Design Firm Names

[kevincdg]

im in the midst of trying to come up with a design name for my new design company. my previous one, www.cor-dg.com , i'm giving to my partner and letting him keep the name. coming up with a new name has been a lot more troubling than i first thought. i wanted to run some ideas by you guys and see what you think of when you hear the name.

i'll be doing mainly web related material, but still have the ability to design print material as well, so i decided on the generic term "graphic designer". i was going to incorporate my name, or do something such as 'kevin jones design', but that seems to generic for me. i can't get kevinjones.com or anything, since it's such a common name.

when it comes to brainstorming, i guess no idea is too dumb...to a certain extent. :P

sheerpixel

designsix (i'd focus on 6 different elements for design, possibly less if 6 was too many to come up with)

designbubble

feel clear design

desi6n (alternative to designsix)

kjstudios

kjdesign

pixelite

renorendering (reno is the city i'm based in)


maybe if anyone has any other ideas or anything comes up, you could post them here too. designing for your own company is actually really hard, so any feedback/favorites would be helpful..i figure most of you have been through this at one time or another as well. :)

thanks

[Jeff Fisher LogoMotives]

Here's my own experience with the design firm name conundrum (http://blog-omotives.blogspot.com/2007/04/design-firm-name-conundrum.html). My advice, based on my own experience, is to go with your gut instincts and while listening to the initial advice of others - don't give it TOO much weight. In the end, it's your business and you're the one who needs to have enthusiasm for the name and live with it on a day-to-day basis.

- J.

[kevincdg]

thanks..i actually read your blog earlier today prior to posting this, i found it through google when searching. :) nice development..and thanks for the advice!

[CkretAjint]

I am not going to say which one I prefer. I would hate to tarnish your 'gut instinct' as Jeff called it. Instead I will say, just be smart about your business name and think about it long and hard. Use a little common sense and don't go with current trends... If you follow that path you should be able to come up with a bangin company name for yourself.

[budafist]

While you are brainstorming, it is a good idea to google search the names as you come up with them. If there is already a company with the same name, I would steer clear of that one.

[tZ]

here are some seps I have been though:

define yourself(in terms of word lists)- have others define you if possible- such as friends, family and such. Then from this take each attribute listed and start breaking it down into the simplest of forms. For example, I use to be a gymnast so I placed flexible on my list. Then I looked up what flexible actual meant and tried to apply it to as many different concepts a s possible. For instance, flexible can be both physical and mental in the respect that your open to others ideas and opinions perhaps. Then you start breaking down that so o as many times as you feel nessecaary to get to a interesting, contrasting and unique idea of which you initally thought of. Another example would be be flexible relating to animal such as a spider monkey. So one of my ideas was to use a spider monkey in my "identity".

Another process I have been through is researching my name and finding out what it really means- both my first, last and middle. Then from that looking at ways I can further break down what I learn about my name. For example, my last name stated it had something to do with a viper and I think my first pertained to a fox. So started looking at concepts and words that could perhaps summerize myself in relationship to those animals. Actually, first I listed some attributes that those animals sterotypically have then crossed out the ones that I didn't think pertained to my personality in general. Then from there started to deriving ideas from that list- such as sly, clever, etc.

Those two process's pretty much sum up the more *intelligent* approaches that I have been through in the past. Before I sketch any type of mark I like to come with a list of abstract concepts that can be given many faces/representations once put on paper but, that is the type of process I generally follow. I've come up with 40+ different concepts but, non of them I am really satisfied with but, then again I'm critical.


With that said, all the names you suggested are quite obvious- add design. I think it would be more benefically to think outside of design in the beginning then apply your name to it. This way your thinking in terms of a mark that doesn't represent anything tangible but, a untangible concept that can have many different literal representations applied. What this will do is make the the application of applying literal objects to the mark more flexible. For instance, take the example house and protection. House represents something very literal. If a client were to say place a house in my logo then there arn't really to many creative ideas that would come to mind besides of a house- I mean its a house. However, if you think beyond the tangible object to what it really is- cover, protection then alot more ideas can be derived that have nothing to do with a house but, are extended based on sharing the concept of protection/cover such as a bottle cap- cover.

