Many have asked why I chose the name PAD10 for my first creative studio in Kuwait, and why I later launched PAD7 in Beirut and PADx in Paris. In this blog post, I will explain the meaning and the history behind these names.
PAD stands for Publishing, Architecture, and Design. These are the three fields that I am passionate about and that I wanted to bring together under one roof. A pad is also a floor or a level in a building, where different creative minds can collaborate and exchange ideas.
The first PAD studio was on the 10th floor of a building in Kuwait City. I registered the website on November 18, 2009, before the iPad was even launched by Steve Jobs on January 27, 2010. So, no, I did not copy Apple’s naming convention. It was just a coincidence.
In 2014, I decided to open a new PAD7 studio in Beirut, on the 7th floor of a building in Mar Mikhayel district. This studio has a special significance for me, as it houses my library of books and magazines that I have collected over the years. The library was moved from Kuwait to Beirut after the Covid-19 pandemic.
The latest addition to the PAD family is PADx. This studio is located in Paris, the city of art and culture, and it serves as a hub for exchanging ideas, connecting and communicating with all the other PAD studios. The letter X also has a connection to the origin of PAD10, as it is the Roman numeral for 10. The PADx logo was registered in France on January 23, 2022. Interestingly enough, Elon Musk also changed his Twitter name to X on July 24, 2023. Maybe he was inspired by me? Or maybe it was just another coincidence.
Whatever the case may be, I believe that great minds think alike. And that’s what PAD is all about: bringing together great minds from different fields and backgrounds to create something amazing. It just is!