eBoy

For the fashion sub-culture, see E-boy. For the TV series, see E-Boy (TV series).
eBoy
FormationMay 2, 1997 (1997-05-02)
Founders
  • Kai Vermehr
  • Steffen Sauerteig
  • Svend Smital
TypePixel art studio
HeadquartersBerlin and Los Angeles
Websiteeboy.com

eBoy is a pixel art studio founded in 1997 by Kai Vermehr, Steffen Sauerteig, and Svend Smital.[1] It is based in Berlin and Los Angeles.[2] The studio's 8-bit-style work draws on popular culture and commercial imagery,[1] rendered as three-dimensional isometric illustrations[3] of cityscapes populated with robots, cars, and topless women.[1]

eBoy has attracted a following among graphic designers.[4][1] Design critic Steven Heller compared them to "what Roy Lichtenstein was to Ben-Day dots and comics."[1] Their illustrations have been reproduced as posters, shirts, and souvenirs, and exhibited in galleries.[4]

Background

Sauerteig and Smital grew up within blocks of each other in East Berlin and met as teenagers.[1] Neither had access to video games or computers; they learned about Western culture from John Peel's radio programs and punk shows staged in churches.[1] Sauerteig took part in the Leipzig demonstrations that preceded the fall of the Berlin Wall, and later studied video arts at the Berlin Institute of Design.[1] Smital studied typography and magazine design at the same school.[1]

Vermehr was born in Germany and raised in Venezuela and Guatemala, where his father worked in pharmaceuticals.[1] He grew up with Apple II computers but felt culturally isolated, and moved to Berlin after finishing school.[1] He studied design in Cologne and later joined MetaDesign, where he met Sauerteig, then a student intern, in 1994.[1] They began publishing pixel art on a website after Sauerteig graduated in 1996, and brought Smital in soon after to form eBoy.[1] Earlier work had been distributed on floppy disks passed among friends.[5]

The studio's work is inspired by "shopping, supermarkets, TV, toy commercials, LEGO, computer games, the news, magazines".[6] Vermehr has also cited the picture books of Ali Mitgutsch as an influence.[5]

Process

Vermehr began experimenting with pixel art in the mid-1990s because digital images could be reproduced without any loss in quality.[1] The studio works within an 8-bit style but rejects the retro label; Vermehr has called the association "a very common misconception," saying the choice was technical rather than nostalgic.[1] Sauerteig has said the medium appeals because "you are forced to simplify and abstract things."[4]

The studio maintains a shared database of more than 5,000 modular elements, accumulated over its history and recombined for each new project.[1] A detailed cityscape takes roughly six to eight weeks of full-time work by all three members.[4]

Collaborations

eBoy's first major commission was a Pac-Man-style online game for MTV's Spring Break website in 1998.[1] The studio has since worked with Adidas,[7] Adobe,[8] Bungalow Records,[9] Coca-Cola,[1] DKNY,[10] FontShop,[1] Gola,[11] Honda,[8] Kidrobot,[1] Louis Vuitton,[12] MTV,[1] the New York Times,[1] Nike,[8] Paul Smith,[7] and Xbox.[1]

They designed the album covers for Groove Armada's Soundboy Rock (2007),[13] Yuzu's YUZUTOWN (2020),[2] and the Wombats' Fix Yourself, Not the World (2022).[14]

Pixoramas

The studio's largest works are Pixoramas, detailed isometric cityscapes that can take more than 1,000 hours to assemble.[15] The studio has produced more than 20 since 1998,[1] including:

A selection was published as a book in 2008.[17]

Exhibitions

Year Title Venue Ref.
1999 Game Over Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, Switzerland
2000 Expo 2000 World's Fair, Hanover, Germany
2002 postscript Künstlerhaus, Vienna, Austria
2002 the book and the exhibition Magma, Clerkenwell, London [18]
2002 I love to meet you new graphic design, Venice, Italy [19]
2003 Super, Welcome to Graphic Wonderland Festival of Posters, Chaumont, France
2003 GraficEurope Pan-European Graphic Design Conference, Barcelona, Spain
2003 8th International Design Conference Typo 2003, Berlin, Germany [20]
2004 Paul Smith – eBoy IDEE shop, Tokyo, Japan
2004 Pixelesque Maxalot, Barcelona, Spain [21]
2004 Superbroncobattle Minuco Underground Gallery, Clerkenwell, London
2004 Mural design to be built with LEGO bricks on student wall MIT, Boston, USA
2004 Tokyo Designers Block, Tokyo, Japan
2005 CR9, Madrid, Spain
2006 BUILDING SPACE CTM, Berlin, Germany
2006 Todaysart Festival Nederlands Muziek Instituut, The Hague, Netherlands
2006 Play Typo 2006, Berlin, Germany [22]
2007 Hello Tokyo artbits, Vienna, Austria [23]
2007 The Digital Aesthetic 2 Digital Aesthetic 2, Lancashire, UK [24]
2007 Happy Living Museum of Tomorrow (MOT), Taipei, Taiwan
2007 Todaysart Festival, The Hague, Netherlands
2008 eBoy LA Concrete Hermit Gallery, London [25][26]
2008 Pluto Festival, Brussels, Belgium
2008 Vertrautes Terrain ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany [27]
2009 Pixorama ROJO artspace, Barcelona, Spain [28]
2009 Centre Design Marseille, France [29]
2009 Exhibition and workshop Nave, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2009 Since, Paris, France [30]
2009 Pixorama We Love Asbaek (ROJO artspace), Copenhagen, Denmark [28]
2009 Pixorama Milk (ROJO artspace), Istanbul, Turkey [28]
2011 DC Gallery, Seattle, USA
2011 madformacs, Barcelona, Spain
2011 OFFF, Barcelona, Spain [31]
2012 De Sein: German Graphic Design from Postwar to Present BODW, Hong Kong
2013 Save Point Floating World Comics, Portland, USA [32]
2013 Berlin Graphic Days Kater Holzig, Berlin, Germany
2013 Drones of New York Museum of the Moving Image, Astoria, New York [33]
2014 Digital Revolution Barbican Centre, London [34]
2017 64 Bits Here East, London [35]
2017 Upstream Music Fest Pioneer Square, Seattle, USA

