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Ask DN: Name suggestions for design studio?

over 7 years ago from , emotional designer

Hey guys, Me and my friend have decided to take our freelancing and notch it up a bit. So, we are probably gonna go ahead and start our own design studio instead of just taking on projects separately. That way we think, we can get high value projects and have more control and creative freedom.

I was hoping if anyone had any names to suggest for our design studio ? We are not looking for names containing the term "design" and "studio" because they seem pretty cliche I think.

Any suggestions or help would be appreciated. Thanks

53 comments

  • Erik ShawErik Shaw, over 7 years ago

    How about Dingleberry? It's simple and friendly.

    23 points
  • Dav ▩Dav ▩, over 7 years ago

    Seriously, not to sound too harsh, but: As a creative person (& emotional designer) and consulting thinker, shouldn't you be able to come up with a name yourself, for yourself? (Isn't that also part of what you would offer to potential clients? Like, say, helping them with their naming/name?) ‘Outsourcing’ your own name to fellow DN'ers may not be the best start for your to be founded new design studio?

    14 points
    • Ansh DebAnsh Deb, over 7 years ago

      Yes, you are absolutely right. We did come up with a few names, but not sure about any of them :P Its like a regular thing that I think, could I have done better than that. So, I came to you guys for help.

      Thanks for the guidance though :)

      0 points
      • Dav ▩Dav ▩, over 7 years ago

        That is part of the ‘game’ (as a creative), I guess. Always questioning your decisions, reconsidering done designs. It is normal. (And it will never change. And that is a good thing.) Stay critical, but stay sane. ;)

        1 point
  • Tristam GochTristam Goch, over 7 years ago

    Lazerfart

    12 points
  • Vincent Le MoignVincent Le Moign, over 7 years ago

    "Absolute beginners" :-)

    7 points
  • Tony Jones, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

    You need to give us something to go off of like theme, plant, animal, mission statement, buzz words, principle, etc. If you want something generic with no meaning behind it, here are some: Red Door, Salt & Birch, Notch's, Nest & Porter, You Eye, and Emotient Inc.

    Note: All million dollar ideas are copyright to me.

    6 points
    • Ansh DebAnsh Deb, over 7 years ago

      Now that you say it, I think you are right. I should have refined the ideas a bit more. Will edit the statement or maybe come with a few names on my own and ask for a vote next time to make it easier.

      Thanks

      0 points
  • Art VandelayArt Vandelay, over 7 years ago

    Butthole Design Surfers

    4 points
  • Julian LloydJulian Lloyd, over 7 years ago

    Domains, $10 each. Taglines, free. You‘re welcome.

    3 points
    • Ansh DebAnsh Deb, over 7 years ago

      Aww, those are beautiful :D uxturbate is the best though :D

      0 points
    • Ed AdamsEd Adams, over 7 years ago

      PixelMaximum is legit kinda good, at least to me.

      0 points
      • Ansh DebAnsh Deb, over 7 years ago

        I personally don't like pixel maximum, it doesn't have that ring to it, or whatever you might wanna call it. It just doesn't please me that much. But, still the other two were really great. :D

        0 points
    • Brennan Smith, over 7 years ago

      masuxturbate.com - it encompasses the mass amount of work you will be taking on.

      0 points
    • Jordan J, over 7 years ago

      My compulsive domain purchasing disorder is telling me to get buttoncute.com really bad.

      0 points
  • Kwang-Su KimKwang-Su Kim, over 7 years ago

    Visual Masturbation — You're welcome!

    2 points
  • Calvin FennellCalvin Fennell, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

    "Another Design Studio"

    or just "Another"

    2 points
  • Adam Hayman, over 7 years ago

    That's always a tough one. Naming is what I struggle most with in any of my side projects/business ventures. My suggestion would be decide what sort of feel you business you want and then go from there. For example, "Ansh Design Co." implies a much more straightforward, no-nonsense service over "Anshly". I know you're not looking for a name containing the word "design" but my point is that the name implies the experience. What sort of experience do you want your customers to have when working with your business?

