Design Service Dubai, UAE
Names
that stick
Naming for companies, products and features: names that are easy to say, possible to own and still right in five years.
A name is the one piece of the brand you will never redesign. It is worth getting right.
Good names are rarely the clever ones. They are short, pronounceable in the markets you sell in, free of unfortunate meanings and available as a domain and a trademark. We generate widely, test ruthlessly and clear what survives, so the name you launch with is one you can keep.
For anyone about to put a name on something they will have to live with.
New companies, new products inside established ones, features that deserve more than a working title, and businesses whose current name has become a problem in a new market or a new category.
- Your working title has quietly become the name and nobody chose it
- The domain, the handles or the trademark are not available
- The name does not travel: it is hard to say or means something else abroad
- A rebrand is coming and the name is the open question
What a naming engagement covers
Naming brief
Territory, tone, constraints and the markets and languages the name has to work in. Agreed before a single candidate is written.
Generation
Hundreds of candidates across several naming routes, from descriptive to coined, narrowed to a shortlist with the reasoning behind each one.
Screening and checks
Linguistic checks in your markets, preliminary trademark searches, domain and handle availability and a read of how each name sounds spoken aloud.
Recommendation and story
The name we recommend, the runner-up, the rationale and a short story your team can tell about where it came from.
How we work
Brief
What the name must do, what it must avoid and where it will be used. We also list the names you have already rejected, and why.
Generate
Several routes explored in parallel. A long list first, then a shortlist of ten to fifteen with reasoning.
Screen
Language, culture, trademark classes and domains. Most names fall here, which is the point.
Decide
A recommendation with the evidence, presented in context so you judge the name on a product, not on a slide.
What we believe about names
Short beats clever
The best names are easy to say, easy to spell and easy to remember after hearing them once. Wit that needs explaining is a cost the brand pays forever.
Check before you commit
Half the names people love are unavailable. We screen early so the shortlist you see is a shortlist you can actually use.
A name needs a story
Nobody remembers a name without a reason. We give every recommendation a short story the team will repeat, which is how names stick.
What you walk away with
- A name that clears the checks before you fall in love with it
- A shortlist with reasoning, not a list of adjectives
- Domains and handles secured where available
- A story behind the name your team will repeat
Questions we are asked about naming
How long does naming take?
Three to five weeks for a company or product name including screening. Feature names inside an existing system are faster.
Do you register the trademark?
We run preliminary searches and flag conflicts, then work alongside your trademark counsel for the formal filing. We do not file on your behalf.
Will the name work in Arabic and English?
That is part of the brief. We check pronunciation, meaning and transliteration in every market you name, Arabic included.
Can naming be part of a brand identity project?
Yes, and it usually is. Naming comes first, so the identity is designed for the name rather than around it.
