Marcus Richards
We are Pixelfish, a brand and sustainable web design studio based in Bristol. We believe that great work comes from great working relationships.
For us, pleasure comes from working with different types of people – getting to know them and their world and having a positive impact on their life. That’s why we’ve been doing what we do since 2009.
We value the process as much as the outcome. From working out what you need and designing it to building the site and managing it on an on-going basis. It isn’t complex, but it takes genuine care and consideration.
We’re multiple winners of web design awards from Awwwards, FWA Awards and CSS Design Awards.
Tell us about yourself?
I have a background in Graphic Design, graduating from the Arts University Bournemouth in the late noughties. I immediately set up Pixelfish with a fellow graduate where we worked together for a couple of years. Once my original business partner left the business, I relocated Pixelfish to Bristol, which is where it’s still based to this day.
I’ve always had a love of the arts and design. Couple this with my interest in business and being self employed, it was an inevitably I would start up my own design agency!
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
Be positive and action decisions. In my experience a decision and action to do something is almost always better than inaction and indecision. If you want to go and achieve something, it’s entirely down to you going out there and doing your best to make it happen. No one else is going to do it for you.
What problem does your business solve?
We are a brand and sustainable web design studio. We help create and evolve businesses and organisations brands and marketing messages.
We are also part of the movement to help lower the impact websites have on the environment, reducing their energy usage and carbon footprint. This all comes down to well informed sustainable web design.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
My business was inspired by my love of design and relationships with all manner of people. Pixelfish has become the perfect platform for me to personally pursue both of these. Over the last 13 years we have worked on projects we are incredibly proud of, partnering with some extraordinary people.
What is your magic sauce?
It comes down to our ability to listen, understand and collaborate. We want you to feel that we’re a virtual extension to your team, a safe pair of hands, and a trusted partner. Sprinkle that with our industry leading design and you have a good dose of magic sauce!
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
I want to continue to push both the creative quality of our work, striving to learn new skills and create more engaging pieces of work. I also want Pixelfish to be an industry leading company to work for, one that facilitates a positive, rewarding work environment with a well judged work/life balance.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
The biggest challenge always revolves around new business. As a business that relies predominately on project based work, it makes it a real challenge to get the right balance of work coming in each month. We’ve managed it for 13 years but that pressure never fully goes away!
How do people get involved/buy into your vision?
We are on a mission to help make the web a more sustainable place. If you have a business and organisation but are not sure where to even start when it comes to a sustainable web, get in touch and we can help guide you through that journey.
