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business naming


markw7
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What better forum than here? I'm sure people on the boards would give it to you straight on their opinions.

 

Regardless theres things to think about, such as make it a name that you only have to say once and people will understand it. Don't make it difficult and complicated, you'll feel dumb when someone asks you your company name and they say huh??? and you end up spelling it for them to make them get it.

 

It's never too early to think about how a logo will work

 

....and you may want to make sure that you can get the web address you want for your name.

Edited by BrianKitts
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good advice bri, the one thing i do when thinkin about names (not setting one up for a while, not in this economy, but never to early to start thinking)

 

but the one thing i do is as soon as i think of a name, i type it into a domain search engine, if the web address ain't there, the idea goes in the bin

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I would google the heck out of it. I once thought "hive" would be a good name... guess that wasn't very original - at all.

 

Yeah. Most of the good ones are taken. I recommend a name that is catchy but memorable. One of my favorites is SquintOpera. I think it sounds pretty artsy. I also like Hayes Davidson. It sounds like an old professional firm. I guess you need to decide on something that would best describe how you are trying to position your company.

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How about "Bob The Spider"?

 

Anyway, why not start up now? That way you get to sit in a nice office downtown playing so that when the jobs do come in you will be on top of your game. Meanwhile : tax writeoff heaven, no? Though maybe there's a time limit as to how long normal people are allowed to be "failures". And think, you'll be able to say "Providing quality rendering services for # years."

 

There's probably some need to look at who your clients will be and how they will respond to what kind of name. Moribund firms doing nothing other than giant hotels and luxury McMansions mayn't respond to some names as well as "such cutting edge designers we'd have to sub-contract code compliance for a doghouse". Apple hired Frogdesign, IBM did not.

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but the one thing i do is as soon as i think of a name, i type it into a domain search engine, if the web address ain't there, the idea goes in the bin

 

What better forum than here? I'm sure people on the boards would give it to you straight on their opinions.

... make it a name that you only have to say once and people will understand it.

....and you may want to make sure that you can get the web address you want for your name.

 

Okay, well, here's the problem. I belong to a loose collective called Urban Interface and have been given the okay to use it, but that work is urban design related. I want to keep the viz work separate so as to not confuse clients. And they are on the east coast while I'm on the west. So after hundreds of domain searches I found viz-ui.com, which would just be VIZ UI on a card. Is it a dog? I plan to use Atomic Design Works for artwork. Why? Cause I like the comic book sound of Atomic and that was the only url available.

 

Opinions?

 

One of my favorites is SquintOpera.

 

Their work is one of my favorites, too.

 

Anyway, why not start up now? That way you get to sit in a nice office downtown playing so that when the jobs do come in you will be on top of your game. Meanwhile : tax writeoff heaven, no? Though maybe there's a time limit as to how long normal people are allowed to be "failures". And think, you'll be able to say "Providing quality rendering services for # years."

 

I'm trying to start-up now, but I need loans. Exploring all avenues. I too think that a down economy is not a bad time to start, which I guess sounds kinda crazy, but in comparison to other businesses the overhead isn't too high for a one or two person firm.

 

There's probably some need to look at who your clients will be and how they will respond to what kind of name. Moribund firms doing nothing other than giant hotels and luxury McMansions mayn't respond to some names as well as "such cutting edge designers we'd have to sub-contract code compliance for a doghouse". Apple hired Frogdesign, IBM did not.

 

I'd be happy doing all cutting edge stuff, but I won't turn down luxury mcmansion jobs either right now. I need the name to work for both somehow.

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...So after hundreds of domain searches I found viz-ui.com, which would just be VIZ UI on a card. Is it a dog? I plan to use Atomic Design Works for artwork. Why? Cause I like the comic book sound of Atomic and that was the only url available.

 

Opinions?

 

Yes. It's a dog. I like the sound of Atomic better. How about giving it a little twist like "Atomic Dog Studio". It also gives you the option for a comic book character. Just a thought.

 

The URL is available....

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> VIZ UI

 

I don't like this one because I don't like typing the - way up there off my weak pinky; and I miss some times (Sorry, Ms. Grayson).

 

I'm also confused about it having UI in it. Will you be doing user interface design? Will your clients understand what UI is about?

 

I think I read an article somewhere that said that all the agonizing people do over business names is mostly wasted ;-).

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I think I read an article somewhere that said that all the agonizing people do over business names is mostly wasted ;-).

 

I agree. Look at Spine3D for example. That's a pretty weird name. We occasionally get calls from people with back problems, but it hasn't really prevented us from getting arch viz work. I think... :rolleyes:

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I agree. Look at Spine3D for example. That's a pretty weird name. We occasionally get calls from people with back problems, but it hasn't really prevented us from getting arch viz work. I think... :rolleyes:

 

Yeah, I get people contacting me about supplying or designing lightwells which just shows that people don't read websites properly. In the end though, so long as your real potential clients aren't confused or put-off by your name and are clear about who you are then thats all that matters. I don't think odd or meaningless names are a problem, sometimes they can really stick in peoples minds so they have big advantages.

 

I'm incorporated as Lightwell Viusalisation Ltd but thats a mouthful so trade as Lightwell. I wanted an architectural sounding name, liked that it contained "light" and the domain was available.

 

Jim

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The Neighbourhood is my favourite name i think - it has good connotations,

where as Smoothe sounds like a slimy drink to me. Lightwell and Vyonx also work well.

 

Go with something simple, memorable and with a personal touch i reckon, dont put 3D in the name either.

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Yes. It's a dog. I like the sound of Atomic better. How about giving it a little twist like "Atomic Dog Studio". It also gives you the option for a comic book character. Just a thought.

The URL is available....

bowwowwowyippyyoyippyyea

That's pretty cool. Worried what banking guys and real estate developers will think, though.

I don't mind it being a little generic. Also, the "user interface" angle is sort of fine, because the company will make websites as well. I don't know. Funny about Spine3D, because yeah, the initial thought is that the work doesn't match the title, but once I've seen the images the disconnect goes away.

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