Pixel Parlor is 10!
This is a story of how an exciting freelance moniker becomes a thriving Woman-Owned Certified B-Corp business, how a creative partnership emerges from a marriage and evolves into a growing team of thoughtful, daring creatives, how it’s possible for a business to do well and do good, and how to be unusual in a world where “business as usual” is killing us. This is our story. We’d love to tell yours.
2004
- Andrew Nicholas creates Pixel Parlor as a freelance moniker and launches pixelparlor.com
- Pixel Parlor produces designs for Cartoon Network, The Whitney Museum, and others.
2011
- Pixel Parlor relocates from New York City to Philadelphia for a little extra space and a bit more free time.
2012
- March: Pixel Parlor incorporates as an LLC with a strong initial focus on education and summer camps.
- June: Jenn Richey Nicholas joins as Partner and Creative Director.
Jenn and Andrew transform their spare bedroom in their Northern Liberties apartment into Pixel Parlor’s proto-headquarters. - Jenn designs the first Annual Report for The END Fund.
2013
- May: Pixel Parlor finds its first home away from home. Jenn and Andrew share a studio space in Northern Liberties with sustainable architecture studio Bright Common.
- Pixel Parlor designs the logo of local sustainable architecture studio (and shared office mate) Bright Common, which they still use to this day.
- Action! IFC Films reaches out to us to start producing digital marketing materials
- Jenn and Andrew have their first baby, Pike.
2014
- February: Pixel Parlor’s digital team attends WordCamp Lancaster, a locally-organized conference.
- November: Pixel Parlor becomes a Certified B Corp. With the help of B Corp consultant we realized that our existing practices met the rigorous standards for certification. Apparently, we were doing business like a B Corp without knowing it. Our initial certification also solidified a commitment to improve our business practices and impact every year moving forward.
2015
- Pixel Parlor boldly tests the boundaries of coziness by moving into a 350 ft2 space in Fishtown’s 2424 Studios (Suite # 215) as the team grows into a bustling septet.
- November: The digital team attends the inaugural WordCamp US national conference in Philadelphia
2016
- May: Jenn and Andrew have another baby, Aero.
- August: Paymo, a work management software company, features our quickly growing business in a video filmed by Shine Creative that features classic Philly murals and local spots.
2017
- Awarded B Corp Best For The World: Changemakers by committing to doing better for people, planet and profit. We were able to achieve this huge accolade by finding amazing collaborative partners, clients, and team members.
- Completed Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, an intensive small business learning experience that fuels sustainable growth.
- May: We outgrow our office and find a new home in 2424 Studios (Suite #235) with more space for our expanding creative team.
- We unveil our fresh new logo design.
- We integrate a robust HR platform to make it easier for our team to access their employee benefits so everyone, including Jenn and Andrew, can spend more time creating beautiful and functional design products for clients.
2018
- Entrepreneurs’ Forum of Greater Philadelphia awards Pixel Parlor a Philadelphia 100 Award Winner for fastest growing independent business in Philadelphia.
- We win B Corp Best For The World: Changemakers for the 2nd straight year even as B Corp continues to increase their standards.
- PXP launches current iteration of pixelparlor.com
2019
- For the third year in a row, we are recognized as a B Corp Best For The World: Changemaker.
- February: Andrew speaks to design entrepreneur students as a guest lecturer at Rutgers-Camden.
- Xiyan Zhang becomes our studio mate and in-house counsel
- We attend the Arts and Business Council Designing Leadership course, a professional development program for creative business professionals in leadership roles.
- December: PXP keeps growing and so does our work space. We move to an even bigger studio space in 2424 Studios (Suite #222).
- After years of making websites, we discover that all websites require a writer and we commit to a content-first design approach that amps up how we align our written and visual content strategy to help our clients tell compelling stories.
2020
- March: PXP adjusts to working remotely because of global…well, you know why.
- Jenn joins the Board of Directors of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia, a local nonprofit organization bringing together local independent business owners supporting each other to do well and do good.
- Families’ trips to the doctor get a lot more fun when AtlantiCare installs their Pixel Parlor-designed environmental graphic design for their pediatric wing and twinkle wall.
2021
- The next evolution of the studio takes shape as we announce Jenn as CEO and Andrew as COO.
- PXP becomes a Certified WBE (Women’s Business Enterprise). Who runs the world?
- Brand and Content Strategy become essential elements in our approach to design further cementing alignment of creative and strategy to help our clients inspire change.
- We formally started expanding our Experiential Design and Film teams to dedicate attention to growing specializations.
- Scrolly-moly! We design U3 Advisors digital holiday card.
- We begin a comprehensive branding and signage project for Great Valley Corporate Center that will reshape the visual landscape of a massive campus in Malvern.
- Years of dynamic project experience, intimate absorption of the whole “best laid plans” adage, and a celebration of the human element of collaboration inspires our “Scope Creep” T-Shirt design. Be a weirdo, get yours here!
2022
- January: We officially bring Brand and Content Strategy in-house.
- March: PXP celebrates its 10th anniversary!
- We reach official dream team status and start dreaming about the next ten years of creating great design for good.
This is our story. We’d love to tell yours.
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