Johannes Kepler was a German astronomer, mathematician, and natural philosopher born in 1571. Among his many achievements, he developed Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion. His second law states that a line segment joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time. In other words, in an elliptical orbit, a planet will speed up and “whip” around the Sun in the closer end of the orbit, and will slow down and “sweep” around the far end of the orbit.
A Quest for Understanding
Being named Kepler meant having the following conversation a lot at the pharmacy:
OTHER PERSON: Name?
ME: Kepler.
OTHER PERSON: How do you spell that?
ME: K-E-P-L-E-R … like the astronomer.
OTHER PERSON: The what?
ME: Astronomer? Laws of Planetary Motion?
OTHER PERSON: Okay, thank you, Mr. Kaplan.
A frustrating conversation for a couple of reasons. But when I was thinking about a logo for myself, it all became worth the aggravation. I have always enjoyed the elegance and imagery of Kepler’s Laws, and it made perfect sense to use them. Besides, I felt like something good should come of all that time spent explaining who Johannes Kepler was.
A More Thoughtful Take
Additionally, I like the idea that the same planet, following the same specific rules of physics throughout its orbit, can still behave differently based on where in its orbit it is. I see a fundamental parallel here: even when following specific rules and conventions of design, there is still room for elegance and interpretation based on the context in which a website, logo, print piece, or other bit of design is approached. It’s a little touch of infinity within the rules that’s always waiting to be discovered.