Inside every PD welcome box, you’ll find a collection of curious, delightful, and sometimes downright spicy items. None of them are random. Each item is intentionally chosen to represent a key piece of PD culture, history, and shared values.
- The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
- The Ideal Team Player
- Extreme Ownership
PD Swag
- Field Manual
- Rubber Ducky
- Sticker Collection
- Black cap
- Wired Earbuds
- Staedtler 0.3 pen
- PD A5 Notebook (dotted)
PDVerse Books & Swag
- Books: 5+6 Real Stories
- Book: Hungry Little Monster
- Book: HLM Companion Book
- Book: Bouncy Belongings?!
- Breathe Webcam Cover
- Screen Cleaning Cloth
- Bookmark
📚 The Books We Read Together
When Pixel Dreams was just a small troupe of dreamers, Khalid discovered something powerful: if we all read the same books, we could think, talk, and grow in the same direction.
At Pixel Dreams, the foundation of our success lies in our team members’ continuous personal and professional development. These books are about upgrading each of our operating systems, so to speak, rather than installing a new application. Doing this, we’re all speaking the same language. We’re all riding the same proverbial boat together.
Shared frameworks. Shared vocabulary. Shared accountability.
The following three books are required reading during the onboarding process:
Onboarding Books
The holy grail. The great pillars. The eternal roots on which this tree grows. This book represents the foundation of PD’s culture. Told through a fictional story, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team gives readers the tools to spot and overcome common barriers to effective teamwork. Lencioni reveals the power of trust, disagreement and accountability, among other things, in a team.
As Sarah Eskandarpour, our VP of Client Success, puts it, “If your entire team has not read Five Dysfunctions of a Team, you are not operating at 100%.”
Another Lencioni banger. In The Ideal Team Player, Lencioni presents a powerful framework and easy-to-use tools for identifying, hiring, and developing ideal team players in any kind of organization.
Humble, hungry, and smart. These traits are presented as the keys that lead to better collaboration, communication, and overall team performance.
If you do not exhibit a combination of these traits, then PD may not be the right fit for you.
No excuses. No blaming. Written by Jocko Willink, Extreme Ownership draws from his real-world experience as a U.S. Navy Seal on some of the world’s most dangerous battlefields. Willink translates the lessons he learned in combat into ones that are relevant to leaders in any role. It’s about taking radical personal responsibility, empowering others, staying disciplined, and leading through clarity and action.
An inspiration and guiding principle to many around the world — now it’s your turn.
Continued List
One of the most well-known leadership frameworks in business and personal development.
In The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, author John C. Maxwell argues that leadership is a learnable skill based on principles such as influence, trust, and process, rather than an inherited trait.
Maxwell walks you through real-life examples of leaders, from business people to historical figures to coaches, who succeeded or failed based on whether they followed these “laws” of leadership. Through these stories, he argues that a leader’s growth is not accidental; rather, it’s the consequence of the constant practice of these laws. And what are these laws? You’ll have to read to find out.
In The Obstacle Is the Way, Ryan Holiday argues that every challenge, setback, or frustration becomes the very path forward rather than something to avoid. Using stories of ancient Stoic philosophers and modern leaders, Holiday illustrates how people throughout history transformed trials into triumph by shifting their perspective, taking disciplined action, and using resilience as their greatest advantage. The book’s core arc follows a simple idea: obstacles aren’t roadblocks—they are the training ground for strength, clarity, and success.
While The Obstacle is the Way was about conquering external challenges, in Ego Is the Enemy, Holiday writes about what to do when those challenges are internal instead. He reveals ego as a constant saboteur that distorts reality, blocks learning, and destroys potential — while humility, discipline, and purpose clear the true path to lasting success. Citing numerous historical and contemporary examples, this book serves as both a cautionary tale and a guide for what to do when it comes to that inner voice that craves validation, superiority, and entitlement.
PDVerse Books
What is the PDVerse?
It’s the creative exploration arm of Pixel Dreams; our little world-within-a-world.
The PDVerse is not constrained by medium; any form of creativity and self-expression is welcome.
For your first foray, we’ve included the following books.
Concepted, illustrated, and built in-house, these books are whimsical touchpoints used for:
- delighting clients
- surprising friends
- elevating I+A through stories
- showcasing our creative superpowers
A collection of 11 short stories gathered from various parts of the known and unknown universes. But don’t take it from us. Take it from the Capitan Dreams themself:
“My Crew and I have gone through great distances to bring these stories to you, in what you’d call, a “book.” So be free to appreciate it, love it, treasure it.”
We’re proud to showcase PD’s first published children’s book.
Hungry Little Monster is on a journey to discover who he is and what important things he has to do. Come with him on his search for both food and answers.
And like Little Monster, you too may find the answers as you go through his journey.
Read more about the book and check out the animated version here. But only after you’ve read it!