    Fun? Serious? Quality? Cheap? Fast? Deliberate? Streamlined? Detailed?

    Make a list of adjectives to describe your business and see if that inspires you.

    2 points
    • Ansh DebAnsh Deb, over 7 years ago

      Right. Thanks for the guidance. Will come up with a few names and maybe create another thread with them listed out so that you guys can suggest better that way.

      Thank you :)

      0 points
  • Jorge Hernandez Jorge Hernandez , over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

    I think the name should have personal meaning to you guys or what you guys do. Maybe something related to your friendship? You guys are creative, if you want to treat this venture seriously I recommend approaching the branding of your "studio" with the same level of professionalism you would your clients.

    I assure you its the best way to approach the problem. Picking a random name will wither and die. Because why shouldn't it? it never meant anything.

    my 2 cents

    1 point
  • Rick Martin, over 7 years ago

    Combine two random nouns you like, and then add your group noun at the end.

    Like: The Mustard Cricket Collective, for example.

    You're welcome.

    1 point
  • Eli SladeEli Slade, over 7 years ago

    HIG - Humans imagine greatness

    1 point
  • Eli SladeEli Slade, over 7 years ago

    Duo – "two people who perform together, are usually seen together, or are associated with each other"

    Duo describes your partner and your work together and also describes the relationship you have with your clients.

    As a domain you could use duu-oh.com

    1 point
  • Wassim BWassim B, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

    Could be crap, but anyways:

    • Brain.ing - comb of Brain + Raining + Engineering
    • Ultracotton.com
    • Bondistudio.com
    • Twoserifs.com
    • Sanserif.co/io
    • Pixelspot.co/io
    • Pixelfl.ag
    • Agence.you
    • Uxmat.es
    • Uxbats.com
    • Uxb.at
    • Pixelpit.ch
    • Meer.cat - Meerkat
    1 point
    • Ansh DebAnsh Deb, over 7 years ago

      Wow, those are some amazing names. Love twoserifs.com its beautiful. Thanks for the suggestions man. Highly appreciate it.

      0 points
  • No NameNo Name, over 7 years ago

    list domains you have to sell that this person should use for their name below

    /sarcasm

    1 point
  • Todd SielingTodd Sieling, over 7 years ago

    I couldn't resist a joke name, but in seriousness I'd recommend doing some brainstorming around shared interests, qualities of the things you want to work on or things you like, or especially words that capture the essence of your working dynamic. Something is causing you to want to work together as a single entity, captures that?

    Start from there and make a crazy list. Then give yourselves ten votes each and spend them on the names you like (spend more votes on names you really like). Any names that didn't get votes are off the list for now. The names with the top 3 totals should be your short list for discussion. Can you ideate a visual identity around them? Can you articulate brand qualities? You don't have to go all the way as you're looking just to name, but it helps.

    Whatever you get down to, sleep on them, then come back and pick your favourite. Start saying it out loud a lot. Use it in sentences, introduce your company to each other. If it feels right, go for it. Good luck.

    0 points
    • Ansh DebAnsh Deb, over 7 years ago

      Yes, thanks for the detailed guidance, will make sure to do it and update it here with a list of names that I came up with. BTW, just curious what was the joke name you had in mind? Haha, maybe we get some ideas out of that :P

      0 points
  • Corrado FrancoliniCorrado Francolini, over 7 years ago

    "HUMBLE".

    0 points
  • Bevan StephensBevan Stephens, over 7 years ago

    Webmasters inc

    0 points
  • Sushil Sharma, over 7 years ago

    Designphile

    0 points
  • Bilal MohammedBilal Mohammed, over 7 years ago

    Llama Herders

    0 points
  • Justin SchuelerJustin Schueler, over 7 years ago

    ... Bit late for April fools', hm?

