Company name ideas

Viper · Post by **Viper** » Sat Jan 28, 2012 7:37 pm

Hi peoples

As you might or might not know, I am going to start an online business in graphic design sometime this year. I have already given it a lot of thought and have it all worked out on paper. All I need is time (and some money) to set it up and I'm good to go.

However, there is one thing I'm still not certain about. Probably one of the most important things - the company name.

Until now I have used 'Maverick Graphic Design' for the work I have sold or produced freely, but I'm really not happy with it. The 'Maverick' part is used too often by another gazillion companies out there, and the 'Graphic Design' part is also too plain and simple.
I have thought hard and long about an alternative and have come up with a few, but none that really hit the 'that's it!' note.

I therefor thought I'd ask for help on this and use the combined brain power of the entire community to help out lol.

Here's what I want the name to represent:

The 'different than others' character of my approach of the company
A name that is unique in its kind and can easily be remembered and recognized
It should feel 'distinguished' and somewhat classy. As in that I'm serious about it, and not some half-time company which doesn't know what he's doing
It should be in English, seeing the international character of the company.
It has to relate in some way to me as a person. Nobody on this forum really knows me personally however, but I think it will be interesting to see ideas based on the way people have gotten to know me here

Yes I know, that's a lot of demands.
If anyone has an idea though, it'd be awesome if you could share it with me.
Although I can't extend a reward for the winning idea right now, I will most happily think of some kind of (real!) reward if the winning idea is going to be in here and I will make money with the company.

Rubber Chicken · Post by **Rubber Chicken** » Sat Jan 28, 2012 7:46 pm

As you can probably tell I'm absolutely Terrible at naming things!:P

If something pops into mind though, I will be sure to post it here.

EU_NL · Post by **EU_NL** » Sat Jan 28, 2012 8:14 pm

Im self employed as well (Technical Project Lead / Architect) and when i had to think of a good name....man i feel your pain.

I can only give you one advice...keep it simple and stay close to what you do.

Try to look up some Latin words, and mix them a bit.

Mix keywords that you want your company to be, like: Unique, Graphic, Solutions, Personal, etc..

But you already knew that, i can tell you nothing new.

Goodluck finding 'it'!

EU_NL

Viper · Post by **Viper** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 10:21 am

@Rubber Chicken: Well I don't know about that. 'Rubber Duck Graphics' does have a certain ring to it don't you think?

@EU_NL: Yeah been there, done that. Put things on paper, made combinations, tried just parts of words put together to make a new word, etc etc. And still at a loss I'm afraid.

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 5:33 pm

I suggest "FLEX Graphics" the Letters in FLEX can have a variety of meanings form Flexible to Fabulous, Light to Luminous, Excellent to Exquisite, X-Factor to X-Man!

Comes closest to Rubber Chicken or Rubber Ducky!.....

:P

[Edited on 1-29-2012 by Maarschalk]

Dingo · Post by **Dingo** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 5:55 pm

I named my screen-printing company "American Dingo"

you too can name your company after your callsign.

Viper Design: Fast, Deadly, and Affordable!

airassassin · Post by **airassassin** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 8:25 pm

Whatever name you pick make sure its not trademark. You can check if the name is trademarked here http://www.uspto.gov/main/profiles/acadres.htm
Also you can search for patents there too

Viper · Post by **Viper** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 7:24 pm

After running through another zillion possible options, I came up with 'Rogue Graphics'. It does fit the bill.
A logo could look something like this (please don't mind any imperfections; it's just a quick 10-minute draft):

What do you guys think?

[Edited on 2-19-2012 by Viper]

Bossk · Post by **Bossk** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 10:53 pm

If that is just a "quick 10 minute draft" then what can you do in 20? I like Rouge. It has an edge to it. What is you target? I mean are you looking to do work for print, web, small companies, logo's?

Viper · Post by **Viper** » Mon Feb 20, 2012 5:35 pm

From post: 131214, Topic: tid=8653, author=Bossk wrote:If that is just a "quick 10 minute draft" then what can you do in 20? I like Rouge. It has an edge to it. What is you target? I mean are you looking to do work for print, web, small companies, logo's?

Well the '10-minute draft' was a figure of speech; it did take me a bit more than that, probably around an hour (I don't really keep track but time can fly when you're on the computer). But when you know the right techniques, designing a good logo really doesn't have to take a lot of time. Just google for 'company logo' some time and you will see that most (printable) designs are quite simple, and all the more effective because of it.
The time you spend on a design really depends more on the amount of inspiration you have at the moment lol. If you know exactly what you want the logo to look like before you start designing it, it can be done quite quickly. Although the more graphically advanced designs, mostly used for websites and other digital media, do take a lot more time to design as they have a lot more fancy effects to them.

To answer your question: In time, all of the above. Although the company itself does not officially exist yet and I have yet to design the website, I have already received a few assignments to design logo's or other graphical elements. When my site is done (which will be near the end of this year - I am preoccupied with other stuff at the moment), it would only be logical to show work I have already done in the site portfolio, so the results of those assignments will be shown first.
I am most experienced in digital design (websites (just the graphical design; I have plans to collaborate with my brother-in-law, who does the coding), digital (company and other) logo's, possibly video game material, really all non-printable material. I also like that form of design the most as I can include far more effects compared to printable designs, so I'm aiming towards that for the majority of the work.
However, I cannot ignore the possibilities other forms of design bring. So in due time I am planning to also expand my services into other areas like printable designs (company business cards, PR material, etc), which is quite a large work area in itself and could potentially bring a lot of work.

But for now I am still spending my time on other issues, which gives me the great opportunity to really think through all the details like for example the name, logo and marketing strategy. There's a good chance I might come up with something else name- and logo wise before starting the actual business, although I do like the sound of Rogue Graphics and it fits me.
As I launch the business, it will be a part-time occupation at first. I don't want to quit my job just like that and dive in head-first. Depending on the amount of assignments I can drag in, I will expand according to the demand. The ultimate goal is to indeed quit my job and do it full-time. And make a good living out of it, of course.

The assignments I have already received while not having an actual business yet, do give me good hopes.

Thanks for your interest Bossk and sorry for rambling lol. I do get a bit excited once I start.

[Edited on 2-20-2012 by Viper]

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Mon Feb 20, 2012 6:01 pm

Very cool Viper!....

Ravenfeeder · Post by **Ravenfeeder** » Mon Feb 20, 2012 11:32 pm

How about: "Want a design? Come on-line"?

"Design champions" - "Champion Designers"

"Ultimate Designers"

"Graphic Design of the Century"

"The World of Graphics"

"Organic Designers"