This is an article by our guest author Antonio Fernández, who will help you with naming , that is, to find the name with which to make yourself known as a photographer (or your studio ).
First of all, by way of introduction, I will tell you that to make a mark in the world of photography , as in any business, there are countless factors to take into account: the language you use; your product and its qualities; the values and principles that define you; your personality and that of your work; the name of the business and its associations; merchandising , the meaning of the symbol, stationery, advertising, etc.
Well, the latter: name, symbol and advertising/stationery , are what graphic designers call corporate identity and it is what will be your first and longest-lasting marketing tool for the studio or business, as it will be) or should be) the first thing the potential customer encounters when trying to contact or hear from you; business card, the logo inside the card, the dossiers or video portfolios, your corporate colors in advertising, your name, etc. Well thought out and worked on, it will also help to reach the clients that you really want and, even, if you are specialized and this corporate identity thus transmits it with quality and elegance, to close more sales at better prices.
WHAT IS NAMING ?
The search for a name is known as Naming and it is one of the first aspects that you usually think about when you start a business, and not without reason, since the name will determine your personality and quite possibly the symbol of the logo. After this , the corporate colors and a very long chain of decisions will come…
In this article I am going to tell you about some ideas and tips that have helped me when it comes to learning how to do naming and I think they open your mind a lot when it gets stuck when it comes to thinking about how to call yourself artistically (or your studio). If you stop at the keywords in the advice that I give below, there is a huge universe of names waiting for you. If you give the coconut a little, of course.
1. CHOOSE THEME
You can start by choosing a topic that you like, in which you are a specialist, with which you want to be identified or, much better, where your potential customers are from.
Having this defined is more efficient when it comes to focusing the marketing of your studio or as a freelancer.
Example : I choose the theme "Nature" because I like birds and I photograph them, that's why I call the studio Hummingbird .
An example of a logo for this decision could be this:
THEME IDEAS
2. SEARCH (OR AS XAVIER GRAU CALLS IT) DO A NAME HUNT
Once the subject has been decided, the ideal is that, through a mind map and then in a brainstorming session , you write everything that you have in your head without censorship, do not hesitate and write down everything that occurs to you of that subject even if it seems absurd, since his thing is that you choose some of these and in the end you end up, not only with bra storming , but with around 100 possible names .
Look for blogs, magazines, books, articles, publications ... on the chosen topic and do a name hunt , anything that catches your eye: a technicality that you like, adjectives that are repeated or striking, trade union terms, etc.
3. TECHNIQUE: MATCH WORDS
A very successful technique is to join two words without using the letter “Y” in the middle . They can be the ones you found in the previous point (or later, or whatever comes to mind). You can even include misspellings to create a new word, use suffixes and prefixes, other languages, etc.
EXAMPLES
4. QUALITIES
When choosing among the 100, try to ensure that it has at least one of these qualities, as DameNáme teaches us : descriptive, preferably short, permeating, pronounceable, evoking emotions, creative (don't keep the First, run away from the obvious) and original (do not follow fashion or trends), eloquent, that you see the logo just by naming it.
5. ARCHETYPES
Another topic very different from the ones I have proposed in point 1 may be to look for the archetype with which you feel identified : innocence, ordinary person, exploration, wisdom, heroism, mischief, creativity, lover, fidelity, jokes, care, leadership... From here, look for names that evoke this idea, or if you already have one, think about whether it transmits it, validate it or correct it by joining words or adding prefixes or suffixes where appropriate.
6. VALIDATION
When you have the list of 100, choose the 10 that you like the most and study their feasibility, that is, that they no longer exist, nor do the Internet domains, that there are no misinterpretations in other countries and languages, usability, loudness, registration problems and legal...
Surely you will drop many names along the way and some of the best ones, it is hard, but you have to discard them, in the long run you will be glad, you may have to give those 100 another turn so that, in the end, you can keep the best 3 and, now yes, determine the winner.
With those 3: do surveys, ask your friends and family, think about what the logos would be like, write them with different fonts, put them with some background of the topics to which they belong...
It is an activity as beautiful and fun as it is important, so much so that I have stopped being a general designer and have focused my study on specializing in helping you as a photographer to get a name, "THE NAME", with which to position yourself in the market and build the which, I repeat, should be your first and most lasting marketing tool: corporate identity (Name, symbol and stationery/advertising).
I hope I have helped you with this article to choose your name. Share it with whoever can use it and if you have any doubts, write them in the comments.
This is an article by Antonio Fernández, a graphic designer specialized in helping photography professionals. You can follow his work on his website, on Instagram, Facebookor Linkedin.
If you also want to participate as a guest author, click here.
Did you like the article? Thank Antonio for his advice by sharing the article on your favorite social network so that others can also enjoy his recommendations. Thank you and see you soon.
