Observations (& Inspirations)

August 24, 2022 By Zinzin

Paint the salmon misty: colorful names done right

Wall paint manufacturers realize — with thousands of colors to choose from in each product line, it doesn’t make sense to give all those colors descriptive names. So, they create evocative names that evoke emotions and stories for the consumer. And this naming strategy is working, according to an article in The New York Times called, “We Call It Brown. They Call It ‘Weekend in the Country.'”

In a redoubled effort to capture consumers’ attention in this sputtering economic recovery, some paint companies are hoping to distinguish their brands with names that tell a story, summon a memory or evoke an emotion — even a dark one — as long as they result in a sale.

What they do not do is reveal the color.

“For a long time we had to connect the color name with the general color reference,” said Sue Kim, the color trend and forecast specialist for the Valspar paint company. “But now,” Ms. Kim added, “we’re exploring color names that are a representation of your lifestyle.”

August 19, 2022 By Ali Sell

Viral naming: WHO asked whom for help renaming monkeypox?

Zinzin has named a lot of things, but we’ve never named or renamed a virus. Alas, the World Health Organization (WHO) didn’t ping us to rename monkeypox, but it did ask all of us for suggestions, specifically for a new disease name, in an open online forum.

However, when we read a recent news release by WHO titled, “Monkeypox: experts give virus variants new names,” we namers-by-profession couldn’t help but wonder…WHO used what experts? How did they arrive at these names? And what are the new names?

In this post, we will break down WHO’s naming process so far, using their press release (linked above) as our primary reference.

August 17, 2022 By Zinzin

Frisco: a name origin story that’ll blow your stack

When Zinzin gets hold of a name that intrigues us, we go all in. We dig into its past, present, and ponder its future.

Here’s a name that got our wheels spinning: “Frisco.” At first, we only thought it was a nickname that tourists sometimes use for our fair city of San Francisco, apparently cringe-worthy to the ears of all “real” San Franciscans. However, when Zinzin learned about it’s 165-year-old storied and controversial origin, let’s just say the namer-train left the station.

August 15, 2022 By Jay Jurisich

How to go from codename to killer brand name: company and product naming tips from Zinzin

We love a good codename: Maxwell. Gouda. Sirius. Dogwood. Fred. Sharknado.

Companies often use a codename (or codename systems) as a placeholder for a company or product(s) still in development. Typically, they’re developed in-house, chosen randomly, or sometimes have particular relevance to a company or product attribute. And in some cases, employees start to gain a fondness or strong attachment to them.

But time marches on, and, at some point, it becomes inevitable: the codename’s gotta go. It must make way for an even more awesome company or product name. In this post, we’ll cover some essential naming tips to help you transform your company Sharknado into a killer brand name. Roll camera!

August 10, 2022 By Zinzin

Warby Parker: an iconic brand name with 20/20 naming vision

Warby Parker is not your average brand. Nor is it your average brand name. In fact, here at Zinzin we think it’s super awesome. And we’re a hard naming-bunch to please. So we’d like to take this opportunity to highlight a brand we admire and talk a little naming-talk while we’re at it.

July 5, 2022 By Zinzin

FOSO: Zinzin’s top naming tips to topple your company’s “Fear of Standing Out”

You’ve heard of FOMO, Fear of Missing Out. You may have even heard of FOBO, Fear of a Better Option. But have you heard of FOSO?

In the world of naming, FOSO means Fear of Standing Out. And Zinzin coined it, because we’ve observed this decision-making phenomenon in our industry time and again.

June 22, 2022 By Ali Sell

Tech Company Naming: Get your SaaS in gear

At Zinzin, we love to name drop. Especially, when it’s a name we created for our fabulous client, Antimatter, doing sassy new things in the world of software as a service (SaaS).

That’s right; we said it: sassy.

Let’s take a look at two seemingly unconnected dots: the B2B SaaS infrastructure company, Antimatter, and why the word “sassy” is more than our attempt at being cute with SaaS. Zinzin believes both characteristics — serious and sassy — can successfully co-exist in a name when it maps true to its brand positioning.

Aside: We freely admit that we love to play with language. It’s part of Zinzin’s naming process. And it’s often how Zinzin brains make the most unlikely creative connections for our clients.

June 13, 2022 By Ali Sell

NBA Finals fun: Nicknames of the Golden State Warriors & Boston Celtics

Call us crazy (or just plain Zinzin), but naming is in our DNA, even when we’re watching the NBA. In honor of our local team, the Golden State Warriors, and their awesome run to this year’s NBA Finals — their sixth finals appearance in the last eight seasons — we take a brief look at Warriors naming history and current player nicknames. We also included a nicknaming-nod to the Warriors 2022 Finals rival, the Boston Celtics…because we may be “Zinzin,” but we love a good (naming) showdown.

