What Raffinerie does

Raffinerie AG für Gestaltung is a Zurich-based, founder-controlled graphic design agency operating since 2000 as a boutique studio of 14 people serving cultural institutions, corporations, NGOs, and consumer brands across Switzerland and select international markets. Its service offering spans four pillars — Identity (workshops, brand architecture, naming, positioning, logos, visual systems, signage, packaging, CI manuals), Digital (UX, prototyping, UI realization, motion design), Editorial (content creation, art direction, layout and production), and Campaign (visuals, posters, social media assets, exhibition design) — delivered through a direct, relationship-driven enterprise sales motion. Revenue is generated as professional services fees from project-based engagements; pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated per project, with the agency explicitly positioning itself as 'not too big, not too small, not too corporate.'

The studio's underlying technology stack is conventional and non-proprietary: Craft CMS for the website, MailChimp for newsletter distribution, Google Analytics for traffic analysis, and Vimeo for video embedding, with technical development outsourced to Furbo GmbH. There are no AI/ML models, proprietary platforms, or patents; value creation is human-craft-driven and award-validated. The agency has accumulated a portfolio of 45+ named clients including Schauspielhaus Zürich, Kunsthaus Zürich, ON Running, Swiss International Airlines (SWISS Magazine, 180 issues over 20 years), Zürcher Kantonalbank, Lenz & Staehelin, Greenpeace, Swiss Life, Helsana, Fondation Beyeler, and Theater Basel, with several relationships spanning more than a decade.

Ownership rests with founder Reto Ehrbar (Creative Director/Owner/Board Member) alongside Creative Director Christian Haas and Senior Art Director Daria Lötscher on the board; no external PE, VC, or institutional funding is recorded, and revenue is not publicly disclosed. Marketing is portfolio-led via raffinerie.com and curated social channels, and the agency marks its 25th anniversary (2024–2025) with the launch of echo.raffinerie, a virtual archive of curated historical work that doubles as brand asset and inbound lead-generation tool.

Name

Raffinerie

Legal name

Raffinerie AG für Gestaltung

Website

https://raffinerie.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Raffinerie AG für Gestaltung is a Zurich-based, founder-owned graphic design agency of 14 people, founded in 2000, serving cultural institutions, banks, law firms, NGOs, and consumer brands with branding, digital, editorial, and campaign design across the Swiss and DACH markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Graphic Design and Branding Services

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (54143), Advertising Agencies (541810), Indoor and Outdoor Display Advertising (54185)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Packaging & Brand Identity Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental & Experiential Brand Design (Retail/Exhibit/Signage) (MPAAAEAG), Exhibition, Retail & Experiential Design (BPAHAKAL)

Keywords

• Brand identity design
• Editorial design services
• Corporate branding agency
• Visual communication design
• Graphic design services

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Design and Branding Services: Professional services revenue generated from providing identity workshops, brand architecture, naming, positioning, logo design, visual systems, signage, packaging, editorial design, digital design (UX/UI, motion), campaign design, and exhibition design services to cultural institutions, corporations, NGOs, and other organizations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Raffinerie AG für Gestaltung is a Zurich-based boutique graphic design agency offering identity services (workshops, brand architecture, naming, positioning, logo design, visual systems, signage, packaging, CI manuals), digital services (UX/UI design, prototyping, motion design), editorial services (content creation, art direction, layout and production for magazines, books, annual reports), and campaign services (visuals, posters, social media assets, exhibition design). The agency serves cultural institutions, corporations, NGOs, and lifestyle brands across German-speaking Switzerland and Europe.

