Would You Like to Share My Umbrella? Getting Caught in a Namestorm

“So do you guys just, like, y'know, sit around with a pot of coffee and think of names all day?”

Yeah. That’s it, guys. I’m a coffee-brewing, stenographing brainstormer. If only it were that simple.

Ah, the brain of a namer. It’s a wild and wonderful world full of rhyme-infused marketing tactics, sesquipedalian (Def: given to or characterized by the use of long words. Duh.) tendencies peppered with puns and alliterative adeptness. So, while the occasional zing of caffeine certainly helps the naming axons fire a bit quicker, there is quite a bit more that goes into the art of namestorming.

A good namestorm develops much as a meteorological one does: when a system of high pressure develops around a center of low pressure. It begins with the lightning flash of a client inquiry call. Without warning and with great urgency; some needing a name in two weeks, in ten days, in 48 hours. Swirling on the fast track to a deadline, the first shower of creative debriefing ensues: pelting down a product description, mission statement, target demographics, and a projected release date.

Then, amidst an atmosphere palpably thick with idea clouds, enters the low pressure front. Relaxed and saturated with information, minds gather together, cool and ready for the storm. The namers, riders (or should I say, "writers") on the storm, huddle over a round table and project outline. Like clouds becoming rife with rain, yellow pads fill with names; The air electrically charged with thought sparks. The tempo elevates, creative currents surge and the naming deluge begins...

Read more on creative name development here.