Click to See Complete Forum and Search --> : A name for your design firm
shari
09-17-2006, 03:31 PM
I see a lot of you guys have your own design firms. I was wondering how did you come up with unique names?
Simple. During a discussion on junkies, I thought, "what would be the best way to get my New Media designs to the masses, who really want it? Thus I came upon the 'mainlining' concept for Media Mainline. ;)
mac.FINN
09-17-2006, 11:25 PM
on junkies? Or with junkies?
budafist
09-18-2006, 01:49 AM
We had an art exhibition last year called Budafist. I had a lot of work that had fat Buddhas in them.
After that we decided to set up business together and just went with that same name. The term has been used in a few songs before, but goodness knows what it means. I just like the sound of it. I've deduced my own meaning for it too.
shellebelle
09-18-2006, 02:07 AM
My real name is Michelle, but my family calls me "Shelle" or "Shellebelle". That stuck, and I managed to use a play on words to turn it into a character that I use (and abuse) for branding purposes. I'm also pretty quiet and reserved in real life, hence the hermit crab.
I chose to not go with my full name for a few reasons. It's hard to pronounce, and I also share the same last name as two very famous latin singers and I'm always getting asked if I'm related to them. Besides, most of my classmates used their names and I don't like to follow the crowd :)
Michelle, my belle!!
Sont les mots qui vont tres bien ensemble, tres bien ensemble.
Mac: Er... how about both? ;)
budafist
09-18-2006, 02:58 AM
What's on 20th September? Apart from my flatmate's birthday? :D
shellebelle
09-18-2006, 03:32 AM
I graduate 9/20, that's what September 20th is about :) Working on my booth for the portfolio show as we speak.
Congrats, Shelle - I think I said that already. :)
Only a few days to go... And don't forget the pirates on the 19th. ;)
yes! talk like a pirate day! the day i can use my plastic pirate sword on stupid salespeople and have a (somewhat) legitimate excuse. i keep said sword at the office at all times anyway just in case. and w/ the cold i have right now i bet i can make a pretty convincing sounding Arrgh!
You have a pirate sword, Pica? I'm impressed. ;)
I used to have a real one, razor sharp, which I used for practice when I lived in Texas. I left it there - too much luggage.
urstwile
09-18-2006, 06:25 AM
You have a pirate sword, Pica? I'm impressed. ;)
I used to have a real one, razor sharp, which I used for practice when I lived in Texas. I left it there - too much luggage.
You used to practice being a pirate Ned? Cool!
Argh no, Matey! I used to practice swordplay and fencing. Good exercise. :)
urstwile
09-18-2006, 07:14 AM
Darn!
Or, um, cool!
You have a pirate sword, Pica? I'm impressed. ;)
I used to have a real one, razor sharp, which I used for practice when I lived in Texas. I left it there - too much luggage.
I'm in Texas... should I keep my eyes open for a randomly abandoned sword?
For work I've got a small metal foil that's basically a really threatening letter opener, to go with my pirate costume I have a spiffy plastic scimitar w/ a "jeweled" handle, and for extra fun there's the giant foam one made from pool noodles and duct tape (great for those battles at sea, or in the pool) with my pirate alter-ego's name (Captain Hooker) written in sharpie on it... i think i may have a problem. :cool:
Heh... Captain Hooker... Please tell me there's a story behind that! :D
The sword (also a scimitar) I left with a friend near Bangs, TX; in her shed. She's died since, though.
aid4design
09-18-2006, 02:14 PM
I came up with my name Airborn Industries Design back in school in 2001. I have always "reached for the stars" and had my "head in the clouds"... plus I just thought it sounded right. Yes - the mispelled Airborn is intentional. :rolleyes: Plus there's lots that can be done with the AID acronym for marketing.
Yeah, as long as you don't change the name to Airborn Industries Design Studio.
The AIDS acronym would just not be as effective in marketing. :D
reuber1
09-18-2006, 04:55 PM
What's on 20th September? Apart from my flatmate's birthday? :D
MY BIRTHDAY!!!!
aid4design
09-18-2006, 04:58 PM
Yea. It started as Airborn Industires Design Company, but the AIDC just dint work./
lots of companies already use AIDC.. :/ I am already thinking the name will get changed within a few years when I move back out to NC.
