What do you think of my possible new business name?

Hi Sarah

Personally, I like incombustible design. Wonderdraw makes me think of women's underwear. Which is not a bad thing, just perhaps not in alignment with your business.

As to the spelling problem. I am familiar with it. Try getting an American to spell Yong Kang correctly (grin). Then again the trend these days seems to be toward goofy names that I neither can spell nor pronounce.

If it is available you could buy the incombustable domain as well, then if they don't spell it right, they still will be directed to the incombustible site.

I have to say that the first thing your new biz name makes me think of is "wonderbra," mainly because of the rhyme. Is that an association you want? I really can't tell if it would be good or bad for your business...

so what is uniquely you? who is your target? go deeper than "anyone who needs design services" if you havent already ;)

a coffee date with dominic canterbury is always enlightening. he doesnt charge for that and he's a whizbang with ideas,etc.

brainstorm with whatever comes tomind. even if it doestn make sense. ack. early morning typos.

from there, things will unveil.

im still playing with names. i have something that is close.

youll know it when it comes! how about a brainstorming get together with some girlfriends for tea? that could be fun! everyone take a piece of paper and storm off a names list..or associated words and then share.

or, do a big share on huge paper! everyone storm together.

have fun!

Hi Sara,

Hmm... i just thought of: Wonder Works Creative. wonderworkscreative.com is available! it's a somewhat long domain, but i do think it rolls off the tongue pretty well and is aptly descriptive and doesn't make me think of push-up bras... ;)

Gwen

Amy, I LOVE that idea.

Some of you may have seen that I'm transitioning my business. Well, since what I'll be doing is Career Insight (Career Therapy?), I've been trying to figure out what kind of events I could host with Biznik. And I sense now that I'm on the verge of something that dovetails with your suggestion--a business passion party (that may be a poor name for it). But what I envision is having a gathering where the point is to talk openly about what we love (and dislike) about our businesses, with the purpose of more directly aligning our targets, identities, names, etc to match up with doing what we love.

Just thought I'd share that brainstorm that you were a part of. :)

I second the idea of Wonder Works Design for the reasons everyone has said regarding the image that Wonderdraw brings up.

Isn't it great how other people see and hear things that we don't thereby saving us the embarrassment of going ahead with something that might cause problems later on. Somewhere I have a list of misnaming catastrophes like naming the Chevy Nova and trying to see it in Mexico where the name translates to "no go."

Warmly,

Lynn www.bloomngrow.net

If you do not have a problem with being thought together with "Wonder Bra" and it fits your sense of humor, I would say go for it as long as your product would not be confused with "Wonder Bra" or contested by them...

Keep them wondering!

Many people remember by similarity to other names.

-Daryl

Dear Sarah, It seems that I'm late! But there are some domain names:

drawbow.com is available Sounds like: rainbow differdraw.com is available Sounds like: It's something... drawcafe.com is available No Idea! Just Like it! draw-n-fly.com is available include something instead of fly.

drawo.net is available Sounds like: bravo drawland.net is available Sounds like: drawland!

Hope, they help you to find your best one at all...

If you don't have any problem with the association of Wonderbra, then I agree with Daryl--go for it!

Hey, if that's your thing, go for it. I'm the type of person who doesn't bother asking others for their input except when I want to be sure there isn't something I didn't think of. Go with your guy.

Warmly,

Lynn www.bloomngrow.net

If it fits your style, go fot it. You could have a lot of fun making the WonderBra association work for you. (Is WonderDraw a good fit for your company? etc.) Only possible snaffu is will it be off-putting to male clients? If so, any ways to brand it so you mitigate resistance? (Focus on women-owned business? Don't over-use the bra metaphors, etc.)

If it feels good to you try it out. There's no better litmus than experience.

Cheers,

Sadee

I missed the naming class (flu - ugh) as I have always found nameing difficult but ince you get one that you like it sorts morphs all of your thinkning and good stuff seems to happen.

To me WonderDraw sounds like a software package from the 90's rather than a service name. The Wonder Bra connection never came to mind even though love their 'one for the boys' campaign which was a great branding campaign.

Personally I would go for it as its memorable and you can use a cool tag line to inform your purpose.

You never know some software company may come along one day and offer you a fortune for the name ;-)

Hey Sarah, I always dread the naming process. To tell you the truth, I'm not very good at it and I'd really prefer to leave it to someone else. I can, however, offer some suggestions to help make sense of the process.

1. EVERYTHING you do (including naming) should be done with the target market in mind. Any name you choose will end up attracting some people and filtering out others, so you may as well go for the kind of people you want.
   

2. Names are no good at telling stories, so don't try to force them to. If you called yourself something like Perfect by Design, nobody would read that and assume your work was any closer to perfection than anybody else's. The name, WonderDraw, really only conveys that you might do illustrations as well as computer graphics. And the name, Incumbustible Design, suggests that your work won't catch fire -- a great name if your're targeting fire safety equipment manufacturers, but not if you're targeting those who want their ideas to spread like wildfire.
   

3. The best names (in my humble opinion) do not necessarily convey meaning, but create something that meaning can easily be attached to. It's like naming a baby. You probably wouldn't want to name your boy Adolph -- too much semantic baggage. But a name like Eli (my boy's name) sounds good and can freely take on a world of meaning.
   

I suggest you try nonsensical names or some foreign word for firespinner.

I hope that helps.

Hi Sarah,

I second Dominic's advice :o)

Your business is pretty exotic, so a name using a foreign word would be great... you can check out translations on-line & possibly find one that would be both decriptive & humorous!

Sarah,

I love naming both products and companies. It's a great challenge to come up with a name that inspires people within and outside of an organization. Naming has become a favorite part of my business. It's also quite lucrative.

Here are my Rules For Naming a Company:

1. Stay to true to you. The best way to make sure you have a great name that you love and will continue to love for years to come is to do the opposite of what many people commonly do when naming their product or business. Most people ask everyone they know for their suggestions. I suggest keeping the naming team to you and your naming professional. The main reason for this is that you will ultimately choose only one name. If you get input from your clients, peers, and relatives, you will inevitably disappoint some people who you rely on for business and referrals. Once you have already narrowed the choices down, you can run them by a few people for opinions, being careful to not ask for suggestions. (If people offer them anyway, say thanks.)

2. Try not to make up words, especially avoid combining two words to make one word. It asks too much of the prospective client who must figure out what the word means.

3. Take risks. Calculated risk taking is always a good thing. Even when it's not.

4. Consider the time period in which you see yourself growing and to which regions or states.

5. Avoid generic words for the first word in the name.

6. Avoid funny spellings of the words you really want just to get the dot com. Consider using other extensions for a good name if the dot com is unavailable. Also, if you select a name for which the dot com is taken yet for sale, consider a budget for buying it at a higher than normal price.

7. Avoid words that are hard to spell or pronounce.

8. Make sure that if your name requires a story, you have a good, short one.

9. Try to select a name that has a real, understandable meaning. That said, a catchy name like Yahoo! can work well too, if it is promoted well and is an excellent product.

10. Consider whether or not you are open to using an acronym.

11. Make sure that your name pleases you as much as it will please your audience.

I hope this helps. Best of luck!

I like the original name, only WITH the misspelling: IncombustAble Design. With the capital A in there, it emphasizes ability as well as indestructability. Just my two pennies.