Names can help people speak about and think about the enterprise that has been named. A good name helps to define such a venture, both to others and for those who are working together on the new company, product, or project. A name can be an important first step in the process of developing a brand or identity, and, more generally, in helping a team make progress toward goals. So, even before the name is heard by a potential customer, client, or investor, it can do a great deal of work.
Of course, names also stand in for companies, products, or projects when those who aren’t familiar with them first learn about them. They can be memorable and can distinguish one venture from other related ones. They are used again and again is correspondence and discussion, and help to shape people’s feelings and expectations. They have great and more obvious influence as they reach beyond an organization.
Some offer to provide not just naming, but a complete package, with logos, typographical standards, slogans, and other materials. These can be valuable. They should certainly not be neglected by those working on a new venture.
However, while other aspects of presenting your company, product, or project will clearly be important, names actually do come first — not just at Nomnym, but in our society. Numerous aspects of culture, convention, and law demonstrate this.
Completion of a birth certificate for a child requires a name but has no space for a logo or slogan. Article 7 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child even states that a basic human right of children is to have a name: “The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name ...”
Other everyday types of naming also occur before any other sorts of visual appearance or additional writing. People name boats and estates without determining all aspects, or even any other aspects, of branding and identity. Those registering a new company must initially indicate the company’s name, but are not required to list any ancillary aspects of how the company will present itself.
Names can start to shape expectations and ideas before logos, slogans, and other aspects of identity have been developed. While all aspects of identity and presentation are important, it is the most critical aspect of identity — the name — that is Nomnym’s focus.