    0 points
  • Jrtorrents Dorman , over 7 years ago

    Even better, why don't you come up with a few options so we help you decide?

    0 points
    • Ansh DebAnsh Deb, over 7 years ago

      Will do in some time and create another thread. Thanks for the idea.

      0 points
      • Dav ▩Dav ▩, over 7 years ago

        Without any sarcasm, nor rude harshness: I am actually really interested in learning what you so far came up with, concerning your design studio name(s).

        0 points
        • Ansh DebAnsh Deb, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

          Humanly

          Onestop

          Aesthetic studio (not sure about the word studio)

          Catalyze (with a 'z')

          Anmy (Combining two initials of my name and my partner's (Jeremy))

          These were a few rough ideas that we came up with. But, I feel none of them had that punch we are looking for. We got some great ideas so probably going to brainstorm a lot more on it now :D

          0 points
          • Dav ▩Dav ▩, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

            Hmm.

            There are currently already dozens of (bio/tech) companies out there (says Google) named ‘Catalyze’.

            ‘Humanly’ also sounds a lot like ‘manly humans’, like ‘Tim Toolman Taylor in Home Improvement’–manly, which probably is not what you intended. ;)

            ‘Onestop’ for me subjectively would be better fitting for a mechanic (or again handyman/craftsman). A one stop shop for design? Blurry lines.

            And ‘Aesthetic Studio’ is kinda boring and expected. (And when I read ‘Aesthetic Studio’ the first thing that comes to mind is ‘Aesthetic Apparatus’.)

            Playing with your own names would be a safe bet, but may be worth considering. (So is Ansh your first name, or Deb? Because Deb and Jeremy would be DJ which would probably add a few more options to your quest to seek the bestest name. ;) Surprisingly enough ‘studio.dj’ would be available as a matching domain name for ‘Studio DJ’.)

            0 points
            • Ansh DebAnsh Deb, over 7 years ago

              Thanks for the research and guidance. And yeah my first name is Ansh, so even AJ might make sense. But, I am trying to take my sweet time to find the perfect name because its going to last with us for long.

              0 points
  • Johannes IppenJohannes Ippen, over 7 years ago

    Finding a name is never easy and a really emotional process – you will constantly question it, thinking: "Could I have done better?" – that's pretty normal.

    However, there's two things to keep in mind when creating a name:

    1) It should somehow resemble you're doing or stand for. 2) You should be able to identify with it.

    Having said that, here's my recommendation: Check out Tom Cavill's article about name generation – his technique is really good and helps you get inspiration quickly: https://medium.com/@tomcavill/how-to-name-your-product-876f78b959d4

    Also, please don't call your studio "Pixel Maximum", that's just horrible.

    0 points
    • Ansh DebAnsh Deb, over 7 years ago

      Hey, thanks for the guidance. And yeah, definitely not that Haha. I would prefer to move away from "design specific terms" which sound too generic.

      Gonna go through the link now and come up with some ideas.

      Thanks

      0 points
    • Ed AdamsEd Adams, over 7 years ago

      Also, please don't call your studio "Pixel Maximum", that's just horrible.

      This was actually suggested by someone else in the thread! Do you mind explaining why you think it's "just horrible"?

      0 points
      • Johannes IppenJohannes Ippen, over 7 years ago

        Hey Ed, I think Ansh just answered your question in the comment above. Personally I think the suggestions here have the same issue as every 99designs competition, they are pretty generic, some even mean or sarcastic.

        A name should be something personal and evocative, not just a random comment on the internet.

        Why do I think it's a horrible name? Simply because it's extremely bound to a medium and a time period. In the late 90s, every second new media agency used Pixel something in their name. So by the very short briefing that Ansh posted, the name is exactly he wanted to avoid.

        However, it depends on the context of course – if you like the name and it describes what you're after (and also: the 90s are coming back!), the name might be perfect for you.

        1 point