nauseam. Several bears also appear in Wyss's and Rojas's works. But one does not get tired of them. It's no coincidence that the agency, which is only two years old, has already won several pitches against large, established agencies.
Wyss and Rojas' business approach shows that they have a clear view of their customers' needs: "When we make an offer, we usually provide initial design proposals free of charge," says Wyss. "After all, the end result should not be numbers, but a logo, a magazine or a poster. It's hard for our customers to imagine what that might look like if they're only presented with numbers." Of course, such preliminary work involves a certain risk, and the "perpetrators" are well aware of this: "Of course, we don't present a finished concept, that would be unwise. Anyone interested in our work should simply get an idea of what we can do. So far, we've done well with that."
Creative blood
With this story Tatort was able to convince the University of Fribourg, Energie Wasser Bern ewb, the association Swiss¬cycling, the city of Bern, Comedia Bern, the mountain railroads Oeschinensee, the Laserinstitut Thun, the city of Bülach, the medical association VSAO and the electric bike manufacturer Biketec in Huttwil. Among others. Tatort's customer base even includes a client from Germany who works for the automotive industry, high-profile fashion labels and renowned publishing houses. Many clients come to Tatort on recommendation. Or Wyss acquires them cold. Currently, his heart is particularly set on product design for organic food, which the agency has developed for the Schönenbühl mill, a project of the Burgergemeinde Bern. "Now all we need is a major distributor in our portfolio," says Wyss with a wink.
Currently, Wyss, Rojas and their freelancer are working on eight projects in parallel. They are passionate about what they do. If that's not enough, they have a large network of experts from various disciplines behind them. What's more, the "doers" have a simple secret to success: "We do take our time, because ideas aren't born overnight, at least not in the quality we strive for," says Wyss. "But when the idea is there, Francisco and I work hand in hand and very expeditiously." That's why, on top of all the creative work, the two newly minted dads manage to be there for their family. And neither one nor the other is just on the side. They attach great importance to that.
"We usually develop our ideas together; one lays the egg, the other hatches it," Wyss says. "The first sketches are usually created on the scene with paper and pencil." For economic reasons, the perpetrators have a clear division of labor: Wyss handles client relations and copy and concept; Rojas handles design. Tatort has its own clear and simple visual language, but equally has a great deal of variety: "We can also come across completely differently, depending on what our customer wants," Wyss emphasizes.
Tatort has not yet set a thematic focus, but it is slowly crystallizing: With its projects for Swisscycling, Pro Velo Bern, Biketec, Bioschwand Münsingen and the Directorate for Safety, Environment and Energy of the City of Bern, the agency is vigorously establishing itself in the cycling scene and building up an expertise in the topic of sustainability. A development that clearly points to the future. That is a fact.
Anne-Friederike Wilhelm
It took Diobe Wyss a little time to figure out that he was an advertiser. However, he has been full of ideas, passion and drive for a lifetime. As a boy, Wyss dreamed of becoming a bus driver. The "Gummitram" simply fascinates him. After school, however, he heads for an apprenticeship as an electronics technician and, due to a lack of apprenticeships, starts a mechanic apprenticeship. "That was a good time, because even as a child I liked to tinker a lot. But even though I made the organ pipes of Basel Cathedral sound again and my Töffli could rival a Vespa, I soon realized that the mechanic's job was not my world," he says. So Wyss tried studying microtechnology at the Bern University of Applied Sciences for Technology and Information Technology. But: "That wasn't it either. I didn't just want to do something with my hands, but also with people."
Wyss is the scion of a family of teachers and pastors. So it stands to reason that he would also go in this direction. He completed a teaching degree and worked for several years as an educator, in adult education and as a teacher of German as a foreign language. Among other things, Wyss gets a handle on an eighth-grade problem class in Burgdorf as a young teacher and passes as a home tutor for a Swiss family on an Indonesian island in East Kalimantan. "My time in Indonesia had a big impact on me," Wyss says. "I learned that all people are equal and that you can communicate with each other without speaking the same language." Wyss is also successful as a teacher because he follows a clear line and doesn't pretend. "Clarity, authenticity, a lot of humor and a certain cheekiness are also essential for my work as an advertiser and designer now," he is convinced.
Any caliber welcome
Wyss has been working in the advertising industry since 2000: at the age of 30, he made his debut as a copywriter and concept developer at Fruitcake, an agency in Bern. "Together with my current partner Francisco Rojas, I worked for big clients and learned a lot about how the advertising industry and the agency business work." Wyss and Rojas receive a lot of positive feedback on their work, so that the idea to continue the success story under their own direction arises as if by itself. However, it takes another eight years for this wish to come true: First, Wyss works as a freelance copywriter and designer in the studio community zwei 13 in the "Berner Zentrum für Kulturproduktion Progr" (Bern Center for Cultural Production) and gets involved again as a ¬teacher and trainer. Finally, in 2008, he founds the design and communications agency Tatort.
