Squaring the circle

In the beginning, there were two deeply committed, yet creatively stifled working stiffs. We had our ideals and some lousy jobs. Our ideals didn’t like our lousy jobs very much; so we decided to quit and start a business.

But what to call this new creation? The most common names in 2002 were Emily and Jacob, but we decided to name our firstborn Square360. Why?

What’s in a name?

Naming oneself is a complex challenge. It requires a hearty brew of introspection and expression, culminating in a single word which defines who you are and who you intend to be. Sounds easy, right? Actually, we creative-types never seem to have a problem talking about ourselves. So we started with some self-identification:

We are thinkers. We are dreamers. We are artists. We are problem solvers. We are in love with the process. We are poets with code. We are relentless perfectionists. We are continually in pursuit of harmony and balance in our work and our lives. We choose to make our living making things beautiful.

What now to call this new creation? Sometimes the simplest answer is often the most complex to find. We are not solitary individuals hopelessly clicking keys, attempting to change the world from inside a bubble. We are part of a grand artistic tradition much larger than our own. So, we got to thinking.

Logic + creativity

The natural order of the universe expresses a series of underlying dualities, that is to say elements which are measured only in the context of their opposite:

Light + Dark. Up + Down. Feminine + Masculine. Bert + Ernie.

Without one, the other fails to have any meaning. Leonardo da Vinci expressed this symbolism through his Vitruvian Man in which humanity is represented as the bridge between the spiritual and the natural worlds, the mental and the physical. Our name pays humble homage to this great work of art and science.

(Plus, Square360 sounds really cool.)