For five years, 46 teams conducted research on Switzerland’s digital transformation as part of the National Research Program «Digital Transformation» (NRP 77). Commissioned by the Federal Council, a total of 46 projects with a combined budget of 30 million Swiss francs were carried out between 2020 and 2025, coordinated by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). To ensure the findings remain accessible in the long term, a microsite was created in close collaboration with the Bern-based digital agency mutoco and the communications agency advocacy. It presents the key findings as twelve scientifically grounded insights for politics, business, and society.
Complex topics from NFP 77: Digital Transformation explained in a concise manner
A key challenge was to present complex research content in an accessible way and, despite limited visual material, create a microsite that is visually and substantively engaging and encourages visitors to linger. To make it easier to navigate the extensive content, the team integrated an AI chat into the development process. Subtle animation elements further sharpen the focus on the textual content.
ParetoLabs' AI chat makes navigation easier
An AI chatbot from ParetoLabs complements the search function and makes it easier to navigate the microsite. The AI has been trained on all of NFP 77’s research results and is thus intended to be a more powerful tool than the traditional search function. It lists all sources, and users can provide direct feedback on the quality of the AI’s responses to the system via a rating feature.
Design That Makes Room for Science
The clean, easy-to-read layout leaves plenty of space for references and other contextual elements. A custom-developed shader gives the images a digital look. This makes the key visuals come alive and invites visitors to explore. All visuals are interactive and offer a playful approach; they give the website a distinctive character and, through simple, abstracted natural elements, reinforce the messages conveyed by the syntheses.
The color palette has been deliberately chosen to be understated. Three high-contrast accent colors for the modules help users navigate the site and give it structure. The bright yellow highlights key text passages and also serves as an accent color for links. In this way, the color scheme underscores the scientific nature of the content.
The result is an easy-to-navigate and easy-to-understand microsite that summarizes the research findings of NFP 77 and preserves them for the future. The project case study is documented on the mutoco website: https://mutoco.ch/de/projects/nfp77
Go to the microsite: https://nfp-digitale-transformation.ch/de
Responsible at mutoco: Larissa Hintermann, Digital Direction. Person in charge at advocacy: Mathis Brauchbar.
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Creativity as a Driving Force at Best of Swiss Web
First place in Best of Swiss Web’s creativity ranking—the Bern-based digital agency mutoco has taken the top spot in the «Creativity» category. Five years after the company was founded, this award is, according to the company, more than just a prize: It serves as an opportunity to clearly define what creativity means today—and how it relates to the growing role of artificial intelligence.
«Awards aren't the most important thing, but they are a recognition of the quality of the work we do,» says the statement from mutoco. «A recognition that the work we do every day is making a difference.»
More Than Just Design: A Comprehensive Understanding of Creativity
For mutoco, creativity isn’t just about visual expression. It shows up in the code, in the way of thinking, and in the decisions about what to leave out. It requires courage, experience, and good judgment. According to the company, this understanding is what drives the agency every day.
At the same time, mutoco—like many other agencies and companies—operates at the intersection of human creativity and machine intelligence. The central questions are not new, but they have become more pressing: What kind of work brings joy? What is essential for the results? How can creativity remain visible and relevant as AI becomes increasingly powerful, yet also increasingly generic?
AI as a Sparring Partner—With Clear Responsibilities
For mutoco, AI has become a valuable sparring partner that inspires, accelerates, and opens up new perspectives. But the sheer volume of generated content also creates a new responsibility: to curate, filter, and provide clarity. Good design, good code, and good content do not arise from volume, but from discernment—from what the agency refers to as «direction.».
Best of Swiss Web: 20 Years as the Industry's Benchmark
For 20 years, the Best of Swiss Web rankings have been considered the benchmark for successful web and digital service providers in Switzerland. They highlight which agencies and digital service providers have been particularly successful over the past five or ten years. Every year, the rankings for the eleven specialized categories are published a few weeks after the awards ceremony. The category analyses highlight which companies have excelled in the individual disciplines.