However, from the ones you listed I feel the most unique are designbubble and feel clear. All the rest I have seen before.

good luck

[kevincdg]

Thank you for all the help. I actually used your method of tracing your names for quite a bit...it didn't help in the sense it was suppose too, but it actually gave me helped me come up with another idea that I like and think i'll develop.

Me and Mr. Jones would be the name. Any feedback on it? I know it doesn't really describe what I do right away, but that's also what sublines are for! :D I think it's unique enough. :P Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks for all the great feedback so far.

[flutterby nut]

this comes to mind: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_and_Mrs._Jones ...:D

[budafist]

How about "The Jones".

Then when you are an award winning design company, you can give the saying "Keeping up with The Jones" a new meaning :)

[kevincdg]

i ended up developing something a little different. i decided i wanted it to kind of explain what i did, even though it doesn't explain it fully. but it gives it a little more credit than before. :P

joneskreative (the k is also for kevin, so it does serve a purpose)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/BobbHeartsYou/jcreat2_05.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/BobbHeartsYou/jcreat2_03.jpg

feedback on which you like more or suggestions woudl be helpful :D

[typographics]

when i see words intentionally misspelled, i dont see a creative solution, i see a mistake. spelling things weird is a gimmick and something that should be generally be avoided.

[Ben Kessler]

I agree with Typographics. I know your name starts with "k," but that fact doesn't add cleverness or coherence to the title. That said, I think the logo you came up with looks cool. The flower is pretty eye-catching.

[budafist]

Yuck. I don't like the misspelling either. It looks very childish.

Can your tag be "Keeping up with The Joneses"?

Maybe one day aye? :)

[kevincdg]

:)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/BobbHeartsYou/jonescreation_10.jpg

[kevincdg]

i decided i'll use 'keeping up with the jonses' as the <title> of my page. how's that sound? :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/BobbHeartsYou/jonescreation_09-1.jpg

that's the most current, any suggestions are encouraged

[viince]

i kind of feel like "jones" is too heavy being the only black in the logo. "jones" feels separate from everything else. I really like the typeface of "creations" though. & the color scheme is nice.

But the flower, compared to the finesse in the stem, looks a little generic. Make it more organic and distinctive. Or at least move it so the center of the flower matches up with the tip of the stem.

[kevincdg]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/BobbHeartsYou/logo.jpg

i'm pretty content with this version. any thoughts?

[seamas]

I am gong to concuur with viince.

The flower is less than generic.

You are promoting yourself as a designer, so if you are going to design -or illustrate a flower you should do a better job than that.

I'd start by finding a real flower, something with atributes, or name, etc that has properties that you can identify with.
draw the flower, deconstruct the flower, symplify it, make an icon of it so that it has a unique illustration style of "you", but still has the character of the actual flower.

As it is, it doesn't look like you spent more than a munite designing it, and even less time conceptualizing it.

[rainbow2bryte]

what would it look like if you rotated the flower petals so that the solid blue petal was directly across from "jones", you know.. diagonally?
just curious...

nice job! way to bust out a co. name AND logo in no time flat!
jealous... ;)

[flutterby nut]

the trouble with using a flower is that it's a concept that's heavily used by the floral industry...many flower shops throw a flower in their name and call it good...it's indicative of what they do...and using this concept kinda lumps you in with them...

that said, i like the type you're using and the color...i like it just by itself without the flower...just a thought.

[onoyouditn]

I like the flower and the color combo. A good logo will not be overly complicated. I think it is simplistic and it works.

