MS Studio

What MS Studio does

MS Studio is the personal creative practice of Manuel Schmalstieg, a Swiss-based independent web developer, designer, and educator operating as a sole proprietorship out of Switzerland. The studio delivers custom web design and development services — primarily on WordPress CMS — to artists, cultural organizations, festivals, and heritage projects (e.g., Catalogue-Lumiere.com, a metadata database for 1,428 Lumière company films from 1895-1905). Beyond client services, MS Studio produces audiovisual art installations (MetaDrive, Kinetoscope, Low-Rez Stories), editorial publications via the Greyscale Press imprint, and collaborative books such as 'VJing – by 375 Wikipedians' and 'The Interview Project'.

The underlying technology stack is WordPress CMS combined with open-source web technologies, including Markdown/Jekyll for documentation systems (notably Atlas, an open-source training-plan management system developed for the Interactive Media Designer program at eracom Lausanne). The studio's product surface is therefore a portfolio of bespoke web projects and art installations rather than a unified, scalable software product.

The business model is direct freelance services: project-based web design/development engagements billed to clients, supplemented by teaching income from recurring positions at Swiss art academies (Eracom Lausanne, EAA La Chaux-de-Fonds, HE-Arc Neuchâtel, HEAD Geneva) and occasional workshops and conference talks. Go-to-market is community-driven — WordCamp participation, meetups, and content publishing on ms-studio.net — targeting two primary segments: educational institutions (primary) and artists/cultural organizations (secondary). No pricing is publicly disclosed, there are no funding rounds, no employees beyond the founder, and no institutional ownership.

Name

MS Studio

Legal name

MS Studio

Website

https://ms-studio.net

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

MS Studio is the Swiss-based sole proprietorship of Manuel Schmalstieg, offering WordPress web design, audiovisual art installations, and editorial publishing, while teaching open-source web technologies at Swiss art academies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Web Design Services

NAICS

Other Specialized Design Services (54149), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (71151), Sound Recording Studios (51224)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Content Studio & Creative Resourcing (In-house/Embedded Teams) (BPAFAIAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Audiobook Self-Publishing & Production Services (Narration, Studio, ACX-style) (MPAJAJAJ)

Keywords

• Web design services
• WordPress development
• Audiovisual installations
• Typography publishing
• Open source education

Headquarters

HQ city

Switzerland

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Web Development Services: Custom web design and development services for clients including artists, cultural organizations, and educational institutions

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

MS Studio is a sole-proprietor creative practice run by Manuel Schmalstieg in Switzerland, delivering custom website design and development (primarily on WordPress), interactive audiovisual art installations, and educational workshops on open-source web technologies. The studio also operates the Greyscale Press experimental publishing project, producing digital and print editorial hybrids for cultural and creative audiences.

Product overview

MS Studio is the personal creative studio of Manuel Schmalstieg, a Swiss web developer and designer based in Switzerland. The offering consists of a portfolio documenting audiovisual art installations (MetaDrive, Kinetoscope, Low-Rez Stories), web design services using primarily WordPress, and editorial projects through Greyscale Press. The studio also produces publications including The Interview Project and collaborative books. Educational activities include workshops and teaching at institutions like Eracom Lausanne and HE-Arc. Rather than a unified software product, MS Studio represents a collection of creative and technical projects across web design, audiovisual art, and publishing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Web Design Services

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Manual: Creative digital agency working with cultural, publishing, and institutional clients on brand and digital experiences. Comparable in the cultural/institutional client mix and design-led approach, though operating at agency scale.
• Pentagram: Global, partner-led design firm with cultural-sector clients and strong identity/design orientation. Represents the scaled incumbent that boutique cultural-sector design studios often feed into or compete against at the top end.
• Hello Monday / DEPT®: Creative digital agency with deep experience in design-led web projects for cultural and institutional clients. Broader, agency-scale operation that competes for the same kind of bespoke cultural-sector web work.

Direct peers

• Studio Drift: Dutch art studio creating audiovisual, kinetic, and digital installations for cultural institutions and festivals. Comparable to MS Studio's audiovisual installation output, though at materially larger scale and gallery reach.
• Resn: New Zealand creative web studio known for experimental, design-led websites with strong audiovisual and interactive components. Comparable in its combination of web design craft with creative/artistic experimentation for cultural and brand clients.
• Active Theory: Los Angeles-based creative web and immersive experience studio. Comparable in the integration of web design with audiovisual/interactive installations, though at significantly larger scale.
• Random International: Art studio producing large-scale audiovisual and interactive installations shown at museums and festivals. Directly comparable to MS Studio's MetaDrive and Kinetoscope work for NIFFF in terms of audiovisual installation practice.
• Bureau Cool: Netherlands-based design studio serving cultural, public-sector, and creative clients with bespoke web and editorial design. Highly comparable in terms of boutique scale, cultural-sector focus, and emphasis on distinctive typography and open-source tooling.

Regional players

• Bureau Borsche: Munich-based independent design studio with strong typography and editorial orientation, working with cultural and publishing clients. Comparable in the design-plus-publishing orientation and European cultural-sector client base.
• Frank & Pat: Swiss web design and development studio serving cultural and creative clients in the same Swiss/European market. Closest geographic and scale peer, competing for similar boutique web design work in Switzerland.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/manuel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ms-studio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 MS Studio