For a lot of parents, picking the baby’s name is always a challenge. Almost always there is a list with all the possibilities and trending names of the time, that exerts uncontrollable influence on parents.
Even though there is some resistance, some names end up taking over name registries for a period. Hence we come across a collection of Noah, Emma and Jacob in the same classroom.
It is certain that a lot of people with the same name is never a juridical issue. People are not businesses and brands. Julia is not going to sue Julia for misuse of name. There will also never be a conceptual or promise problem: people’s names are not connections to their personalities. The logic and the requirements when naming people is very distinct than naming brands.
In the double relation between image and text, a brand’s name resides in text, in word. Therefore, the word that defines the company or product, and builds the connection with the complex being that is a brand, is its point of existencial definition. Why? If we changed the illustration of a logotype or the image that composes it, the word will remain as an element of connection. Take a look at brands such as Coca-Cola or Apple. If we alter the logotype (the typography) that spells Coca-Cola, even if it may look weird, the name will still be there, and we’ll know it refers to Coca-Cola. If Apple’s icon is changed to a pineapple, the word apple still indicates and apple (and not a pineapple); in this case, there we’ll be an absurd weirdness about the pineapple, and we will question if it is not a mistake.
The name is an entry to the world it represents. And the process to create it needs to be based on the following premises:
Name unfolds into narratives
When chosen, the name of the brand is an embryo of meanings. When we developed the name for Dona Vitamina, we considered its unfolding. Firstly, the feminine word, Dona (Lady), that indicates the power of a woman: next, the juxtaposition of Vitamina (Smoothie) that translates something worked: a bit of juice and health. With that, it’s possible to reach a starting point: a woman, empowered, who eats healthy! This Dona can be any woman, from any time, of any age. What really matters is its authority in the subject and the weirdness of juxtaposing, in a relaxed manner, two words from distinct semantic fields. The humor was completed by the symbol that represents Dona Vitamina: a woman of Victorian times, that allows herself to be cross-eyed when tasting a… smoothie!
The name of a brand must point to a universe that will open into countless narrative possibilities that, when combined, will build a brand with personality and own voice. There’s a lot to say in a single way!
The name must be legally protected
Once the brand is named, the concern that comes up is very complex: is the registration of the brand feasible? Will there be any impediment to its use? Creating a name is not enough, it is necessary to make it viable. Many company names are created (every second?). The possibility of your brand using an already existing name is much bigger today than two decades ago. Starting a new business with a new name without this premise is like parachuting without checking if there is something in the backpack.
Imagine a consolidated and successful brand (financially, especially) without an adequate brand registration. Now imagine it being prevented from using its name and, above all, obliged to pay extremely high fines.
The name of a brand is not a task for mathematicians
Mathematics is a fundamental science for life, however, it’s not a ludic science. It is also not closely related to metaphor. Brand names must carry poetry! Not only in the emotive meaning, but also as something unexpected, of the composition of images, of the potency to create a connection of sensations. The everyday is permeated by names that represent what they are: street, building, car, bread, faucet, tree, sheep, and many others. Everything so literal! As if everything around us was subtitle. Some weirdness is necessary to wake us up… and inspire.
These are just some of the premises for the process of creating brand names.
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Names that enchant us
Original Dona Vitamina: cross-eyed victorian lady facing a delicious smoothie! The brand expands to other dona vitaminas: girls and women of all different kinds.
U!mano, developed for the IBIS chain, is the name for the hotel chain’s bar in São Paulo. It is the São Paulo culture in its essence. The name has an interjection (U!) and a slang (mano) that is very popular… and paulistana.