The agency is not called Tatort because Wyss has a penchant for violent acts. Rather, to acts in general: "A crime scene is a place where something happens - that doesn't have to be negative," explains the agency boss. "We wanted to have a name that stands out from the crowd, that polarizes and stays in the memory. It also had to raise questions and provide something to talk about. Crime Scene is a good door opener." Consequently, Wyss and his collaborators call themselves "perpetrators," and they refer to their work as "deeds." Wyss and his fellow perpetrators provide their clients with everything that has to do with communication: from business cards to corporate design, from PR texts to posters and advertisements to guerrilla campaigns, from complete websites to brochures and magazines. Tatort is also the right contact for illustrations: Francisco Rojas is known for his ballpoint pen portraits and caricatures.
In the act
Tatort is particularly strong in the development of CI/CD, whether it's the Wölkchen logo and lettering for the architecture firm Freiluft, a complete campaign for the City of Bern's Directorate of Safety, Environment and Energy, or the CD for Bären Haustechnik, a subsidiary of Energie Wasser Bern ewb. "We find the right worms for all fish and develop spot-on concepts for both the big and the small," Wyss emphasizes. "It's not only the big deeds, but also the small ones that make us successful."
The fact that the "perpetrators" take on even the smallest jobs doesn't mean that two creative people muddle around with their private ideas and take the work as it comes. Tatort's clients quickly notice that, too. Wyss and Rojas are professionals - perhaps precisely because they are jack-of-all-trades. They combine a wide range of skills and a broad horizon with in-depth knowledge of how marketing, advertising and design work. What comes out is convincing. One example: In Bern, bears are omnipresent. That increases the danger of thinking the subject through ad nauseam. Several bears also appear in Wyss's and Rojas's works. But one does not get tired of them. It's no coincidence that the agency, which is only two years old, has already won several pitches against large, established agencies.
Wyss and Rojas' business approach shows that they have a clear view of their customers' needs: "When we make an offer, we usually provide initial design proposals free of charge," says Wyss. "After all, the end result should not be numbers, but a logo, a magazine or a poster. It's hard for our customers to imagine what that might look like if they're only presented with numbers." Of course, such preliminary work involves a certain risk, and the "perpetrators" are well aware of this: "Of course, we don't present a finished concept, that would be unwise. Anyone interested in our work should simply get an idea of what we can do. So far, we've done well with that."
Creative blood
With this story Tatort was able to convince the University of Fribourg, Energie Wasser Bern ewb, the association Swiss¬cycling, the city of Bern, Comedia Bern, the mountain railroads Oeschinensee, the Laserinstitut Thun, the city of Bülach, the medical association VSAO and the electric bike manufacturer Biketec in Huttwil. Among others. Tatort's customer base even includes a client from Germany who works for the automotive industry, high-profile fashion labels and renowned publishing houses. Many clients come to Tatort on recommendation. Or Wyss acquires them cold. Currently, his heart is particularly set on product design for organic food, which the agency has developed for the Schönenbühl mill, a project of the Burgergemeinde Bern. "Now all we need is a major distributor in our portfolio," says Wyss with a wink.
Currently, Wyss, Rojas and their freelancer are working on eight projects in parallel. They are passionate about what they do. If that's not enough, they have a large network of experts from various disciplines behind them. What's more, the "doers" have a simple secret to success: "We do take our time, because ideas aren't born overnight, at least not in the quality we strive for," says Wyss. "But when the idea is there, Francisco and I work hand in hand and very expeditiously." That's why, on top of all the creative work, the two newly minted dads manage to be there for their family. And neither one nor the other is just on the side. They attach great importance to that.
"We usually develop our ideas together; one lays the egg, the other hatches it," Wyss says. "The first sketches are usually created on the scene with paper and pencil." For economic reasons, the perpetrators have a clear division of labor: Wyss handles client relations and copy and concept; Rojas handles design. Tatort has its own clear and simple visual language, but equally has a great deal of variety: "We can also come across completely differently, depending on what our customer wants," Wyss emphasizes.
Tatort has not yet set a thematic focus, but it is slowly crystallizing: With its projects for Swisscycling, Pro Velo Bern, Biketec, Bioschwand Münsingen and the Directorate for Safety, Environment and Energy of the City of Bern, the agency is vigorously establishing itself in the cycling scene and building up an expertise in the topic of sustainability. A development that clearly points to the future. That is a fact.
Anne-Friederike Wilhelm
