How I named my company

And how to name almost anything

I’ve conducted many feature, product and brand naming efforts in my career. It’s an artform. And, very often, a rushed exercise that leaves little behind save ghost markings on a whiteboard. Recently, I established my own company and had the foresight to document the naming process, which is one I’ve used numerous times over the years. I’m happy to be able to share it here.

research

While it’s tempting to jump right in to brainstorming, establishing some parameters about the product or feature is critical. It will save you from going on a tangent that you may fall in love with but that just doesn’t work in context. Interview your client — Product Manager, PM, Marketing Manager, Creative Director or whomever — to get answers to the following questions.

THat which shall be named

Learn as much about the product, feature or service as you can. What does it (will it) do? For whom? In this case, it’s my company.

My company, [NAME], is a creative services company that helps people conceive, define and execute their ideas as tangible outcomes. Services offered: product and experience design, branding and naming, content strategy. Market: High tech, consumer, Seattle (for now.)

brand values

Most companies have established brand values that guide their choices when it comes to identity including product names. Get familiar with these and be prepared to pitch your concepts within that framework, or if not, have a good reason why you should fall outside it. My company’s nascent brand values:

Aspirational - Be positive and encouraging. Discover what is possible.
Connection - Approach the work collaboratively. Partnership over ownership.
Elegant - Honor aesthetics; they are important.
Empathetic - Always seek to understand. (Always start with story.)

competitors & companions

Pay attention to the landscape that your product or feature will be part of. You don’t want to be confused with another company, but you also want to sound as though you’re playing in the same space. To achieve this, look at what your competitors in the product space. What is strong about their naming strategy? What is unclear or weak? Are there any conventions to be aware of?

Also note what companion products yours will live among. Is your product or feature part of a suite of products (Adobe Creative Suite, for example) or a sub-brand of a larger brand such as Microsoft (Office, Xbox, Azure) or Nike? How does your sub brand or product name sound when paired with the umbrella brand?

As a single person LLC, I didn’t have many constraints here aside from copyright but I I considered small agency names that I liked (mostly friends’ companies) and tried to unlock why I liked them.

Other constraints

Every client has their unique set of “must haves” and “must not haves.” It’s good to uncover these at the beginning if the client can articulate them. Mine were that my company name:

Encompass the range of services that I will offer
Not sound like a sole proprietorship in case I want to grow the company
Have a personal significance to me, a story behind it
Preferably not be based on my name, for Mary Ann Evans reasons and also, a bit boring
Not derogatory, insulting or profane
Available to use in the State of Washington

brainstorm

Having established the guard rails, it’s time to get some ideas on paper (or whatever your preferred medium.) I usually conduct brainstorming in several rounds, separated by a few days if possible. Giving your subconscious mind some time to weigh in is something I consider to be a “must have.”

Whatever - seriously, whatever’s in your head, get it out, even if it’s stupid (it might be brilliant)
Thematic - Look at the initial list and start to focus on pillars, what do you keep coming back to? Iterate some more in these areas.
Curate - Considering the above constraints, narrow your selects to things that meet (most of) the criteria.

My short list, winnowed down from about 70 options fell into the following pillars:

Names

Burgess Creative

Towne Industries

Neona Day

EssBee

Solobo Design

Places

Out West

Up West

From Away

Brown Cottage Industries

DvFx

Abstract/Designy

Hillside 27

Lake House

Mile 0

13 to 4

254 (hope)

Two Trees

Literary

Untold stories

By & By

12 Stories

Narrative Stance

First Person

Test

Now it’s time to get feedback from decision makers and stakeholders. Usually you’ll want to choose 3-5 top contenders and send them out for feedback, accompanied by some level of rationale for having chosen them. From my curated list, I chose three to explore more deeply. I sent them to my peers, friends, and contacts within and outside of the high tech and design industry. I wanted to get as broad a perspective as possible since I hope to appeal to clients from a variety of sectors.

13 to 4

I’ve been using this photograph as the lock screen for my portfolio. When I was setting the site password, I wanted something subtle that people couldn’t guess (“Seattle” or Pike Place Market”) and I settled on the time shown by the hands of the clock.

I like the rhythm and cadence of this sequence of numbers said together. As a company name, this is the most “abstract” moniker I’m considering, which gives it a degree of flexibility. It’s also the most urban and modern. The two/to homonym evokes depth and playfulness while the out of sequence numbers suggest the ability to think outside the box while the specific time of day speaks to precision and attention to detail.

from away

“From Away” is Maine vernacular meaning that someone is not a native of Maine, whether they be a tourist or long time transplant.

This name pays homage to my multi-generational Maine heritage and also is true of my adopted home on the West coast. I was not born in either place but identify with both.

As a company name, it speaks to expansiveness and possibility and new perspectives that an “outsider” can bring. It’s also somewhat mysterious and romantic. To those who recognize the phrase, it’s shibboleth, but the name stands on its own.

by and by

My grandmother (who was a Maine native) used this phrase when she told stories and I will forever associate it with her. Meaning, “before long,” after awhile” or “eventually,” the phrase also suggests transition and forward movement, of shifting from one state to another. Stories have beginnings, middles and ends but we spend most of the time in the middle.

“By” of course has another meaning, as in “created by” which also speaks to craft, discipline and process of the telling (or making.)

feedback

Pro

Cool, something insider about this
Lots of possibility for visual branding
Flexible
Seems like a Seattle agency name

Con

13 is unlucky in Western culture
4 is unlucky in East Asian cultures
Too abstract

feedback

Pro

Relatable
Evocative, possible
Seems good for a consultant, suggests bringing new perspective

Con

I don’t get it
Could be off-putting (outsider)

feedback

Pro

It lands in my heart
I like how this sounds

Con

Has a connotation of eventually/maybe
Strongly dislike, seems lazy, non-commital

iterate

I kept gravitating toward the 13 to 4 concept. It received the most feedback (although polarizing) and I just liked it. Since it’s my company, I have the luxury of weighing that criteria pretty heavily. I focused a second mini-brainstorm on numbers, clocks, signage and the “sounds" of them. I’ve always loved found poetry and art. After hours of browsing Pinterest, Unsplash, Google and my phone’s camera roll, I had an “aha” moment:

Why was I looking for a “random” time of day or number combination? My initial attraction to this concept was that it represented a very specific place and time: a photograph I’d taken at the beginning of winter in Seattle where it does get dark before 4 PM.

From there, I started to focus on numbers, dates and moments that are meaningful to me, circling back to some of the earlier candidates in my brainstorming process with this new insight.

No clocks were harmed while making this mood board

select

Ultimately I landed on nine27design. (September 27th is my birthday, I’ve always loved fall, and I like that it’s divisible by 3!) For me, this last step was easy — I got to make the final decision! In a corporate context, the final selects need to go through stakeholder and eventually legal vetting. Sometimes. you have to go with your second or third choice.

I was lucky and my first choice was available. I filed the paperwork and am up and running as a sole proprietorship as of July 2020.

Upon sharing my final name, a friend wrote:

“It sounds like the building number you first started out in in New York CIty, the one with the brick walls and the grubby skylights that nonetheless created shafts of midsummer light that made it a joy to start each day with a cup of coffee and a notebook full of ideas.”

I’ll take it!