June 1, 2022 By Jay Jurisich

How the pandemic helped liberate companies from “brainstorming” and “groupthink”

Only ten years ago, American author and lecturer, Susan Cain, wrote an article in The New York Times called The Rise of the New Groupthink. She made a strong argument against the rising tide of groupthink in our culture. It began,

“SOLITUDE is out of fashion. Our companies, our schools and our culture are in thrall to an idea I call the New Groupthink, which holds that creativity and achievement come from an oddly gregarious place. Most of us now work in teams, in offices without walls, for managers who prize people skills above all. Lone geniuses are out. Collaboration is in.”

Fast-forward one decade (& one pandemic) later

Who knew a virus would both upend and further validate Cain’s point of view? The pandemic, especially in lockdown mode, became a catalyst for how we work. Solitude IS – or at least forcibly became – IN fashion. Even those who still worked in teams also began to work solo at home. Goodbye to offices without walls and personal space. Hello to a different way of collaboration and the exchange of ideas.

May 6, 2022 By Jay Jurisich

A Guide to Evaluating Naming Agencies

A handy guide for evaluating naming agencies, with everything you need to know to help you choose the perfect agency.

Stephen King wrote, “The scariest moment in writing is just before you start.” For many companies, the prospect of hiring a naming agency is filled with nearly as much uncertainty as the process of naming itself. We want you to feel confident with your selection of a naming agency, so we’ve put together this handy guide. Here are a few things to consider:

July 17, 2020 By Jay Jurisich

New IFG grapes launched — named by Zinzin

Our fabulous client, International Fruit Genetics (IFG), the renowned and innovative fruit breeder that changed the way consumers and retailers think of grapes, has launched the first seven of many new grapes Zinzin has named for them. Unlike typical grape-naming systems that simply reflect seasons or color, Zinzin helped IFG create a new and energizing naming architecture that depicts the essence of these new IFG-bred varieties that explode with tropical flavors, crunch like an apple, or elegantly improve older varieties that deserve some revitalization.

May 11, 2018 By Jay Jurisich

Get outside of yourself

From Yogi Berra to Confucius, history is ripe with wisdom and advice on our quest for knowledge. One of Zinzin’s favorite wise humans is author and motivational speaker, Simon Sinek. Specifically, he speaks about the quest for knowledge in our chosen disciplines. Where do we find it?

As it turns out, the answer doesn’t lie within. It actually lies with-out — outside of the familiarity of your home, office walls, industry publications and conferences.

We think Sinek nails it when he says, “There are things that you can learn outside of your discipline that can significantly contribute to the problems you’re solving at work. You only know what you know. You don’t know what you don’t know.”

January 13, 2017 By Martin McMurray

Industry Jargon: Development Mule

A 2018 Ford Mustang test mule, replete with razzle-dazzle camouflage, and Velcroed front grill and rear end disguise. Photo: AutoMotorBlog / Spy Photographs.

I recently came across the term “development mule” in an article at Jalopnik, and several Ford Mustang “mules” were featured in director David Gelb’s A Faster Horse, which documents the design, production, and development of the 2015 Mustang. I was fascinated with the term, so I did a little research. According to Wikipedia, a development mule, test mule, or (simply) mule in the automotive industry is,

a testbed vehicle equipped with prototype components requiring evaluation. They are often camouflaged to deceive competitors and thwart a curious automotive press.

So what is the difference between a “prototype” and a “development mule?”

August 29, 2016 By Jay Jurisich

Humphry Slocombe: a brand name with character for an ice cream with attitude

Humphry Slocombe is a unique, “adult oriented” ice cream shop in San Francisco’s Mission District that makes quite possibly the best ice cream on the planet. If you’ve ever had their “Secret Breakfast” flavor ice cream, then you know exactly what I’m talking about. Humphry Slocombe is an ice cream pioneer, mixing unusual flavors to great effect. They use ingredients such as bourbon and toasted corn flakes (the aforementioned Secret Breakfast), Huckleberry Crème Fraîche, red wine, and Coke (Jesus Juice), or Boccalone Prosciutto. Above all, they have over 100 flavors that rotate every day, sometimes 2-3 times throughout the day.

August 14, 2016 By Jay Jurisich

Pink Floyd: contradiction and simplicity in an enduring band name

Whatever you think about their music, past or present, the band Pink Floyd has an amazing, enduring name, with a subtle power that reveals itself gradually over time. The name was created on the spur of the moment by early member and “crazy diamond” troubled genius Syd Barrett, by combining “the given names of two blues musicians whose Piedmont blues records Barrett had in his collection, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council” (Wikipedia). The unique combinations of strangeness and familiarity, modern (“Pink”) and retro (“Floyd”), young and old, have led to this being an enduring name still vital nearly 50 years after it burst upon the London music scene in the mid-1960s. Contradiction and simplicity combine to form one of the greatest band names of all time. And it only works because “Pink” can be a name and not just a color, which is only the case because “Floyd” is a name. Note, for instance, how much less interesting is the contemporary band name Pink Martini.

Observations (& Inspirations)

Observations (& Inspirations)

Fast-forward one decade (& one pandemic) later

A handy guide for evaluating naming agencies, with everything you need to know to help you choose the perfect agency.

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