The naming and branding blog

Entries from August 2008

Design Defect

Posted: August 27th, 2008 by Steve | Filed under: company names, identity, name changes, pop culture| 1 Comment

Which is funnier? This parody (?) of a brand identity firm like Landor / Interbrand designing a traffic “Stop” sign:

Or the case study from Landor’s own website, which details the naming and logo work they did for the merger of Fedex and Kinkos. The name Landor landed on, was of course Fedex Kinkos. The rationale:

Guided by brand strategy and research insights, Landor developed a creative name and identity solution that leverages the equity of both brands. The new brand identity, informed by the historical strengths of both companies, powerfully redefines the future of the business services marketplace.

But the funinest bit is when Landor explains the very specifc meanings they believe common colors communicate:

The identity contains a colorful brand icon that represents the collection of FedEx services available at the new retail locations – orange for the time-definite global express shipping services, green for the day-definite ground shipping services, and blue for the retail business service centers. At the heart of the icon, where the three colors converge, is purple, which symbolizes the can-do spirit shared by all FedEx companies.

Interestingly, design firms differ on what each color means.


Nothing says clean like “poo”

Posted: August 25th, 2008 by Steve | Filed under: WTF, identity, product names| No Comments

Yup, it’s Poolife. They make products to clean swimming pools. It’s true.

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Congress Struggles To Name Anti-Drug Initiative

Posted: August 2nd, 2008 by Steve | Filed under: company names, language, pop culture| No Comments

Congress Struggles To Come Up With Cool Name For Anti-Drug Initiative


Domino’s Pizza Market Research Parody

Posted: August 1st, 2008 by Steve | Filed under: Uncategorized| 1 Comment

Or is it a parody?


Domino’s Scientists Test Limits Of What Humans Will Eat

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A Room with a Ewe

Posted: August 1st, 2008 by Steve | Filed under: advertising, company names, name changes, pop culture, product names, taglines| No Comments

The 50 best business names that are puns.

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