The complete list of the Best-of-Swiss-Web winners can be viewed here: https://www.bestofswissweb.swiss/bosw/hall-of-fame
For more information about the agency and its digital services, visit: www.mutoco.ch
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"Hella" stands for "extremely" or "Hell of a lot" and thus powerfully expresses the agency's versatile range of services. This is primarily visible on the newly designed websitewhich was created in close collaboration with Mutoco. The Bern-based digital agency built the powerful technical basis and equipped the website with greatly improved video performance and a modern CMS, which should significantly enhance the digital presentation of Hella Studio's work. "Our cases are now presented visually and in terms of content in the way we want them to be - spacious, dynamic and clearly structured," says Kasper Kobel, co-founder of Hella Studio.
Hella's creative signature
The digital branding was developed in close collaboration between Hella Studio and Mutoco. The aim was to make the creative signature of the Hella team visible and at the same time meet the high demands of the target group in the marketing sector. The result is a lively, personal and at the same time clear website that meets international standards in design and performance.
But not everything about the appearance has been changed. The Hella smiley, for example, remains part of the agency's identity.
Launch with exclusive postcard motif
The new website is activated with a postcard that refers to the relaunch with a wink. The handwritten greeting card is sent to a select group of around 200 potential new and existing customers and friends of the agency.
Responsible at Hella Studio: Joëlle Lehmann (Creative Direction), Kasper Kobel (Art Direction), Michelle Becht (Text), Michèle Räz and Lars Luginbühl (Motion and Graphic Design). Design Code: Mutoco.
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The assignment for Mutoco involved refreshing BLS's digital brand presence. This involved revamping the UX and design of the BLS mobile app, one of BLS's most important sales channels.
The new app design combines functionality and usability with aesthetics and makes the brand more visible. Panoramic images in the check-in tab elegantly highlight important UI elements. The large-scale images change seasonally and give the app a unique look. "We wanted the purchase via the app to feel like the start of the journey and for customers to have a pleasant travel planning experience," explains Kilian Sonnentrücker from Mutoco. Various features contribute to this, such as the real-time travel widget or the option to save connections.
A clear information architecture should ensure orientation at all times despite the many functions. In addition, barrier-free content and accessibility efforts in the design ensure accessibility for all.
As part of the project, three Mutoco employees were involved in the BLS Mobil Art team for a good three years. "The long-term collaboration was not only a lot of fun, but also a great tool for pooling forces and expertise in the most effective way," says Jessica Jenni from BLS.
A scalable design system was developed for the revision of the BLS mobile app, from which all BLS digital products - website, web store and car transport - should benefit.
The app not only receives excellent ratings in the stores for its functionality and design, the BLS Mobil app was also awarded three bronze medals in the Design, User Experience and Functionality categories at this year's "Best of Swiss App" awards.
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Lena Jaggi, Daniel Steffen, Roman Schmid, Kilian Sonnentrücker, Iwan Negro and David Lüscher have 2015 Hinderling Volkart Bern founded and built up. In 2020, Hinderling Volkart became part of Dept. (Werbewoche.ch reported). As a result, the six decided to start their own business together.
Mutoco's six-person team jointly creates websites, develops applications and creates digital experiences - from strategy and consulting to conception and design to technical implementation. Among other things, they are responsible for the new Business Platform of the Swiss Commercial Association and the Tourist portal of the Jura and Three Lakes Region.
The claim of the new agency? New Digital Grounds. Technology is the foundation for projects, creativity and design are the drivers, the agency writes in a statement. Unexpected, surprising, sometimes playful concepts arouse curiosity and open doors to new ideas. "Only this makes it possible to explore and reshape the digital space," says co-founder David Lüscher.
Another principle of the agency, she says, is to question itself just as much and again and again as the products, such as standards and briefings. This self-imposed openness, says co-founder Lena Jaggi, should help to resist the temptation to rest on one's laurels and become sluggish because of what has been achieved. At least as important, she says, is for Mutoco to learn lessons from mistakes it has made. Or as David Lüscher puts it, "We see mistakes, and especially dealing with mistakes, as an integral part of an innovative process."
Integration of Hinderling Volkart into Dept was crucial
The word Mutoco is composed of "muto", Latin for change, and co - collaboration, cooperation. Even though the agency carries the change in its name, it was initiated from the outside, according to the statement. With the takeover of Hinderling Volkart - and thus also of Hinderling Volkart Bern - by the agency network Dept at the beginning of 2020, the Bern location suddenly became part of a large international conglomerate with more than 1,500 employees, it said. An environment that did not fully coincide with the vision of the Bern location, as the agency writes. However, even though Mutoco is not part of Hinderling Volkart, the two agencies will remain in partnership.