What's In a Name? Critical Element Designs Explained

When I (Donovan) began envisioning this business, I knew that I wanted to focus on designs and humor that were authentic to me. After all, authentic expression is kind of the entire point. So, I took some time and mulled over names that could incorporate important factors in my personal development through some light but layered wordplay.

Let's start at the beginning, with the word "Critical". Critical has a few common meanings, such as "exercising or involving careful judgment or judicious evaluation" as used in expressions like "critical thinking". Critical can, of course, also be used to describe a tendencies toward criticism i.e. critical writings. It might also be used to describe something that is indispensable or vital to a project or idea i.e. a critical component of the machine. A little further down the list of meanings found in the dictionary, you'll see "crucial, decisive" as used commonly in tabletop gaming (or gaming in general) to describe a particularly effective i.e. a critical hit. Last but certainly not least, critical can be used to describe the point at which a nuclear chain reaction became self sustaining, as in "the reactor is critical!" (this is a good thing, I promise).

As it happens, clearly without coincidence, I would say that I can tie all of the above meanings to my use of the word Critical in the brand name. I commonly exercise careful judgement, sometimes to the point of overthinking things and I have a tendency to be openly critical of things that I disagree with, morally, procedurally, and politically. That said, it is the next three that hold the most meaning. First and foremost, the human component of the brand is the most important to me. From crunching corporate data, to creating meeting notes automatically, I know that many people are leveraging emerging tech to do things faster and easier than ever before. Many of those things work well, and improve the lives of people who use them, however, when it comes to art and human expression, I do not believe that it is possible, nor even appropriate to out source the creativity to a pile of warm silicon and resistors. To do so, renders a product that can no longer be considered human expression, much less authentic. Thus, humans are Critical to art and expression.

As for the other two, they go hand in hand contributing to my sense of humor and the topics/genres I chosen to focus on. I love RPG games of all kinds, and wanted the brand to reflect that, but I am also influenced (whether I like it or not) by my experience on a nuclear submarine in the U.S. Navy.

Next word, okay, I'll admit this is already longer than I thought, but here we are.... Anyway, "Element", this is a bit simpler to explain, since my use of this word really boils down to two meanings. First, the constituent parts of something, e.g. the human element of the brand, or from chemistry the periodic table of elements (did you notice the helium atom inside the D20?). Second meaning "a factor in determining the out come of a process". I think that in today's world, it can be easy to overlook the value that an individual can bring to a project or process; individuals may seem easy to replace, but their individual personalities, strengths, and character are not as easily replicated.

The last word, Designs, is quite simpler. That is the main thing that the brand is making. Unique, humorous, nerdy, and sometimes ostentatious designs that reflect the main interests, sense of humor, and personality of myself, my family, our friends, and overall the Critical Element Designs brand. 

Bring it all together and you have some important components of what makes me who I am, and what makes the Critical Element Designs brand unique.

From humor derived of a passion for role playing games to sarcasm, time management, procrastination, some jokes from the legal community (thanks to my lovely wife) and a splash of what quite possibly is undiagnosed ADHD, there are a variety of designs to help freely express who we are, and maybe (to quote J. Robert Oppenheimer) with some luck and sweat, we'll find other folks who appreciate some of these designs as much as I do.

Donovan