8 Golden Rules of Naming

These 8 rules are from my forthcoming 'how to' article on naming.  I thought you might find them useful.

1. Don’t rely on competitions, use them to get an idea on what values people associate with your business or product
2. Get clear on your brief and what you want to achieve and stick to it
3. Be courageous when deciding on a name - go with your gut as well as on technical merit
4. Don’t assume availability, obtain legal advice before printing stationery or submitting trade mark applications
5. Don’t settle on a name until you’re sure it satisfies your brief
6. Don’t rely on outside opinion to make a decision
7. Aim for between 1-3 syllables, any more and you run the risk of the name being abbreviated
8. Don’t make an isolated decision.  A name must play to the ego of your audience, not just you and your committee.  It may look good on the boardroom whiteboard, but will it help you to achieve long term goals?

© Hamish Chadwick, Image Substation 2009