{{Short description|German pixel art studio founded in 1997}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2026}} {{About||the fashion sub-culture|E-boy|the TV series|E-Boy (TV series){{!}}''E-Boy'' (TV series)}} {{lowercase title}} {{Infobox organization | name = eBoy | logo = EbOY logo 1998.png | image = Ecity-all-tm.jpg | image_alt = Isometric pixel art cityscape with a blue robot towering over colorful buildings, vehicles, and signage | caption = Ecity Pixorama, 1998 | formation = {{start date and age|1997|05|02}} | founders = {{Plainlist| * Kai Vermehr * Steffen Sauerteig * Svend Smital }} | type = Pixel art studio | headquarters = Berlin and Los Angeles | website = {{URL|eBoy.com}} }} '''eBoy''' is a pixel art studio founded in 1997 by Kai Vermehr, Steffen Sauerteig, and Svend Smital.<ref name="verge">{{cite web |last=Toor |first=Amar |title=Pixel Perfect: The Story of eBoy |url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/6/17/5803850/pixel-perfect-the-story-of-eboy |work=The Verge |date=17 June 2014 |access-date=1 February 2026}}</ref> It is based in Berlin and Los Angeles.<ref name="billboard">{{cite magazine |title=J-Pop Duo Yuzu Announces New Album, 'YUZUTOWN': See Trailer |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/japan-yuzu-new-album-yuzutown-watch-trailer-preview-8547688/ |magazine=Billboard}}</ref> The studio's 8-bit-style work draws on popular culture and commercial imagery,<ref name="verge" /> rendered as three-dimensional isometric illustrations<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Blackwell |first=Alan |author-link=Alan F. Blackwell |title=Visual Representation |url=https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/book/the-encyclopedia-of-human-computer-interaction-2nd-ed/visual-representation |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction |edition=2nd |publisher=Interaction Design Foundation |date=31 December 2005 |access-date=1 February 2026 |isbn=978-1-59140-798-0}}</ref> of cityscapes populated with robots, cars, and topless women.<ref name="verge" />
eBoy has attracted a following among graphic designers.<ref name="formatmag.com" /><ref name="verge" /> Design critic Steven Heller compared them to "what Roy Lichtenstein was to Ben-Day dots and comics."<ref name="verge" /> Their illustrations have been reproduced as posters, shirts, and souvenirs, and exhibited in galleries.<ref name="formatmag.com">{{cite web |last=Ward |first=Shane |title=eBoy |url=http://formatmag.com/art/eboy/ |website=Format Mag |date=17 June 2007 |access-date=28 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611151144/http://formatmag.com/art/eboy/ |archive-date=11 June 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Background== Sauerteig and Smital grew up within blocks of each other in East Berlin and met as teenagers.<ref name="verge" /> 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.<ref name="verge" /> 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.<ref name="verge" /> Smital studied typography and magazine design at the same school.<ref name="verge" />
Vermehr was born in Germany and raised in Venezuela and Guatemala, where his father worked in pharmaceuticals.<ref name="verge" /> He grew up with Apple II computers but felt culturally isolated, and moved to Berlin after finishing school.<ref name="verge" /> He studied design in Cologne and later joined MetaDesign, where he met Sauerteig, then a student intern, in 1994.<ref name="verge" /> They began publishing pixel art on a website after Sauerteig graduated in 1996, and brought Smital in soon after to form eBoy.<ref name="verge" /> Earlier work had been distributed on floppy disks passed among friends.<ref name="cafebabel" />