Heh... Captain Hooker... Please tell me there's a story behind that! :D
hahah, not much story to the name, i just needed a costume for a peter pan themed lingerie party and i thought i was pretty clever.
the pool noodle sword on the other hand has a fun story: it was from a later pirate party where the occupants of my dorm dressed as pirates one friday and rode around campus in a huge cattle truck decorated like a pirate ship (carboard mermaid on the front, etc) and periodically stopped the truck to pile out and "pillage" various academic and administrative buildings by hitting everything we saw w/ our homemade foam swords. we had actually gotten prior approval from the admin/campus police for said raid. i will not comment on the quantity nor quality of the drinking that preceded our pirate adventure.
sorry to hijack the thread shari...
my biz identity is design craft studio. my grandfather had an ornamental iron business named iron craft studio and i've got some of his sketches and his old drafting tools to inspire me, so i thought i'd pay him a little tribute w/ the name.
Broacher
09-18-2006, 07:51 PM
Pica: reconsider.
It may have worked as an iron craft studio but it's become entirely anonymous as soon as you replaced 'iron' with 'design'. Could there be another way to somehow work in a tribute, if that's what you want? Maybe borrow some kind of ornamentation he was know for? And that word, 'craft'. Nothing wrong with it, but you gotta be aware of its connotations and boundaries.
PersonasBinar
09-18-2006, 07:54 PM
It takes at least one bottle of red to come up with a good name.
Broacher
09-18-2006, 08:01 PM
>>It takes at least one bottle of red to come up with a good name<<
http://www.amazon.com/Wordcraft-Turning-Little-Words-Business/dp/1400051053
That bottle of wine becomes a private winery, when you look at the millions spent on coming up with a word like 'Blackberry' or 'iPod'. Great read!
Pica: reconsider.
It may have worked as an iron craft studio but it's become entirely anonymous as soon as you replaced 'iron' with 'design'. Could there be another way to somehow work in a tribute, if that's what you want? Maybe borrow some kind of ornamentation he was know for? And that word, 'craft'. Nothing wrong with it, but you gotta be aware of its connotations and boundaries.
well i should have said my imagined biz identity is... since i'm working full time for a newspaper and most of the freelance stuff i do is mostly boring layout work or else stuff for people i know. i do like the word craft in there though because in addition to graphic design, i design clocks and various home accesories, so i liked that the name can encompass all of that.
at the moment i'm in no hurry to create some unique identity since i'm living/working in a place where almost every business name is either the proprietor's name or a clear description of the business (stuff like tom's hardware, computer repair center and so on). my name is pretty unique, if unpronouncable, so i might stick w/ just using my name instead of a business name and use the logo w/ my initials (my avatar is a crappy web version of it) when i want something to punch up biz cards and the like.
PersonasBinar
09-18-2006, 08:36 PM
Half a million???....jees I gotta change my pricing structure. *puts down his glass of red*
shari
09-19-2006, 01:09 AM
interesting..... i strated ths thread cuz' i'm in the middle of creating my own identity, and i'm stuck- can't come up with the good, catchy name..... :confused:
aid4design
09-19-2006, 01:29 AM
...just a few suggestions, by no means the holy grail, but reflect on who you are, what your style is. Then step outside yourself and have someone(or more than one) look at some of your work and spit out words that your work makes them think or feel. write them down. Then grab a thesaurus and search those words until something grabs you. no promises, but its a start.:)
shari
09-19-2006, 01:38 AM
hmmmmm good idea... i never wanted to go with my first/last name... but i want something unique, ya know so when i deside to buy a domain name it won't be already there... once, i had an idea how to name my "business", that reflected my individuality, but as turned out someone already using this name...
greyghost
09-19-2006, 02:37 AM
I was using my last name and "Design" until january of this year, when I finally woke up and said nobody can spell, say, or remember it... so change it.
I thought for a long time and started looking up synonyms for creativity online. Don't ask my how "blue sky" is a syn. for creative ingenuity, but there it was and I instantly liked it. So I named it Blue Sky Design Group.
Ghost Design? I can remember that. :)
Virgo Nightingale
09-19-2006, 09:13 PM
I wouldn't be able to use my first/last name - someone with my same name has a small online custom greeting card design business. Although the businesses wouldn't be the same per se, it's close enough. (And frankly, I wouldn't want someone to think I designed those cards - they weren't exactly... um... good). My screenname for nearly everything is Virgo Nightingale (I'm a Virgo, and nightingales tend to sing at night - I don't necessarily only sing at night, but I do sing and I'm more of a night person). But although the phrase describes me well, Virgo Nightingale Design really doesn't say much of anything about a graphic design studio. And it's not exactly the easiest to remember. So when I finally get to do the freelancing thing on a more official basis, I'll be revisiting this thread or starting a new one for ideas regarding a name.
