2024 has been a year of significant change for us at Pixelmatters — maybe the most disruptive year we’ve ever had. In this other blog post, I dive deep into all of those changes.

I believe that any significant operational or organizational change is destined to fail if not accompanied by a change in the most important non-tangible asset a company has: its culture.

What worked for us in the last 10 years may no longer work in the next 10. As we navigate this new phase, we’ve taken the opportunity to re-evaluate who we are and what we stand for. And at the core of it all is our culture — because at Pixelmatters, culture isn’t just a buzzword. It’s a living, breathing part of everything we do.

That’s why we’ve updated our cultural heuristics to better reflect the company we are today, and more importantly, the company we want to be. These principles will guide us as we move forward, staying true to what makes Pixelmatters special, while pushing us to be even better.

So… why do we exist?

The Web didn’t look nice in 2013. It worked, but that was pretty much it. Design was yet to have a seat at the table. But things were changing.

Internet and technology evolution have broken all geographic barriers. World-class work could now be done from anywhere, even by random folks from a small country like Portugal 🇵🇹 where for a long time people thought we couldn’t be as great as others. Turns out, we can. And we are.

We wished for a world where a great user experience is the norm, not the exception. We’re now an active part of that change. You are part of that change.

Our work is not only supposed to be good: it’s supposed to be great. Almost as if you could taste it. That’s why the main sentence on our first website was “If you think bacon is delicious, wait until you see our work”. Maybe we should use that tagline again? 🥓

We believe that being meticulous with every detail reflects our love for the craft. And that’s what separates good from great. Because at Pixelmatters, good is not good enough.

Fast forward to today and the Web looks much better. We’ve been inspired by many and tried to inspire many more. We’ve built an incredible team, culture and a bunch of great products.

If there’s something we learned from the journey so far and loving what we do, is that we empower businesses to achieve their full potential by creating top-quality digital products while fostering great relationships along the way. ✨

What do we stand for today?

We’re committed to being a company where different personalities and backgrounds unite for the love for the craft and work together towards building great products and relationships.

We want to empower and enable talent to prosper, by giving everyone the right tools for growth opportunities and well-being.

We act like a Pro sports team, not as a family, and are built by and for A-players.

Exceptional people who are truly dedicated to their craft often do things differently — they are more interested in doing great work than fitting in. Pixelmatters is the place where we do great work and fit in.

We’re makers

• Craftsmanship. Deeply care about every detail of our work.

• The 1%. World-class quality is the standard.

• Pride. Be glad to say "I’ve done this!"

• Maverick. Cherish moving away from the status quo.

• Partnership. Work with our clients, not for them.

• Long-term. Embrace and love the journey, it is as important as the final result.

We’re passionate

• Authenticity. Be who you are. Just like it is.

• High Agency. Don't wait, move forward.

• Resilience. In every challenge an opportunity, not a burden.

• ∞ Learning. Be inspired and grow along.

• Accountability. Deliver on our promises.

• Openness. Value receiving and providing constructive feedback.

We’re demanding

• Bias towards action. Make it happen instead of endlessly planning.

• Merit. Talent and hard work above theory and hierarchies.

• Positivity. Have fun, otherwise it's not worth it.

• Transparency. Share whenever possible, even if it feels too soon.

• It’s just work. Family, health, and well-being, always, always come first.

• Ego-free. In a healthy competition only with ourselves, not with anyone else.

• Vulnerability. Mistakes happen. Owning and growing from them only builds trust.

• Determination. Easy decisions, hard life. Hard decisions, easy life.

Moving forward

As we step into the future, our commitment to these values and way of thinking will continue to guide us. We’re building a company that doesn’t just talk about values but lives them. Every project we take on, every client we work with, and every person on our team plays a part on this.

We’re not here to be average.

We’re here to be great.

Because good is not good enough.

Preparing Pixelmatters for its next decade

Over the past couple of months, we’ve been implementing some structural changes at Pixelmatters. Here's why.

www.pixelmatters.com