In January of 1998, a group of designers, advertising creatives, illustrators, film directors and photographers got together over dinner. As usual they bitched why ads, designs, commercials, and films suck. Much pizza and beer followed and through this haze came an epiphany, "There must be clients who feel the same way, we just need to find them." Two or three bar hops later a pact was formed to create a company dedicated to the proposition that "stuff shouldn't suck".

In honor of the year it was founded, the collective chose the 98th element of the periodic table as the name of their new company.