Spaz Chicken
09-28-2006, 08:57 PM
My legal North Carolina designation is:
Spaz Chicken Productions, Inc. dba Corporate Identity Solutions
Spaz Chicken came from way back in high school (early 90's) when a bunch of friends and I had a small comic book company (and by company, I mean a xerox machine at the library). I went on to finish high school and go to college. All the while working my way through the Sign Industry corporate ladder. While they all dropped out of school and to this day most of them still live with their parents.
This came back up about three years ago when I decided to start my own t-shirt company. It was to be a web-based company specializing in automotive forums and car clubs. So Spaz Chicken was it. It eventually grew into a full time job for me.
When I decided to quit my full time job and take Spaz Chicken full time and expand my clientele to include local companies I thought... "That's not a very professional name.", so I came up with "Corporate Identity Solutions" to express that if you have a logo, and you want it printed on something, that you should call me.
A few months ago I decided to stop using "CIS" and start pushing SPAZ to the max. So far it's been all +++ because people really remember it and always ask "Why Spaz Chicken".
Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
09-29-2006, 02:40 AM
Here's the story of my business name/identity (http://www.jfisherlogomotives.com/evolution.htm).
- J.
333cds
10-03-2006, 12:42 PM
My son was born 3:33 am and there you go!!! :D
I named my business after an egyptian mummy "keku" from an exhibition i went to
it loosely translated means true of voice.
I like 333 though 3 is my lucky number!
shari
10-03-2006, 02:23 PM
that's a nice name- and the meaning is good for a business, too
cool!
vtwin_gary
10-03-2006, 02:50 PM
well...to explore mine you can see a few threads
1st: i need a name (http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9375)
2nd (the poll): i need a name II (http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9421)
3rd: i have a name (http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9634)
but if you don't have an extra 1/2 hour to see the process pan out the company name is Fried Color
the name itself....a friend was talking about her hair (by talking i mean complaining, & by hair i mean mop on her head) and she said look at this fried color.
i liked it & a name was born.
rainbow2bryte
10-03-2006, 03:47 PM
What a perfect thread for me to stumble on.
I'm trying to come up w/ a name myself for pretty broad freelance co.
I've began brainstorming some and have been trying to get feedback from fam/ friends. I feel like I'm stuck until I get this outta the way.
here's some of my brain-storms:
PLEASE, hook me up w/ some feedback! (thanks)
Gritz Graphics (my name is Gretchen Fitzenrider, Gritz is also a nickname)
Gritty's Graphics (also a nickname)
Plan 9 Design
Cultivated Graphics
Gorilla Graphics (i LOVE me some monkeys)
Maverick Design (i'm a freakin rebel)
I had more, but forgot my list!
thanks guys
333cds
10-03-2006, 03:57 PM
I like Plan 9 Design.. the Best
then Maverick Design a close 2nd
My first company name was Designing Pixels...
I had moved from Charlotte back to Baltimore and my name was expired for one day, someone bought it and is using it now, I was so mad LOLOL...
I dont like .net , so I had to come up with another name and 333 Creative Design Studio was it :D
What a perfect thread for me to stumble on.
I'm trying to come up w/ a name myself for pretty broad freelance co.
I've began brainstorming some and have been trying to get feedback from fam/ friends. I feel like I'm stuck until I get this outta the way.
here's some of my brain-storms:
PLEASE, hook me up w/ some feedback! (thanks)
Gritz Graphics (my name is Gretchen Fitzenrider, Gritz is also a nickname)
Gritty's Graphics (also a nickname)
Plan 9 Design
Cultivated Graphics
Gorilla Graphics (i LOVE me some monkeys)
Maverick Design (i'm a freakin rebel)
I had more, but forgot my list!
thanks guys
rainbow2bryte
10-03-2006, 04:22 PM
I like Plan 9 Design.. the Best
then Maverick Design a close 2nd
My first company name was Designing Pixels...
I had moved from Charlotte back to Baltimore and my name was expired for one day, someone bought it and is using it now, I was so mad LOLOL...
I dont like .net , so I had to come up with another name and 333 Creative Design Studio was it :D
thanks 333, I like your name as well.
Plan 9 Design has a nice 'ring' to it, but i'm afraid it's going to be taken somehow.
I like Maverick as well, but am also afraid it might be over-used in our field a bit.
SOoooo, how did any of you that have a name established find out if it was taken already? I've heard some stuff, but dunno- trademark lawyers or some crap.
also, sorry to steal any thunder Shari, hopefully all this is helpful or at least inspiring.
budafist
10-03-2006, 11:10 PM
You can just look up stuff on the internet!
We're lucky in our field, most design studios have a website.