What's in a good company name?
Although I've done some odd web design/development under my own name for a while, now that I'm on a break from uni I'm looking at getting more serious about it. I'd like to be able to expand beyond just working on my own, and enlist other people to help me out when I'm short on time or lack skills in certain areas. To create room to grow, naturally the next step is to start working under a business name. But what goes into a good name?
It seems there are tens of thousands if not millions of design agencies out there. Every time I think of a great name, I type it into google only to discover a design firm has already taken it. Image association is important in a name - especially if the image can be emotional. My favourites are those that inspire images of freshness, crispness, meadows, hills and bright sunny days - and this is what I would like my business name to reflect.Think of the logo
Every time I come up with a name, I try to think of a basic idea of a logo to go with it. Think McDonalds - I bet you immediately imagine the golden arches. Think BP (British Petroleum) and you probably now have that image of a big green flower in your mind (sneaky psychological move to appear green on their part). These image associations help the companies stick in your mind and create brand awareness and familiarity. Make it meaningful
The name should immediately give an idea of what the business does. Most firms seems to go with abstract names then add the word 'designs'. I think this is great - one word to inspire imagination and one word to explain what they do. Abstract names are also very Web 2.0 :) Make it memorable
If the name is too abstract, people will be struggling to remember the name while they are sitting in front of a blank search box. If its too generic, it will be hard to distinguish yourself from others and appear somewhat original.What qualifications do I have on this topic? None at all, apart from watching TED talks and reading blogs. I'm just writing this for something else to do because I can't think of a good name :D
It seems there are tens of thousands if not millions of design agencies out there. Every time I think of a great name, I type it into google only to discover a design firm has already taken it. Image association is important in a name - especially if the image can be emotional. My favourites are those that inspire images of freshness, crispness, meadows, hills and bright sunny days - and this is what I would like my business name to reflect.Think of the logo
Every time I come up with a name, I try to think of a basic idea of a logo to go with it. Think McDonalds - I bet you immediately imagine the golden arches. Think BP (British Petroleum) and you probably now have that image of a big green flower in your mind (sneaky psychological move to appear green on their part). These image associations help the companies stick in your mind and create brand awareness and familiarity. Make it meaningful
The name should immediately give an idea of what the business does. Most firms seems to go with abstract names then add the word 'designs'. I think this is great - one word to inspire imagination and one word to explain what they do. Abstract names are also very Web 2.0 :) Make it memorable
If the name is too abstract, people will be struggling to remember the name while they are sitting in front of a blank search box. If its too generic, it will be hard to distinguish yourself from others and appear somewhat original.What qualifications do I have on this topic? None at all, apart from watching TED talks and reading blogs. I'm just writing this for something else to do because I can't think of a good name :D
