Pascal Morgenthaler
Web Designer & Developer / Photographer / Co-Founder Pajurama Kreativagentur
Schwyz, CH
www.pajurama.com
instagram @pajurama
Q What do you do?
“I am the Web Designer and Web Developer of our Creative Agency. The easiest way to describe what I do is that I build websites for solo entrepreneurs, small businesses, and companies to showcase their business online.”
From the beginning, we took a holistic approach, meaning we do literally everything needed to create a finished, top-level professional website. We analyze your business to identify your strengths and selling points, then showcase those in the best, most authentic light on the website. This way, potential customers can immediately get the real vibe of your business, opening the possibility of connecting with them even before speaking to them. In our opinion, that’s what a good website does. It allows for an emotional connection with a complete stranger who has never seen or heard of you before but gets a feel for you and your business through the website. This makes it possible for a potential client to think, "Wow, that looks so good—if I ever need that service, I’ll go to this company."
We analyze the business to evoke those feelings and then create the design in a design program. We craft something unique and expressive, and since we custom program all sites in HTML and CSS, starting with a blank page, we have 100% freedom of design. We're not bound by the limitations of a template or framework. The design process begins with a mood board to explore the direction it could take, and the whole process is collaborative with the client. We always aim to create sites that 100% reflect the personality of a business, and for that, we need input from the client. Dialogue and collaboration are key.
After the design is finished, we program the site in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. We start on a blank page, writing all the code to precisely match the design and create an incredible website.
We also handle all the testing, SEO metadata, optimization, professional email setup, domain connection, and more.
The amazing thing is that we almost always offer a corresponding photography package to complement the website, providing professional, strong images that capture the essence of your business. This is fantastic because we can incorporate ideas for the website into the photoshoot, which my partner Juliana handles.
Make it stand out
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Q What steps did you take to get to where you are now?
I co-founded a creative agency with my girlfriend Juliana after we finished high school. We both graduated with a "Matura," which is the highest certificate you can get in Switzerland. About 20% of young adults attend these schools, and your grades have to be good to qualify. With a "Matura," you can attend any university you'd like, such as ETH or the University of Zurich. This is how most people do it. You typically attend this type of school if you're fairly certain you want to study at university or if you're unsure of your career path at age 15/16 and have the grades to get in. These schools essentially prepare you for university.
However, during the last two years of my time in school, I started reading a lot about philosophy, meditation, the power of belief, and studying successful people. Of course, I also came across the famous quote by Elon Musk: "Don't confuse education with schooling. I didn't go to Harvard, but the people who work for me did." Anyway, a strong belief formed within me that no matter what I want to do in life, if I follow my passions and do what I love, I can be successful. This belief became so strong by the end of school that I was 100% sure I didn’t want to continue for another 3 years to get a bachelor's degree or potentially 5 years with a master's.
Right after finishing school at 20 years old, I started working and did some civil service in environmental protection, as every adult male in Switzerland must either serve in the military or complete civil service. A few months after graduating, I met Juliana. She shares the same spirit as I do. The only thing she would have studied was music, but let’s be honest, to become a successful musician, university is the last place you need to be. 😅 So, we decided to follow our passions and see where they would take us. It was a courageous decision, and really not common in Switzerland.
We both loved photography from a young age, so we started an Instagram account called Pajurama and began taking pictures like crazy. About a year later, I stumbled upon a website during a weekend free course and instantly fell in love with web development. I took my first 2-month HTML and CSS course, followed by a 50-hour JavaScript course (which I'm halfway through), the Shopify Design Course from ilovecreatives, and countless YouTube tutorials, Stack Overflow articles, and CodePens to reach my current skill level. Juliana, on the other hand, specialized in photo editing.
Q How do you stand out in your field?
We stand out with our unique, creative mindset and style. Our own website reflects that quite well. Most big creative agencies in Switzerland have amazing websites in a modern way—lots of black, big sans-serif fonts, cool animations, and minimalism with web flow elements. We went in the opposite direction: crazy layouts, playful, unique, expressive designs, and lots of images—really showcasing our two souls.
We also emphasize personality. We believe in human beings. Even the CEO of a big company is a human being and should be treated as such. Of course, it’s about business, but it’s the human beings behind the business that drive it, often motivated by a great idea or passion that led to the business being founded. We focus on the personal level. Many of our clients tell us that, besides our web and photography services, we’ve kind of acted as coaches for them during collaborative Zoom meetings. Sometimes, they come with insecurities, and we end up discussing their dreams, goals, and the impact certain decisions could have on those goals. We help them decide whether to start offering this or that service, and we’re always there for our clients, philosophizing about these sometimes deep questions that don’t have much to do with web or photography.
We are kind and loving to all people, and that reflects in our work. We’re happy, laugh a lot, and bring a positive, enthusiastic energy to our projects.
Q What are you working on right now?
I just finished the last three websites that were on my plate, and now I finally have time to complete Section 5 of the Shopify Course and work on this creative profile. I also want to jump back into my JavaScript course and then acquire the next amazing website project.
Q What’s your style?
I believe our pajurama.com website really showcases my style and taste. However, I have to say that regarding design, I don’t really have a single style that I love the most. I feel a little like a chameleon. I can look at an all-black-and-white Webflow website and think, "Wow, that is amazing!" and then look at a site from Megumi and be stunned. I appreciate many of the websites I see and always feel the desire to create the best design that fits my clients' industries.
But when it comes to my personal style and who I am, the pajurama.com site represents that pretty well.
Q Out of all your slashies, which one do you wish you could do more often?
JavaScript. I want to be able to create crazy animations. I love that. As well as Color Grading. I love Cinematography and when I see a movie of Andreas Hem I feel like I wish I could color grade like this guy.
Q What is frustrating you right now?
At the moment, it’s accounting. In the beginning of the year, I booked all the invoices regularly each month, but now I’m three months behind. I know that the longer I wait, the longer the accounting session will be, haha.
Q If you could hire someone for $20/hour, what would you have them do to make your day easier?
That's a good question. I would probably have someone for accounting and also for developing websites. I feel like if I could focus on the design and have an employee who could help develop the sites, that would be amazing.
Q What do you wish you could have told yourself, when, and why?
Learn JavaScript three years ago.
Q If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
Maybe it would be looking into a bigger creative agency to see how they actually work, how processes roll and who does what and how long does it take, etc.
Q What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
In general, I’m looking for cool people who follow their dreams and whom we can support with amazing websites and photography, no matter the industry. I’m just looking for inspiring human beings who are on their path in life and creating something amazing for them that supports that.
Maybe thats online stores that convert for amazing small brands with a vibe—brands that have passion, vision, and aesthetic appeal. I want to see them make a profit, grow their brand, be successful, and achieve their dreams. Or I would also love to create websites for hotels with stunning imagery or for guitar stores or as I said for whatever comes my way that matches.
Q How should someone approach you about working together?
Q Who is a creative you admire?
Of course my girlfriend and business partner Juliana Schuler the photography part of pajurama. Tamara Heusser is an amazing Stylist and Make Up Artist.
Q Oh! and… how do you stay creative?
meditation, music, guitar, good food, nature, reading
This member profile was originally published in October 2024.