The studio's work is inspired by "shopping, supermarkets, TV, toy commercials, LEGO, computer games, the news, magazines".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fraser |first1=Tom |last2=Banks |first2=Adam |title=Designer's Color Manual: The Complete Guide to Color Theory and Application |publisher=Chronicle Books |date=2004 |isbn=978-0-8118-4210-5 |page=152}}</ref> Vermehr has also cited the picture books of Ali Mitgutsch as an influence.<ref name="cafebabel">{{cite web |last=Reichstetter |first=Louisa |title=eBoy: Berlin's 'Godfathers of Pixel' |url=https://cafebabel.com/en/article/eboy-berlins-godfathers-of-pixel-5ae006aaf723b35a145e0fcf/ |website=Cafébabel |date=4 March 2008 |access-date=1 February 2026}}</ref>
==Process== Vermehr began experimenting with pixel art in the mid-1990s because digital images could be reproduced without any loss in quality.<ref name="verge" /> 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.<ref name="verge" /> Sauerteig has said the medium appeals because "you are forced to simplify and abstract things."<ref name="formatmag.com" />
The studio maintains a shared database of more than 5,000 modular elements, accumulated over its history and recombined for each new project.<ref name="verge" /> A detailed cityscape takes roughly six to eight weeks of full-time work by all three members.<ref name="formatmag.com" />
==Collaborations== eBoy's first major commission was a Pac-Man-style online game for MTV's Spring Break website in 1998.<ref name="verge" /> The studio has since worked with Adidas,<ref name="creativebloq">{{cite web |title=eBoy |url=https://www.creativebloq.com/computer-arts/eboy-8118614 |work=Creative Bloq |date=4 August 2011 |access-date=1 February 2026}}</ref> Adobe,<ref name="thunderchunky">{{cite web |last=Raffe |first=Jon |title=Pixel Nudity with eBoy |url=https://www.thunderchunky.co.uk/articles/pixel-nudity-with-eboy/ |work=Thunder Chunky |access-date=1 February 2026}}</ref> Bungalow Records,<ref>{{cite web |title=Bungalow Poptics |url=http://www.poptics.com/ |website=Poptics |date=10 October 2000 |access-date=13 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001010120123/http://www.poptics.com/ |archive-date=10 October 2000 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Coca-Cola,<ref name="verge" /> DKNY,<ref name="id" /> FontShop,<ref name="verge" /> Gola,<ref>{{cite web |title=Gola by eBoy 2009 Spring/Summer Footwear Preview |url=https://hypebeast.com/2008/12/gola-by-eboy-2009-springsummer-footwear-preview |website=Hypebeast |date=3 December 2008}}</ref> Honda,<ref name="thunderchunky" /> Kidrobot,<ref name="verge" /> Louis Vuitton,<ref>{{cite web |title=Louis 200 |url=https://us.louisvuitton.com/eng-us/stories/louis-200#!/windows/132 |website=Louis Vuitton |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006191243/https://us.louisvuitton.com/eng-us/stories/louis-200#!/windows/132 |archive-date=6 October 2021}}</ref> MTV,<ref name="verge" /> the ''New York Times'',<ref name="verge" /> Nike,<ref name="thunderchunky" /> Paul Smith,<ref name="creativebloq" /> and Xbox.<ref name="verge" />
They designed the album covers for Groove Armada's ''Soundboy Rock'' (2007),<ref>{{cite web |last=Fairs |first=Marcus |title=eBoy for Groove Armada |url=https://www.dezeen.com/2007/05/23/eboy-for-groove-armada/ |work=Dezeen |date=23 May 2007 |access-date=1 February 2026}}</ref> Yuzu's ''YUZUTOWN'' (2020),<ref name="billboard" /> and the Wombats' ''Fix Yourself, Not the World'' (2022).<ref>{{cite web |last=Krol |first=Charlotte |title=The Wombats announce new album 'Fix Yourself, Not The World' and UK arena tour dates |url=https://www.nme.com/en_au/news/music/the-wombats-announce-new-album-fix-yourself-not-the-world-and-uk-arena-tour-dates-3020636 |work=NME |date=16 August 2021 |access-date=18 August 2021}}</ref>