Publications

  • eBoy (2002). HELLO. London: Laurence King. ISBN 978-1-85669-303-5.
  • eBoy (2008). Pixorama. Berlin: eBoy. ISBN 978-3-00-025838-1.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Toor, Amar (17 June 2014). "Pixel Perfect: The Story of eBoy". The Verge. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  2. ^ a b "J-Pop Duo Yuzu Announces New Album, 'YUZUTOWN': See Trailer". Billboard.
  3. ^ Blackwell, Alan (31 December 2005). "Visual Representation". The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction (2nd ed.). Interaction Design Foundation. ISBN 978-1-59140-798-0. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d Ward, Shane (17 June 2007). "eBoy". Format Mag. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2008.
  5. ^ a b Reichstetter, Louisa (4 March 2008). "eBoy: Berlin's 'Godfathers of Pixel'". Cafébabel. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  6. ^ Fraser, Tom; Banks, Adam (2004). Designer's Color Manual: The Complete Guide to Color Theory and Application. Chronicle Books. p. 152. ISBN 978-0-8118-4210-5.
  7. ^ a b c d e "eBoy". Creative Bloq. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  8. ^ a b c Raffe, Jon. "Pixel Nudity with eBoy". Thunder Chunky. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  9. ^ "Bungalow Poptics". Poptics. 10 October 2000. Archived from the original on 10 October 2000. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d e f "Discover eBoy, the 90s net art collective that inspired Comme des Garçons". i-D. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  11. ^ "Gola by eBoy 2009 Spring/Summer Footwear Preview". Hypebeast. 3 December 2008.
  12. ^ "Louis 200". Louis Vuitton. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021.
  13. ^ Fairs, Marcus (23 May 2007). "eBoy for Groove Armada". Dezeen. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  14. ^ Krol, Charlotte (16 August 2021). "The Wombats announce new album 'Fix Yourself, Not The World' and UK arena tour dates". NME. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Digital Art Collective eBoy Is Making a Hyper-Detailed 'Pixorama' Pixel Art Illustration of San Francisco". Laughing Squid. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  16. ^ "eBoy is making a San Francisco Pixel Poster". Boing Boing. 21 January 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  17. ^ eBoy (2008). Pixorama. Berlin: eBoy. ISBN 978-3-00-025838-1.
  18. ^ "eBoy 'SuperBroncoBattle'". Minuco. Archived from the original on 23 February 2010.
  19. ^ "Vasi Comunicanti". SHIFT.
  20. ^ "eBoy". TYPO Talks.
  21. ^ "eBoy Exhibition "Pixelesque"". SHIFT.
  22. ^ "Wer kommt denn nun zur Typo Berlin 2006?" [Who is coming to Typo Berlin 2006?]. Slanted (in German).
  23. ^ ""Tokyo", Ausstellung von eBoy" ["Tokyo", exhibition by eBoy]. Artbits (in German).
  24. ^ "Digital Aesthetic 2". Digicult. 24 March 2007.
  25. ^ "eBoy - LA - Exhibition at Concrete Hermit in London". ArtRabbit.
  26. ^ "eBoy LA". Concrete Hermit. Archived from the original on 28 December 2009.
  27. ^ "Vertrautes Terrain". e-flux.
  28. ^ a b c "eBoy – Pixorama". Exibart (in Italian). Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  29. ^ "Marseille : les stars du pixel art, les eBoy, exposent au Pavillon M" [Marseille: The stars of pixel art, eBoy, exhibit at Pavillon M]. Destimed (in French). 19 September 2013.
  30. ^ "eBoy - Pixorama @ Since Upian Artspace - Paris - Opening". Guillotine.
  31. ^ Quaranta, Domenico (2011). "OFFF 2011. Year Zero, In Which Sense?". Digicult. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  32. ^ "Save Point". Portland Mercury. 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  33. ^ "Drones of New York Imagines Drone Art, Not Drone Doom". The Creators Project. Vice. 4 February 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  34. ^ "Join the Digital Revolution". Topshop. July 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  35. ^ "64 Bits Exhibition: A Journey into the Web's Lost Past". Flux Magazine. 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
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