Behind the scenes

Digital products are the comfort zone of Die Schittigs - the developing agency behind Türchen. But how did Türchen get started in the first place, why is this already version 3.0 and how is it evolving? Today we shed some light on the subject and take you on a tour through the digital world of Türchen.

Once upon a time, a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... a developer privately creates an Advent calendar of cat videos and other memes for his girlfriend. It's such a hit and is shared among her friends that it results in an editor that can be used to create an Advent calendar and automatically fill it with funny videos and gifs. At the same time, Die Schittigs develop Advent calendars with similar functions for various clients at Christmas. So, around 2012, the idea and first version of Türchen was born!

After two years, so many calendars had already been created that the initial system quickly reached its limits. Therefore, sometime between the end of August and the beginning of October – as always, of course, at the very last moment alongside all the agency's client projects – a completely new version of the editor was created in record time. This forms the basis for many years of further development. A solid steam engine that can withstand a lot and can always be extended by a few more wagons. Functions are created and ideas are worked out.

Türchen becomes an affair of the heart. Doors become an affair of the heart. And this is not least due to the great ideas and stories with which the calendars are brought to life. Again and again we receive lovely feedback and joyful messages from people who have a great time with Türchen. From the school class surprising their teacher to the grandma creating wonderful calendars for her grandchildren living far away....

Sometime between then and now, the business version of Türchen also launches. And here, too, calendars are developed with great motivation and lots of great ideas that sweeten the Advent season for numerous people and make them long for Christmas. But Türchen is also used for other occasions and campaigns! Marketing campaigns, for example, are increasingly accompanied by a calendar or even build on it.

Meanwhile, the Türchen editor is moving to larger and larger servers – there was even a server move on 30 November. That's right: Exactly before the day on which, usually, just about everyone wants to open their first door! There was no chance of sleep, but all went well. Phew...

Since Türchen was brought to life, we have been receiving all kinds of creative ideas every year about what else you can do with an online tool like this. And we, too, are always coming up with new ideas, so that version 2.0, which has already been around for a few years, can no longer keep up... The steam engine is no longer the fastest, and you can't fly to the moon with it either.

It's not just Türchen that has changed, the internet and the technologies used have also constantly evolved.

After implementing various customer projects with the latest technologies, it is now time to usher in a new era for the Schittigs' favorite project. First ideas are gathered, wireframes are scribbled, UX designs are created, customer feedback is read and support tickets are scoured. A completely new application is developed on this basis: It should be modular, offer many possibilities, but still be easy and intuitive to use. This time we are taking more time: development will start in December 2021, and the editor must be ready in August 2022 – and the clock is ticking!

Actually, I don't think I have time to write blog posts... I have to go back to the development department and ... "Uh, Tobi, how's the feature with the cat videos coming along?"