What shape does a company name have?

This is the first of a series of posts I will publish on naming.

Many think that to find a super, ultra, hyper, beautiful name you need inventiveness.
True, very true, without creativity you don't go anywhere, but it is also important to give yourself and give yourself rules to respect, otherwise your imagination runs wild, risking producing ineffective names .
Some criteria are decided by the client himself (I ask for them in the first meeting with the client, during the audit phase), for example: " I want a short name, in Italian, that conveys joy and positivity ".
Others deal with:

• being memorable
• the meaning
• company values and tone of voice
• the pronunciation

Let's look at these elements together, one by one.

Be memorable

A name that works is what we can remember even after some time , it seems simple when we hear it the first time ( I could have thought of it, damn it ) but in reality it has a tough construction behind it.

The most memorable names are familiar , they make us feel at ease when we pronounce them, they convey precise feelings and sensations.

How do you find a memorable name?

• Creating rhymes , for example Fritto e zitto is the nice and irreverent name I would give to a food truck that sells stuffed olives, arancini and other delicacies that require the use of a fryer.
• Using alliteration and, more generally, all figures of speech, as Dunkin' Donuts did.
• Playing with words ; here the organic and vegan bakery Breaking Bread in Rome comes to mind.
• Starting with strength ; research shows that words that begin with d, g, k, p, t, v are memorized better than others, such as Glovo or Kodak .

The meaning

What is the world behind the name of an activity or a product? Why was that name chosen and not another?

The more or less hidden meaning characterizes the brand, defines its values and aspects.
A name can be:

• descriptive , it says what the brand sells in no uncertain terms, like Poltronesofà .
• evocative , it delicately narrates scenarios and atmospheres connected to the brand/product.
• an acronym , i.e. an acronym which usually takes up the initials of the founder or descriptive words; AEG or LG are prime examples of this category.
• invented , a name that apparently has no meaning but actually has immense power. Here you play with words, merge terms, add or remove letters. One of the most famous cases of invented names? Amazon .

Company values and tone of voice

When it comes to naming, company values and tone of voice matter. Here they are if they count. Even if the business is in its infancy and the market is new.

A company's identity must be consistent from start to finish, the name can't be an exception:

• Lush is a bubbly, light brand name;
• Nike is strong and dynamic.

Returning to the wacky example above, Fried and Shut up could never belong to a private person who takes himself too seriously.

The pronunciation

Imagine you're in the kitchen doing the dishes because the dishwasher broke down. The water is open and pouring as you rinse the pasta pot. An interesting spot goes on TV, you can't see the images but you hear the message, which intrigues you. Finally, here is the name of the brand… it's just hard to pronounce it. It's a jumble of letters ( will it be with the h or without? it takes two e? the first was a co a k?) that screeches, you find it hard to remember.

A good name is musical, catchy, you can pronounce it right away even without seeing it written .

Some exceptions, as always there are, do you know Uniqlo ? I'll tell you about the origin of its name later.