Your Name Here
An effective name that resonates with your target audience is pivotal for establishing brand recognition and loyalty. When building a brand from the ground up, the name of that brand acts as the foundation from which to further develop the brand’s voice, look, and overall personality. In order to determine a name that can act as a solid platform from which to evolve a brand, M studio approaches every name exploration project with the goal of developing a name that speaks to that brand’s unique attributes while connecting with its target audience.
Name exploration begins with extensive research. M studio initiates this process by interviewing our clients in order to gain insight into their specialized inspirations, perspectives, and goals. This information acts as a jumping-off point from which we can continue researching broader historical or cultural connections to the brand’s background and influences. After traversing the various avenues down which this research takes us, we then utilize our findings to begin gathering viable name options.
After compiling our initial research findings, we begin narrowing down our options by determining whether a name fits top-level criteria. A brand’s name must, firstly, be particular to that brand, and, in the same vein, there must be an available URL associated with the name. If we find that other businesses within our client’s industry have a particular name, that name immediately gets crossed off the list. Likewise, if a name proves difficult to pronounce, it is removed from the running. Names that roll off the tongue are more memorable and more relatable and, thusly, allow for a more organic, immediate, and ongoing connection between brand and audience.
A potential name may make a statement and possess deep meaning drawn from in-depth research into a brand’s background, but it must also speak to a brand in a less tangible sense. Our name exploration process lays out the basic structure for determining an effective brand name, but the end result must, ultimately, resonate with the client on a gut-reactionary level.
Inspired by the restaurant’s completely from-scratch menu, M studio drew influence for their branding from the hands-on hustle and bustle of mid-19th century America and developed the name Cross & Orange, a reference to two intersecting streets of early New York City’s Five Points.
M studio created a comprehensive brand identity for Terraform in New York City, a luxury landscape and terrace design business with a largely Manhattan-based audience. We developed the name Terraform, derived from “terra,” meaning Earth and “form” to reference the process of building upon city decks and terraces.
Three & One, a pet accessory company based out of Seattle, WA, was looking to brand their new line of economical dog leashes and collars, so, while exploring name options, we considered the language that would reference their collars’ patented four-line stitching system, ultimately landing on Three & One.
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