A studio of two, on purpose.
addedPIXELS is Yannick and Oliver. Two Computer Science graduates based in Manchester, building bespoke technical work for people who got tired of being told their problem didn't fit anyone's product.
We've been at it since 2014. We answer our own email.
One sunny afternoon
in April.
Oliver thought of a great domain that wasn't taken: addedpixels.com. That was, broadly, the business plan. We were both in the middle of Computer Science degrees, doing the kind of side-projects that quietly grew teeth.
We didn't go away to work for someone else first. We just started taking on jobs that needed both hardware know-how and software know-how, and slowly realised we'd accidentally built a studio.
The work is broader than it was. The number of us is the same. That's mostly deliberate.
The bits we refuse to compromise on.
These started as opinions and have become habits. They make us slightly slower in the kickoff and quite a lot faster everywhere else.
Built to scale
Whatever we build is designed to keep working when it's busy. Not as a bolt-on later. As a choice now.
Right tool for the job
No house-religion about a particular stack. We pick the language, the framework, and the hardware that fits the brief.
Platform-independent
Where it makes sense, we lean on web tech so it doesn't matter what device the user picks up. Operational flexibility is the goal.
Quick but considered
We move fast. We do not, however, ship the kind of speed that creates a problem in six months for someone else to clean up.
Whatever the brief actually needs.
No house religion about a language or framework. Below is what we actually use across active client work. The list grows as the work does.
Mobile
- Swift
- SwiftUI
- iOS / iPadOS
- Live Activities
- App Store
Web front-end
- JavaScript
- TypeScript
- Vanilla SPAs
- Tailwind
- Bootstrap 5
- Progressive enhancement
Server & APIs
- Python
- FastAPI
- Modern PHP 8
- REST & webhook integrations
Data
- MariaDB
- MySQL
- SQLite
- Redis
- Reporting pipelines
- PostgreSQL
Async & ops
- RabbitMQ
- Cron / scheduled jobs
- Docker & Compose
- Nginx
- Alpine Linux
Integrations
- Stripe (subs, intents, terminal)
- Twilio SMS
- OIDC / SSO
- Slack webhooks
- iCal feeds
- Apple Wallet
- NFC
Hardware
- DMX / sACN
- Art-Net
- Payment terminals
- Sensors & IoT rigs
The rest
- Whatever the brief actually needs
- No house religion
- Honest "this one's not us"
Two people. Two humans.
One of us will be the person you brief, write the code, climb the ladder, and email you back at half-ten on a Tuesday. The other one will probably be doing the same on a different project. We don't do hand-offs.
The one up the ladder. Codes stuff, makes it work, breaks it, fixes it. Has been known to staple CAT6 to brickwork. Doesn't apologise for that.
Writes the code, then quietly resents the fact it doesn't write itself yet. Has occasionally caught a large bundle of CAT6 mid-air and worn it like a lei.
Got something awkward to build?
Get in touch. We'll have a chat, work out whether what you actually need is a build, an opinion, or a polite "this one's not us". No funnel either way.
Get in touch →