Squarespace partners with Rick Rubin for ‘Tetragrammaton’ website and template for users

Squarespace has joined forces with music producer Rick Rubin to translate his creative vision into a one-of-a-kind website that the company’s customers can download as a template for a limited time. Rubin, founder of Def Jam Recordings and former co-president of Columbia Records, worked alongside Squarespace’s in-house design team to craft “an ever-evolving exhibition of the ideas and artworks that can inspire people,” according to the homepage of the project, which he has dubbed “Tetragrammaton,” the ancient Hebrew word for God. Rubin also stars in and narrates a nearly two-minute-long launch video—also handled in-house—announcing the Squarespace project, where he’s shown tinkering and conceptualizing the site that shares the same name as “a phrase that holds so much power, it’s not to be uttered,” Rubin says. “Squarespace prides itself on being a versatile canvas for creativity. This vision led us to collaborate with different tastemakers across various fields, viewing web design through their unique perspectives,” said David Lee, Squarespace’s chief creative officer. “The process was a genuine collaboration, and Rick's involvement as a partner was invaluable and insightful.” The hallmark of the site is an uncluttered layout that allows each subject to be presented “as if a window display,” its description reads. The publicly available template that it inspired, Transmission, also includes features such as image overlay filters and members-only pages for paying users, and will be available to users for “the foreseeable future,” according to Lee. It launched last week. Rubin’s website itself, tetragrammaton.com, is also live, though visitors are currently required to enter an email address for access to the “prototype.” A wide release will see the site made available for public access soon, but no specific date has yet been set, according to a representative. The partnership with Rubin is the third installment in the company’s ongoing Squarespace Collection, which it describes as “the world's most creative minds partnering with the world's most innovative website platform.” Its previous efforts include collaborations with Icelandic musician Björk in 2022 and international photography co-op Magnum Photos in 2023. Squarespace is promoting its venture with Rubin via organic social media reach, with the company also having “a strong paid media mix in place” to market it to a wider audience, said Lee.

Squarespace partners with Rick Rubin for ‘Tetragrammaton’ website and template for users

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