We founded Fractal 18 months ago based on two fundamental beliefs. The first is in software’s capacity to improve our lives and chart a better course for the future of humanity. The second is that the craft of software development itself is in its infancy: our ability to effectively work together to create positively impactful software is a barely formed art. Metaphorically, we're still at the cave painting stage.

To move beyond this nascent stage, we knew we would need to build the best team of engineers, designers, product managers, talent hunters, and technology leaders on planet earth. Individuals dedicated not only to their work, but also to improving their craft, each other, and society. And we believe we’ve done just that.

Fractal, as a name, referenced the fractal pattern of self-similar, iterative feedback loops we observe at every level of our work. Feedback loops at the micro-level (test driven development for example), the macro-level (market validation and iterative culture), and everywhere in between. We still believe in those concentric iterative feedback loops, but we also acknowledge that our mission goes beyond them.  

To truly pursue our vision of a better world - where software helps create an ideal human existence, and building that software fulfills our fundamental desire for growth - we need more than pure science. We need aspects of our humanity that cannot be codified, systematized, or put on an assembly line. We need creativity, intuition, and spirit. Because we believe building world-changing software requires both science and art.

To define our new brand, and ultimately our new name, we wanted to start with a foundation at the core of who we are: our mission, our vision, and our values. Although these remain broadly unchanged from the moment of our inception, this process allowed us to sharpen the language and message behind them.  From there, we built a pyramid of meaning:  who we are as a company, what we want to be for our customers, and the impact we want to have on the world.  After establishing that foundation, we layered on a visual aesthetic and linguistic style.

And finally, we searched for a name. We wanted something that embodied devotion to craft, learning, collaboration, and humanity. As far as we could tell, there is no English word that represents these four things. So we searched across other languages and found Artium: a Latin word that means "Arts and Sciences" or “a group of craftspeople”. And is most commonly associated with a devotion to education, learning, and self-improvement.

For us, Artium is the perfect name to reflect who we are: a company existing at the intersection of art and science. A collective of builders who care passionately about excellence in craft, iterative improvement, and exporting our knowledge. 

Artium’s goal is to continuously learn, incorporating new tools and techniques as they emerge through practice. And also to teach, helping our clients gain the capability to build and scale independently. In doing so we hope to advance the craft of software development for the builders, the visionaries, and for humanity as a whole.

- Ross Hale, Co Founder & CEO