What does it mean?

What is pointillism?

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According to Google: A system of painting using tiny dots or “points” of color, developed by French artist Georges Seurat in the 1880s. Seurat systematized the divided brushwork and optical color mixture of the Impressionists and called this technique divisionism.

My favorite definition of pointillism (paraphrased, from the book ‘From Archetype to Zetigeist’ by Herbert Kohl) is:

A technique of painting, based on the scientific study of color vision; elaborate theoretical underpinnings; and the following of a carefullly worked out plan.

What could that possibly have to do with software?

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Seurat’s study of human color perception allowed him to create art that was based on science. Today, software is as much art as it is science in many ways. The quality of the end product still depends on the skill of the artist far more than the latest software tool or academic theory.

Like Seurat, our goal is to understand the human element; how people perceive and use software, and how it affects them. From that understanding, we create a design; lay out a plan; then carefully construct our vision.