Walk the same path in a whole new light…
You’re invited to once more traverse the Hungry Little Monster’s world.
This time, embark on an exploration of artistic choices and narrative layers. Take a peek into the illustration process, going from sketches to pages. Zoom in, and you may uncover surprising subtext and symbolism.
More info here.
The second children’s book created by the Pixel Dreams team, and published by PDverse.
It’s a story for children whose belongings go missing, and the parents who are mystified by it. But…what if the belongings aren’t getting lost? What if they’re bouncing away on their own?
Join this adorable group of friends as they try to get to the bottom of it. More info here.
🎧 Wired earbuds
Why does PD provide wired, in-ear headphones? Well, because tools matter.
Your microphone will sound better, you won’t bother your neighbours, and some of our more fashion-forward PDTers might even say that its the more stylish choice 😎
Unlike Bluetooth earbuds and their various settings and connectivity issues, a pair of reliable wired earbuds will never let you down.
📓 The Legendary PD Notebook+Pen
The pen is mightier than the sword. The paper is also mightier than the keyboard.
We rely on taking notes here; It’s foundational. It’s how we learn, remember, and get creative.
We encourage all PDTers to opt for the old-school pen and paper for notetaking. Not only for the proven benefits to memory and understanding, but in a client setting, typing away on a keyboard might be distracting for everyone.
The PD notebook here, adorned with our mighty Thai chili pepper, embodies our fiery commitment to ongoing growth.
🌟 PD Sticker Pack
Launched at the Summer Summit, the PD sticker pack is a tribute to our brand’s history and shared language.
It features a blend of:
- Current branding
- Legacy assets
- Logos
- Inside jokes
- OG spunky PD energy
✨ Character Stickers
Initially created for the Bouncy Belongings book campaign, these stickers showcase the characters of the PDVerse. They served as delightful extras in the 2024 client book bundle. Just another way PD turns creativity into connection.
And finally, the 2025 Thai Chilli pepper. The little pepper that could. When Lan stepped in as CMO and PD began its brand refresh journey, we entered a new era. One where we actually started marketing on purpose. Historically, PD never really needed marketing; referrals kept us thriving. But 2025’s goal changed the game: win five new logos through active marketing efforts. Thus: the spicy sticker.
What surprises can you find? Which one’s your favourite?
🧢 The Black Cap
Black-on-black, we believe the best way to sport a brand is to be subtle. Our red-and-white icon can be loud. No need for that.
🛡 Breathe Webcam Cover
A webcam cover with a core piece of advice that you can use in nearly any situation\
“Breathe”
Many studies showcase the benefits of stopping, taking a breath, and contemplating the moment.
With it comes a message:
“In your hand, this webcam cover, is a tiny reminder to take a little time to breathe because a simple breath is often the key to unlock your best in any given moment which is unlike this exact moment when you’re likely feeling out of breath while reading this meandering sentence which intentionally comes with no punctuation to prove greatness simply can’t be without deliberate pauses and to emphasize the absolute essentialism of taking the time to just …”
Beyond the message, it also covers your webcam for privacy reasons.
🧼 Screen Cleaning Cloth
A dirty screen muddies your work.
A clean screen sharpens your thinking.
This microfibre cloth will bring you clarity, perhaps in more ways than one.
📘 The Field Manual
A team without a field manual is a little like a boat without a rudder. It floats, but it probably won’t take you where you want to go.
The Field Manual is the compass in your pocket. Our latest 6th edition reflects the current evolution of PD culture and brand.
Inside you’ll find our:
- Purpose
- Core values
- Team culture
- Company archetypes
- Behavioural expectations
- Design rationale
It’s a handy reference to our core values, aesthetics, and purpose. In times of trouble, the value of a grounding philosophy, a behavioral and attitudinal roadmap, becomes remarkably clear.
Resort to it often.
Still curious about why we have a field manual? Read more about it here.
🦆 The Rubber Duck:
If you’ve got a problem, try talking to the rubber duck. No, seriously.
This friendly little guy represents a classic programming problem-solving technique: Rubber Ducky Debugging Theory.
When a programmer is stuck on a problem, explaining the issue to someone else (or to an inanimate object) can help unlock a solution. It forces clarity and emphasizes the importance of understanding the nature of the problem.
By sharing your ideas, you free up mental space for deeper processing. Articulating them out loud helps you view challenges from new perspectives, sidestepping your blind spots to discover more effective solutions.
Try it next time you’re having a problem.
Read more about the Rubber Ducky Debugging Theory here.
🌶️ Everything Has a Story
At Pixel Dreams, nothing is arbitrary. Every artifact, from chilli stickers to rubber ducks, represents a slice of who we are:
- A fiercely curious organization
- A creative powerhouse
- A culture-first community
- A company devoted to Intelligence + Awareness
Designed with intention, imagination, and just the right amount of spice, this is your first window into life at Pixel Dreams. Enjoy the ride.
