The craftsmen

It's a warm welcome at Pixeldisko. Despite the icy cold. Othmar Küng and Marc Schadegg stand in front of the agency shed, wrapped up thickly, to greet the guests as they arrive one by one. Food stalls are set up around the entrance, just like at a street market. Next to a chestnut house, antipasti specialties are laid out on a large counter. Another stand offers a selection of hot and cold drinks.

Business clients, partners and friends - with and without children - came to the agency party on this December evening. Those who had never been to Pixeldisko before came to get an idea of the design agency. Others came to meet the team outside of work.

Pixeldisko's home in Zurich's Hottingen district is a building steeped in history. Since the middle of the 19th century, the three-storey building has been the workplace of craftsmen and artists, such as the expressionist Helen Dahm and the Swiss painter Otto Morach. Even though the rooms have now been renovated and instead of a workbench, there is modern office furniture on the old wooden floor. The current tenants are continuing the tradition. Pixeldisko's self-image is more that of a craft business than an advertising agency: "We are primarily designers, typographers, lithographers and concept developers - not directly advertisers," says Managing Director Othmar Küng, who founded Pixeldisko six years ago.

Küng himself learned his craft as a designer in a small regional print shop in eastern Switzerland. Back then, he still worked on some of the typesetting by hand at the light desk and exposed it himself using a repro camera. If he could, Küng would still take over every single production step today. "So that a product looks exactly as we imagined it in the end." Work that is now developed by a team of eight people and specialized partners and accompanied to the end.

For the past year, Küng has no longer been solely responsible for the agency's fortunes, but shares the management with CD Marc Schadegg. Someone who "ticks the same box". Küng and Schadegg have the same approach and the same standards for their work. And they share a love of detail. "We're passionate about the little things," says Schadegg. The two of them could have an in-depth conversation about the space between an A and a B on a business card, if it were appropriate. A fulfilling day for them. Or they use the time to rummage through the Chocolat Frey company archive to find inspiration for nostalgic packaging for the chocolate manufacturer's 125th anniversary.

Service instead of self-realization

The customers that Pixeldisko supports in terms of communication and design come from a wide range of sectors, from small businesses to international corporations. Sometimes Pixeldisko defines a business card for a friendly tailor or a small carpentry business. Another time it is the visual brand identity of a shop-in-shop concept for the camera manufacturer Canon or a B2B online tool for UBS. "The store around the corner is as exciting for us as a major customer," says Schadegg. A small project for a start-up company is followed by a major project as lead agency for Chiquita, where the craftsmen feel "supported and inspired by the machinery". Clients from the culture and entertainment sector are also a contrast between small and large. On the one hand, there is Dabu Fantastic, a Swiss band that has accompanied Pixeldisko since its foundation. On the other, Warner Brothers and Twentieth Century Fox, international film distributors for whom Pixeldisko realizes outdoor and advertising campaigns and promotions, among other things.

In essence, it is always about engaging with a customer, being a service provider. "We don't come to work primarily with the idea of realizing ourselves," says Küng. "We try to implement things in the spirit of the customer." Even if that means developing forms for internal company processes. "Some may see that as very dry work. We see the fulfillment of our task in answering the questions as to whether the design grid is correct. Whether the line spacing is large enough so that the forms can be filled out by hand. Whether a PDF could be filled out directly online to simplify the processes," says Schadegg. They get their satisfaction when the customer is happy at the end. When he realizes that the right paper has been chosen. When they are happy that the business card fits in their breast pocket. Or when they don't feel taken by surprise by the text, but approached with style.

In their appearance, Küng and Schadegg come across as uncomplicated and shirt-sleeved. But at Pixeldisko, care is never neglected. Not even at the agency party. The atmosphere is relaxed, but everything is well thought out. From the reception to the food stands to the farewell. The cup specially made for the festival is quickly filled with mulled wine or punch on arrival. A welcome gift in view of the cold to warm the cold hands. Finally, the drinking companion is placed in a paper bag waiting at the exit and carried home in comfort.

Isabel Imper