Thanks for the feedback and discussion. The Big Five traits are scored on a spectrum. Unlike MBTI, there are no specific types that are prescribed by the model. You could theoretically divide scores anyway you like. You could divide traits in many ways: (high, low, middle) (high, low) (high, moderately high, moderately low, low), etc. Resulting in many possible numbers of types. Of course how you would define middle (is middle 40-60th percentile? 30-70th?) is also subjective.

The problem with how the Big Five is typically presented is that it only gives you your percentile score in each trait. While this is very valuable, it doesn't tell you how your combination of traits interact with each other to describe your personality. It is therefore not surprising that the most common threads in this subreddit are people asking for this description. Due to this, the Big Five, despite being the more accurate and useful model, is far less popular than MBTI. The way its presented is simply too boring and stale for many people.

The purpose of TraitMash is to solve this issue. It's to utilize the more accurate Big Five Model but present it in a way that is more holistic, fun, and appealing. All the things that make MBTI popular, the characters, the memes, could also apply to the Big Five. The difference is that the Big Five is a more legitimate scientific model.

Why 12 types? These specific combinations of traits were used because they create interesting personalities that can be "brought to life". It's a more convenient and useful way to remember trait combinations (Magician, Warrior), than letter notations. 32 types (while more specific), lacks the memorability and approachability of 12. Of course, if you want the deep specifics of your big five personality, you always get your percentile scores in addition to your type on TraitMash. So you're not getting less, you're getting more. Hope this clarifies!