Now for your tagline "keeping up with the Joneses"...what about
We're the Joneses everyone tries to keep up with
Just try to keep up with us
No one else can keep up with the Joneses

[kevincdg]

thanks for all the feedback -- i have a couple variations of the same logo, using type and other suggested aspects.

i also experimented with a new name and logo that might be a more 'unique' direction, let's see what you think.

jonescreations:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/BobbHeartsYou/jonescreation_06-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/BobbHeartsYou/jonescreation_08.jpg

and the new identity -- me and mr jones | it's more unique and not as plain

i was trying something like this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/BobbHeartsYou/mrjones_05.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/BobbHeartsYou/mrjones_02.jpg

that business name i could focus on a wider target group...establishing myself as something like this: creating simplicity within both professional and personal designs.

just something else to think about -- crit welcomed

[Two-Toe Tom]

i think there's a counting crows song called mr jones and me

[Two-Toe Tom]

oh wait, its called "mr jones" but he sings mr jones & me in the chorus, here's the music video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYN74ZW4k_E

[viince]

Out of these, i like the second one even though the "a" looks really weird. But I don't really like the new name because it sounds like a huge grammatical error. Perhaps, "Mr. Jones & I". It's hard to tell what the figures are supposed to be doing also.

I must say though that the logo you posted last time is much much stronger than any of these. The type choice was more appealing and i liked the concept more. The flower did need to be worked on. Maybe making it look painterly or something.

[BJMRGTIVR6]

don't the talking heads sing about Mr. Jones and me too?

[kevincdg]

I believe both songs are MrJonesAndMe, and Yes, I think they do. It's been done several times.

I thought Me&MrJones flowed a lot more than jonescreations. Plus, it's unique. Also, I wanted to use the tagline: Keeping up with the Jonses was never so hard.

Thanks for all the feedback -- but I have my 'gut feeling' about this one as Jeff Fisher said. I'm going to sketch some today and hopefully upload something in a new thread soon. I'm hoping for your feedback then. :)

[Broacher]

A comment from the pervert row: "Me and Mr. Jones: keeping up with the Joneses was never so hard" gets my vote as the logo/tag combo most likely to be taken the other way.

You have to be able to distinguish 'gut feelings' from language/cultural resonance. They can be the same, but the latter usually is less specific.

The word 'Jones' has a fairly rich slang heritage. As a noun, it means overwhelmingly strong desire-- or literally, a heroin addiction. But also applicable to other compulsions: sex, gambling.... tacos. Also a euphemism for penis, but that's a very long list. I think it was also used in Southern California as an affirmation. I mean, the word 'Jones' is used as an affirmation (not penis... though, from what I hear...).


As for Jones songs, I remember singing this old song in a show a few years ago, here's the chorus:

And then along came Jones
Tall thin Jones
Slow-walkin' Jones
Slow-talkin' Jones
Along came long, lean, lanky Jones.

[kevincdg]

I think the connotations of the word jones are also very heavily demographic based. I asked probably around 50 people, ranging from the ages of 25-60 what they thought about the name -- none of them came up with the addiction reference. I even asked them after about it, because i knew about the reference before, and they said they wouldn't have connected it.

As for the tag line and the penis reference...I guess 'hard' isn't the right word to use. I could change it to 'difficult' for the more perverted folk like yourself. That way it'd carry less 'hidden sexual meaning'.

Do others feel that the name will be taken too obviously as a sexual reference?

Thanks for the advice Broacher!

[Two-Toe Tom]

i did not think of the sexual reference at first, so you might want to bold "hard" in your tagline.

i did think it was somehwat confusing at first glance tho, clients could take it to mean that they'd have a hard time keeping up with your company.

[seamas]

Well you
knoooowwwwwww
something's happening
but
you
don't-know-what-it-is
Do you?
Mr. Jones?

[kevincdg]

see, the name is lovely

it inspires everyone to sing, thus keeping my name in their head ALL the time

it'll do wonders for word of mouth.

