If the perfect name for your product is “Blue,” but you have a naming convention that only considers geometric shapes and sounds, not colors, then you have an arbitrary filter in place that is limiting the names you can even consider. The only filter that matters is the Supports The Positioning filter – all other filters, like “the name needs to be serious” or “it should start with a letter A” are arbitrary, exclusionary, and will lead you into a morass of bad name choices.
What is the Manifesto?
The Naming & Branding Manifesto is a live, ongoing exploration of Zinzin's philosophy of naming and branding, presented here with the latest Manifesto bites at the top.
Get the Manifesto PDF
On our Downloads page, you can get The Naming & Branding Manifesto PDF, which is in chronological order, or the standard naming guide, which includes The Manifesto.
5 Random Manifesti
5Language Is Dirty.
Language is messy. It is governed by rules that are often broken and riddled with exceptions that give it life. In order to create the best possible name for a company, product, baby, horse, character, or other, you have to … »»»
3Name, Rank And Serial Number.
For too many people and companies, a name is merely an identifier, a functional string of letters or numbers with little brand value. This is the baseline, primordial meaning and function of a name. As Wittgenstein puts it, “A name … »»»
24Difruhnt, But Not That Different.
If your name is different for the sake of being different or extreme in any way just for the sake of being extreme, then it is doomed. The most powerful names are those that best support the brand positioning, no … »»»
9Slay Dragon, Heal Earth, Reach Nirvana.
What feelings do you want your target audience to associate with your company or product? Do you want them feel that they are creative, “outside the box” individualists (Apple)? Part of a large, connected tribe (Facebook)? Empowered to push themselves … »»»
31Measure Your Ingredients Carefully.
One issue to resolve when looking at a product naming strategy is when and to what extent does it make sense to engage in ingredient branding – naming individual technology components, such as GM’s “OnStar” navigation system, or PCs with … »»»