==Pixoramas== The studio's largest works are Pixoramas, detailed isometric cityscapes that can take more than 1,000 hours to assemble.<ref>{{cite web |title=Digital Art Collective eBoy Is Making a Hyper-Detailed 'Pixorama' Pixel Art Illustration of San Francisco |url=https://laughingsquid.com/digital-art-collective-eboy-is-making-a-hyper-detailed-pixorama-pixel-art-illustration-of-san-francisco/ |work=Laughing Squid |date=22 January 2015 |access-date=1 February 2026}}</ref> The studio has produced more than 20 since 1998,<ref name="verge" /> including: * Baltimore<ref name="id" /> * Berlin<ref name="id">{{cite web |title=Discover eBoy, the 90s net art collective that inspired Comme des Garçons |url=https://i-d.co/article/discover-eboy-the-90s-net-art-collective-that-inspired-comme-des-garcons/ |work=i-D |date=24 October 2017 |access-date=1 February 2026}}</ref> * London<ref name="creativebloq" /> * Los Angeles<ref name="creativebloq" /> * New York<ref name="id" /> * Paris<ref name="id" /> * Rio<ref name="creativebloq" /> * San Francisco<ref>{{cite web |title=eBoy is making a San Francisco Pixel Poster |url=https://boingboing.net/2015/01/21/eboy-is-making-a-san-francisco.html |work=Boing Boing |date=21 January 2015 |access-date=1 February 2026}}</ref> * Tokyo<ref name="id" /> A selection was published as a book in 2008.<ref>{{cite book |author=eBoy |title=Pixorama |publisher=eBoy |location=Berlin |date=2008 |isbn=978-3-00-025838-1}}</ref>
==Exhibitions== {{refimprove section|date=February 2026}} {| class="wikitable sortable" border="1" ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Venue ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}} |- | 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 || <ref>{{cite web |title=eBoy 'SuperBroncoBattle' |url=http://www.minuco.com/eboy.aspx |website=Minuco |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100223023632/http://www.minuco.com/eboy.aspx |archive-date=23 February 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> |- | 2002 || I love to meet you || new graphic design, Venice, Italy || <ref>{{cite web |title=Vasi Comunicanti |url=https://www.shift.jp.org/en/archives/2002/12/vasi_comunicanti.html |website=SHIFT}}</ref> |- | 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 || <ref>{{cite web |title=eBoy |url=https://www.typotalks.com/speakers/eboy/ |website=TYPO Talks}}</ref> |- | 2004 || Paul Smith – eBoy || IDEE shop, Tokyo, Japan || |- | 2004 || Pixelesque || Maxalot, Barcelona, Spain || <ref>{{cite web |title=eBoy Exhibition "Pixelesque" |url=https://www.shift.jp.org/en/archives/2004/06/eboy_exhibition_pixelesque.html |website=SHIFT}}</ref> |- | 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 || <ref>{{cite web |title=Wer kommt denn nun zur Typo Berlin 2006? |trans-title=Who is coming to Typo Berlin 2006? |url=https://www.slanted.de/story/wer-kommt-denn-nun-zur-typo-berlin-2006/ |website=Slanted |language=de}}</ref> |- | 2007 || Hello Tokyo || artbits, Vienna, Austria || <ref>{{cite web |title="Tokyo", Ausstellung von eBoy |trans-title="Tokyo", exhibition by eBoy |url=http://www.artbits.at/ausstellung/archiv/tokyo |website=Artbits |language=de}}</ref> |- | 2007 || The Digital Aesthetic 2 || Digital Aesthetic 2, Lancashire, UK || <ref>{{cite web |title=Digital Aesthetic 2 |url=https://digicult.it/news/digital-aesthetic-2/ |website=Digicult |date=24 March 2007}}</ref> |- | 2007 || Happy Living || Museum of Tomorrow (MOT), Taipei, Taiwan || |- | 2007 || || Todaysart Festival, The Hague, Netherlands || |- | 2008 || eBoy LA || Concrete Hermit Gallery, London || <ref>{{cite web |title=eBoy - LA - Exhibition at Concrete Hermit in London |url=https://www.artrabbit.com/events/eboy-la |website=ArtRabbit}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=eBoy LA |url=http://www.concretehermit.com/gallery/2009/09/22/eboy-la/ |website=Concrete Hermit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091228050523/http://www.concretehermit.com/gallery/2009/09/22/eboy-la/ |archive-date=28 December 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> |- | 2008 || || Pluto Festival, Brussels, Belgium || |- | 2008 || Vertrautes Terrain || ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany || <ref>{{cite