....now, the logo :\ :confused:

[Broacher]

You know, I kind of like just 'Mr. Jones'. It has a far more enigmatic and evocative presence than 'Me&Mr' which is slightly confusing or just too specifically connected to the song.

[balou]

Wasn't there an oldie...

Me & Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones
We got a thing goin on.... ?

[kevincdg]

You know, I kind of like just 'Mr. Jones'. It has a far more enigmatic and evocative presence than 'Me&Mr' which is slightly confusing or just too specifically connected to the song.

hmm, you're kind of right, i'll toss that around. i also like the shortness.

and yes, there is an old song -- i like it. :)

[frankster]

Wasn't there an oldie...

Me & Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones
We got a thing goin on.... ?

It was Miss Jones. Didn't Sammy Davis Jr sing it? I used to be a Miss Jones ;)

[urstwile]

Nope, it was Mrs. Jones in the song Balou's talking about.

However, there is also a song called "Have you met Miss Jones?".

[frankster]

Nope, it was Mrs. Jones in the song Balou's talking about.

However, there is also a song called "Have you met Miss Jones?".

Ahh, that's the one I was thinking of! Thank you!

[urstwile]

Good song, by the way. It's a jazz classic. :)

[budafist]

Well, the theme is a winner. I've been thinking about it all day.

[Broacher]

Then there was the 1941 film, 'The Devil and Miss Jones'.

Here's some thoughts I had about the name "Mr. Jones":

Just the simple use of the salutation 'Mr.' has a certain 1950 retro business formality charm to it: in this age of 'dress down workweeks', and general lowering of formality in business communications-- maybe this could work in your favour: if you spun it right. Not to say that you're stiff and stiff-suited, just that your sense of customer respect and 'old-fashioned'(?) commitment to professionalism. It signals that you want to be treated with respect (no harm in that, considering the often questionable treatment graphic designers often receive from business people) and in turn, you don't question the expectation to return that respect to the people who hire you.

Spin? Perhaps a stylized 50's era smiling, square cut business guy graphic in your logo? Play it up: dress in simple black jacket (matching hanky), pants, white shirt, thin tie. I'm not sure what... but the thing is to keep the idea of old-fashioned, hard-working professional with a brilliant, contemporary portfolio to contrast.

'Mr. Jones'? This phrase has another connotation: it's almost a universal euphemism for anonynmity. For everything from hotel registries (with mistress in tow) to early ad lingo for 'average joe consumer'. This could be used creatively too: acknowledge that as 'Mr. Jones' you don't pose any threat as a designer with a personal style to prove -- you are just committed to being a professional talent to hire. Your skills are so sophisticated and wide ranging that your presence in the final is invisible. You understand that it's your job to make the CLIENT look good no matter what the job is that you get assigned to.

Of course, all this would depend so much on your personal communication style. It would be hard or impossible to follow this kind of promotional plan if you just don't fit that model. Still, I think that the idea has a real fun charm to it.

Just some thoughts.

[urstwile]

Broacher, after I'm done licking Hewligan's brain, may I come over and lick yours? :D

[budafist]

"Mister" also makes me think of Mr. Anderson: a la Agent Smith.

[PrintDriver]

Ah, now I see where that Mr. Jones logo is coming from in the other thread.
Boy am I glad you ditched the flower idea. While trendy and cute, it was just that, trendy and cute.

With Mr. Jones, I immediately caught both the sexual and drug reference and thought your tags quite humorous. But perhaps too much so. You have to keep your target clientele in mind when pushing the envelope in that direction. It'll be interesting to see what you ultimately come up with. With critiques, take all the advice offered and sift through it for what has meaning to you. Don't try to incorporate all advice given or take any too much to heart.

[Broacher]

Broacher, after I'm done licking Hewligan's brain, may I come over and lick yours? :D

Urst,

Save yourself the airfare by going to a pet store and finding a big fat cane toad.

Pretty much the same experience.

[urstwile]

:D Broacher.