NAMING  •  STRATEGY  •  APPROACH  • 
IDENTITY/DESIGN (BY PROXY)

In general terms, a name is a word, or a combination of words, used as the main identifier for a person, place or thing. Simple enough, right? Not so fast. Identifying the name for a product, service or company is as polarizing a creative endeavor as any, bringing with it unique challenges that reach beyond simply picking a word, or combination of words, to call something by.

Countless online articles detail the characteristics of an effective name—with guidance ranging from making the name short, memorable, and easy to spell & pronounce to making sure the name is unique and legally “ownable.” All important considerations, no doubt. (Having a story-based quality to it helps too, by the way.) But the one piece most every list forgets to mention centers around the word “like.”

Like, For Real

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“Like” is viewed as a proverbial four-letter word at Square Mile. Our experience has taught us to avoid using it almost entirely. We try not to think or speak in terms of “like” or “dislike” when discussing projects, helps us avoid personal preferences or bias dictating a particular solution. Instead, we think in terms of “effective” or “ineffective” to mitigate tendency and favoritism, keeping our focus solely on the audience of the product, service or company we’re naming. And we encourage all our clients to do the same.

Even though a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, it just wouldn’t be the same. Names aren’t simply read or recognized—they’re experienced, they’re connected with and, to some degree, they evoke a feeling. That’s what gives them value.

Our goal with any naming project is to find an effective word or phrase that will be used as the main descriptor for the product, service or company it represents but, ultimately, hope it becomes a valued asset to both those identifying with it and the audience that will eventually embrace it.

Showcased here are some naming projects we’ve been fortunate enough to help create, each showing how inspiration for an effective name can be found in the most unpredictable of places.

CLIENT:

Bespoke Hospitality

PROJECT TYPE:

Naming

Work developed at Stebbings Partners
Image Credits: Stebbings Partners

Wink & Nod

Bespoke Hospitality was opening a speakeasy style restaurant & bar in the South End of Boston. Inspired by a Boston politician’s famous quote, the name Wink & Nod provided the brand with a strong background story, had a clear tie to the local community, and embodied the secret-keeping spirit found in any respected speakeasy.

CLIENT:

Saratoga Salad Dressings

PROJECT TYPE:

Naming

Work developed at Stebbings Partners
Image Credits: Stebbings Partners

Nines Dressings

Saratoga has been a mainstay in wholesale salad dressing production for decades and was ready to make the jump to retail shelves. Refined flavor profiles, packaged in shelf stable to-go servings, called for a name that felt upscale, yet familiar. NINES bowtie logo implies the brand’s sophistication while the Dress Well™ tagline provides context for their assortment of premium dressing products.

CLIENT:

Brown School of Public Health

PROJECT TYPE:

Naming

Work developed at Luminous Creative Agency

TIMI

Brown School of Public Health is developing a VR-based program using Motivational Interviewing (MI) techniques to assist patients in changing certain behaviors (smoking cessation, for example). TIMI (pronounced Tim-e), an acronym for Technology-based Intrinsic Motivational Interviewing, personifies the program with a name-based approach that incorporates MI, lends itself to identifying the VR “mascot” that will navigate patients through the treatment program, and has a decidedly “tech feel” designed to resonate with the program’s target demographic.