web |title=Vertrautes Terrain |url=https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/39196/vertrautes-terrain |website=e-flux}}</ref> |- | 2009 || Pixorama || ROJO artspace, Barcelona, Spain || <ref name="exibart-pixorama" /> |- | 2009 || || Centre Design Marseille, France || <ref>{{cite web |title=Marseille : les stars du pixel art, les eBoy, exposent au Pavillon M |trans-title=Marseille: The stars of pixel art, eBoy, exhibit at Pavillon M |url=https://www.destimed.fr/Marseille-Les-stars-du-Pixel-Art/ |website=Destimed |date=19 September 2013 |language=fr}}</ref> |- | 2009 || Exhibition and workshop || Nave, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil || |- | 2009 || || Since, Paris, France || <ref>{{cite web |title=eBoy - Pixorama @ Since Upian Artspace - Paris - Opening |url=https://glltn.com/2009/06/eboy-pixorama-since-upian-artspace-paris-opening/ |website=Guillotine}}</ref> |- | 2009 || Pixorama || We Love Asbaek (ROJO artspace), Copenhagen, Denmark || <ref name="exibart-pixorama">{{cite web |title=eBoy – Pixorama |url=https://www.exibart.com/evento-arte/eboy-pixorama/ |website=Exibart |language=it |access-date=1 February 2026}}</ref> |- | 2009 || Pixorama || Milk (ROJO artspace), Istanbul, Turkey || <ref name="exibart-pixorama" /> |- | 2011 || || DC Gallery, Seattle, USA || |- | 2011 || || madformacs, Barcelona, Spain || |- | 2011 || || OFFF, Barcelona, Spain || <ref>{{cite web |last=Quaranta |first=Domenico |title=OFFF 2011. Year Zero, In Which Sense? |url=https://digicult.it/digimag/issue-066/offf-2011-year-zero-in-which-sense/ |website=Digicult |date=2011 |access-date=1 February 2026}}</ref> |- | 2012 || De Sein: German Graphic Design from Postwar to Present || BODW, Hong Kong || |- | 2013 || Save Point || Floating World Comics, Portland, USA || <ref>{{cite web |title=Save Point |url=https://www.portlandmercury.com/events/10424395/save-point |website=Portland Mercury |date=2013 |access-date=1 February 2026}}</ref> |- | 2013 || Berlin Graphic Days || Kater Holzig, Berlin, Germany || |- | 2013 || Drones of New York || Museum of the Moving Image, Astoria, New York || <ref>{{cite web |title=Drones of New York Imagines Drone Art, Not Drone Doom |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/yppj3w/emdrones-of-new-yorkem |website=Vice |department=The Creators Project |date=4 February 2013 |access-date=1 February 2026}}</ref> |- | 2014 || Digital Revolution || Barbican Centre, London || <ref>{{cite web |title=Join the Digital Revolution |url=https://www.topshop.com/blog/2014/07/join-the-digital-revolution |website=Topshop |date=July 2014 |access-date=1 February 2026}}</ref> |- | 2017 || 64 Bits || Here East, London || <ref>{{cite web |title=64 Bits Exhibition: A Journey into the Web's Lost Past |url=https://www.fluxmagazine.com/64-bits-exhibition/ |website=Flux Magazine |date=2017 |access-date=1 February 2026}}</ref> |- | 2017 || Upstream Music Fest || Pioneer Square, Seattle, USA || |}
==Publications== * {{cite book |author=eBoy |title=HELLO |publisher=Laurence King |location=London |date=2002 |isbn=978-1-85669-303-5}} * {{cite book |author=eBoy |title=Pixorama |publisher=eBoy |location=Berlin |date=2008 |isbn=978-3-00-025838-1}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official|https://www.eboy.com/}} * [http://db.eboy.com eBoy - Official database] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1F6EsGGa4U&t=3s 2014 "eBoy and the perfection of pixels" The Verge on YouTube]
===Social links=== * [https://x.com/eboyarts eBoy on X] * [https://www.instagram.com/eboyarts/ eBoy on Instagram] * [https://x.com/eboyblockbob Project Blockbob on X] * [https://www.instagram.com/eboyblockbob/ Project Blockbob on Instagram]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eboy}} Category:Computer graphics organizations Category:1997 establishments in Canada Category:1997 establishments in California Category:1997 establishments in Germany