Naming Work 1212 Responses

Last post: 1 year ago | Thread started: May 22, 12, 5:40 p.m.

RespondNew TopicDisable Images

• CanHasQBN

  I do some freelance for an agency. They want an estimate for coming up with name ideas for future clients.

  Do I charge my usual design fee, or does this require a separate fee? I feel like it should be priced lower, as it involves being creative, but doesn't require any technical skills.

  I do not know who or how big the clients will be, so I can't estimate based on that.

  Thoughts appreciated.

  May 22, 12, 5:40 p.m. – Permalink

• waterhouse

  Did you come up with that handle?

  • No. A cheeseburger-loving feline whispered it into my ear.– CanHasQBN

  

  You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

  Cancel

  Dog-earMay 22, 12, 6:31 p.m. – Permalink

• ukit2

  Why priced lower? Coming up with a good name is really hard.

  • <– inteliboy1/2

    <<– hellobotto2/2

  

  You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

  Cancel

  Dog-earMay 22, 12, 6:33 p.m. – Permalink

• 2002

  I would double the price for naming.

  Method Brand
  Alliteration Coca-Cola
  Oxymoron Krispy Kreme
  Combination Walkman
  Tautology Crown Royal
  Theronym Mustang
  Mimetics Google
  Eponym Trump Tower
  Description Cinnamon Toast Crunch
  Synecdoche Staples
  Poetics USA Today
  Metonymy Starbucks
  Allusion London Fog
  Haplology Land O'Lakes
  Clipping Fed Ex
  Morphological borrowing Nikon
  Omission RAZR
  Acronym adaptation BMW
  Acronym KFC
  Founder's name Ferrari
  Classical roots Pentium
  Arbitrary Apple
  Reduplication Spic and Span

  

  You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

  Cancel

  Dog-earMay 22, 12, 7:28 p.m. – Permalink

• omg

  What kind of budget will they pay for each name? Research, presentation, etc...

  

  You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

  Cancel

  Dog-earMay 22, 12, 8:19 p.m. – Permalink

• bulletfactory

  being creative is being creative; technical know-how involved or not.
  I have seen CDs, ECDs, etc that have zero tech skills, but have an aptitude for branding, naming, etc.

  Are you perceiving a lower value for this work?

  Your perceived value ≠ actual value for client

  

  You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

  Cancel

  Dog-earMay 22, 12, 8:26 p.m. – Permalink

• i_monk

  There are two approaches as I see it:

  1) in your freelance work, are you paid to move the mouse around, or to come up with a reason for the mouse to move? They want your creative juices, not a product.

  2) How much work do you need to do? That's the main point. If they want 5-10 names (not including variations), that's 5-10 times the amount of work, which may mean researching, analyzing trends, checking trademarks, etc, depending on what you're given to work from.

  Which can you get away with?

  

  You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

  Cancel

  Dog-earMay 22, 12, 9:15 p.m. – Permalink

• animatedgif

  You charge them per letter, OBVIOUSLY.

  pffft amateur hour on QBN as per usual.

  • as usual– monospaced

  

  You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

  Cancel

  Dog-earMay 23, 12, 5:24 a.m. – Permalink

• fadein11

  I always struggle with this

  

  You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

  Cancel

  Dog-earMay 23, 12, 5:27 a.m. – Permalink

• gramme

  Creating is creating is creating. Names are valuable. Creating the right one is very hard work. Don't think about the amount of time it takes, because for all you know it could take somewhere between 30 minutes and 30 days. (It'll most likely take somewhere between 20 and 50 hours of work, but that totally depends on the problem, the creator, and the client).

  • thanks. i'll continue with an hourly rate then.– CanHasQBN

  

  You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

  Cancel

  Dog-earMay 23, 12, 8:42 a.m. – Permalink

• d_rek

  I've swore off of naming exercises. Never again. You can't pay me enough to put myself through that torture.

  

  You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

  Cancel

  Dog-earMay 23, 12, 8:44 a.m. – Permalink

• voiceof

  You also need to factor in the time it's going to take to look into possible copyright infringement. You will need to research whether or not these names have negative connotations in other countries that company may expand into. You will need to write rationale for each of the names to allow the client to better understand your thinking and in turn sell the client on it.

  It will probably be more than just emailing them a list of cool sounding names.

  • yup. i think i'll let them know that i will do all of this stuff to justify my rate.– CanHasQBN

  

  You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

  Cancel

  Dog-earMay 23, 12, 9:36 a.m. – Permalink

• voiceof

  Also a note from the thrivent rebrand:
  "I’ve long wondered why all the new companies I read about seem to have ‘made-up’ names. Now I know why, firsthand! In the difficult and intensive process of finding a new name for our merged organization, we found an outstanding one – but only after we discovered that more than 90% of the nouns in the English language are already taken, and the other ten percent are virtually unusable. That’s why you and I read about companies named Lucent, Accenture and Dynegy... and now Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.”

  • Yeah, I'm one that leans toward made-up words rather than real ones. It's gotta be unique and memorable.– CanHasQBN

  

  You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

  Cancel

  Dog-earMay 23, 12, 9:38 a.m. – Permalink