Product overview

Raffinerie is a Zurich-based graphic design agency offering a comprehensive suite of services organized into four main categories: Identity services (workshops, brand architecture, naming, positioning, brandstory, logodesign, visual systems, brand worlds, signage, packaging, CI manuals); Digital services (UX design, prototyping, UI design and realization, motion design); Editorial services (content creation, art direction, layout and production); and Campaign services (visuals, posters, social media assets, exhibition design). The agency specializes in culture, art, business, and NGO sectors, operating across digital, analogue, and three-dimensional mediums. Their portfolio includes notable projects for clients such as ON running (corporate identity), Swiss Life (pension study visualizations), WWF (quarterly magazine since 2009), Kunsthaus Zürich (social media campaign), and various Swiss cultural institutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Identity Services A suite of brand identity services including identity workshops, brand architecture, naming, positioning, brandstory development, logo design, visual systems, brand worlds, signage design, packaging design, and CI manuals. Targeted at organizations seeking to define, articulate, and codify their brand strategy and visual language.
• Digital Design Services User experience design, prototyping, UI design and realization for websites and digital applications, and motion design including animated graphics, video content, and motion graphics for digital and broadcast media. Targeted at organizations developing digital products and digital brand experiences.
• Editorial Design Services Content creation, art direction, and editorial layout and production for print and digital publications including magazines, books, and annual reports. Targeted at publishers, corporations, NGOs, and cultural institutions producing editorial content.
• Campaign and Exhibition Design Services Visual communication design for marketing and advertising campaigns, poster campaigns, social media assets for digital marketing, and design of exhibition spaces, installations, and displays for museums and events. Targeted at cultural institutions and brands running marketing campaigns and exhibitions.
• echo.raffinerie A virtual archive platform launched for the studio's 25th anniversary, showcasing curated works from Raffinerie's 25-year history and presenting the creative process behind diverse projects from concept to final execution. Available at echo.raffinerie.com.

Quantifiable outcome

• Swiss Running brand ON grew from a small startup to a world-renowned global brand with Raffinerie's corporate identity (logo, lettering, imagery, packaging, point-of-sale).
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• MetaDesign: Berlin-based global brand design consultancy with much larger scale. Operates in the same identity, editorial, and digital design space as Raffinerie but at significantly greater capacity and broader international reach.
• Jung von Matt: Major Hamburg-headquartered creative agency network with Swiss offices. Competes for many of the same premium brand and cultural clients as Raffinerie but offers full advertising, digital and brand capabilities at much larger scale.
• Pentagram: Global partner-led design consultancy with strong cultural-institution and corporate identity credentials. Comparable on craft-led, partner-driven boutique identity work but operates at much larger international scale than Raffinerie.
• Landor & Fitch: Global brand consulting and design firm serving many of the same enterprise verticals (finance, museums, retail, hospitality). Overlaps on identity and brand systems but operates at substantially larger scale than Raffinerie's boutique model.
• Serviceplan Group: Europe's largest independent agency group, headquartered in Munich. Overlaps with Raffinerie on brand design and corporate communications but operates a far broader integrated communications offering across multiple geographies.

Direct peers

• Studio Achermann: Swiss graphic design studio that has explicitly collaborated with Raffinerie on Schauspielhaus Zürich identity work. Operates in the same Zurich-based boutique design segment serving cultural institutions with comparable identity and editorial capabilities.
• KMS Team: Munich-based independent brand and design agency working across identity, editorial, packaging and digital. Closely matches Raffinerie's mid-sized boutique positioning and service breadth serving premium enterprise clients.
• Martin et Karczinski: Munich-based brand design consultancy with similar size and premium positioning to Raffinerie. Overlaps on brand strategy, identity systems, editorial design, and corporate communications for cultural and enterprise clients in the German-speaking market.
• Bureau Borsche: Munich-based independent brand and graphic design agency known for cultural and corporate identity work, magazine design and editorial systems. Directly comparable to Raffinerie on boutique scale, identity-plus-editorial service mix, and German-speaking cultural institution clientele.
• Strichpunkt: Stuttgart-based brand and corporate design agency with strong DACH-region cultural and enterprise clients. Comparable on multi-disciplinary brand identity, editorial design, and corporate communications work for premium clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/raffinerieag
• Instagraminstagram.com/raffinerie_ag

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Raffinerie