Naming your Graphic Design Business

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Design.Soldier

New Member
Hi guys, this is my first every post.

I have studied and still studying graphic design, i want to start a small business whilst studying graphic design. im having trouble with the naming of it, i feel the the name is vital for my business to grow positivle. I have brainstomed alot but have narrowed it down to the following, if you dont like any of them please say so a maybe suggust others. And also, i want the name of the business to be personal, and just so you know, i have served and am still serving as an infantary soldier in the british army, (Reserves), i will be going on tour to afghanistan next year. but graphic design and my edjucation has always been my passion, i couldnt choose between the two so i joined the reserves but have done just as much as some regulars through the reserves. I want this part of my life to influence the other graphic design part, so here are my ideas

Ink Warfare
Design Mercenary
Design Veteran
Inkspire
Inkspiration
Cybertistic Design
Archtype Design
or my username: Design Soldier

Please feel free to give more idea/names and any input you want or pick your favorite
thank you so much in advance :D
 
I work in the ex-forces charity space, and am an ex-regular and territorial Royal Engineer. I also couldn't decide which route to take post school, so did my BTEC A&D, and then changed my mind and joined up. Since leaving I have worked in a couple of ex-forces charities, in a few different roles. One of these roles has been as a project manager for a website with a substantial members area - I'm not great with web development, so I put out the word to my network that I was looking for people to work on this project. There are a number of decent enough ex-forces web dev/des companies, but to be honest mate, if any of them had come to me with a forces reference in their name, I wouldn't have touched them. I say this because whilst referencing your past experience it makes me doubt the integrity of your current direction, and makes me think that you may wish you were still in green. Creative industries do not mix with the structured approach of the armed forces (to an outsider - of course, we know better! :icon_wink: ).

I would steer well clear of referencing anything forces in your title - remember that public opinion of the military depends entirely on the red-tops. We're at a massive peak in support of the troops at the moment (something that we are trying to take advantage of in the charity sector), but it certainly won't last (particularly with news like yesterday's), so the reference in your name might be attractive now but could become a reason to steer clear later.

As a bit of general advice, I think you should probably avoid the puns - take something personal to you, and run with it. Or pick something a bit odd that sounds like a late 90's american punk band ('Three Falling Ducks' is taken (not one of my best ideas, in hindsight)). Or just use your name.

I hope this helps mate, and I'm going to be studying GD at degree level in the coming months, so if you need anything military/GD crossover related, don't hesitate.

Good luck!
 
I don't see a problem with referring to the forces in your name if it is something personal to you (which, clearly, it is!). There's no need to play on it elsewhere and make it known that this is where the reference lies which is where any problems outlined in the above response may come in, but I don't see this being an issue at all if it is just in the name e.g. Ink Warfare doesn't make me think it must be to do with the forces and therefore bring in any personal opinions I may have on that.

I dislike 'Design Mercenary' as the word mercenary is commonly used for those who are only interested in money. So to me that suggests it's someone who is designing for money, who doesn't care too much about his work or clients as long as the money is there at the end of it.

I'm also not a fan of 'Cybertistic Design' as it just sounds too much in my eyes, like you're trying to be really cool and the word cybertistic just sounds silly in my head. I quite like the 'Design Veteran' angle in the sense that it portrays someone experienced, who's been there and knows what he's doing; someone to be trusted.
 
ThreeFallingDucks said:
I work in the ex-forces charity space, and am an ex-regular and territorial Royal Engineer. I also couldn't decide which route to take post school, so did my BTEC A&D, and then changed my mind and joined up. Since leaving I have worked in a couple of ex-forces charities, in a few different roles. One of these roles has been as a project manager for a website with a substantial members area - I'm not great with web development, so I put out the word to my network that I was looking for people to work on this project. There are a number of decent enough ex-forces web dev/des companies, but to be honest mate, if any of them had come to me with a forces reference in their name, I wouldn't have touched them. I say this because whilst referencing your past experience it makes me doubt the integrity of your current direction, and makes me think that you may wish you were still in green. Creative industries do not mix with the structured approach of the armed forces (to an outsider - of course, we know better! :icon_wink: ).

I would steer well clear of referencing anything forces in your title - remember that public opinion of the military depends entirely on the red-tops. We're at a massive peak in support of the troops at the moment (something that we are trying to take advantage of in the charity sector), but it certainly won't last (particularly with news like yesterday's), so the reference in your name might be attractive now but could become a reason to steer clear later.

As a bit of general advice, I think you should probably avoid the puns - take something personal to you, and run with it. Or pick something a bit odd that sounds like a late 90's american punk band ('Three Falling Ducks' is taken (not one of my best ideas, in hindsight)). Or just use your name.

I hope this helps mate, and I'm going to be studying GD at degree level in the coming months, so if you need anything military/GD crossover related, don't hesitate.

Good luck!
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i understand were you are coming from, but you should know that i am infact very passionate about graphic design, just and much if not more so than a designer in civi street, i absoloutly loved graphic design but i just wanted the advenute and experience and pride of serving my country hence the reserves. but i can see what you mean, i dont really see why it would interfear. not showing of but i am a good deigner :p i was one of the top GD student in most of my classes and have won some competiitions on sites such as 99 designs. and the reason for me going into the reserves and not reg was for my career.

in terms of the name and peoples perception of the military i 100% see what you mean, but im thinking more in between the lines. for example, 'apple inc.' they are a brand, the public dont really think that much into the the name and why, but it was named apple becasue the guy that found it was working on an apple farm at the time. so it means something to the owner personally but in the eyes of the public it is just a ordinary name. i mean i wont be having guns and pictures of the soldier when im branding it.

you may think why i want that personal touch, it becuase my business is a large part of my life and a part of me and puts food on the table.

thank you so much for the input. this is the first forums ive ever singed up to a posted on,
 
dedwardp said:
I don't see a problem with referring to the forces in your name if it is something personal to you (which, clearly, it is!). There's no need to play on it elsewhere and make it known that this is where the reference lies which is where any problems outlined in the above response may come in, but I don't see this being an issue at all if it is just in the name e.g. Ink Warfare doesn't make me think it must be to do with the forces and therefore bring in any personal opinions I may have on that.

I dislike 'Design Mercenary' as the word mercenary is commonly used for those who are only interested in money. So to me that suggests it's someone who is designing for money, who doesn't care too much about his work or clients as long as the money is there at the end of it.

I'm also not a fan of 'Cybertistic Design' as it just sounds too much in my eyes, like you're trying to be really cool and the word cybertistic just sounds silly in my head. I quite like the 'Design Veteran' angle in the sense that it portrays someone experienced, who's been there and knows what he's doing; someone to be trusted.
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i completly agree, like i said to threefallingduck, it sublimany and mean something to me personally and not in the eyes on the public, i just want a name that has a personal touch and sound cool lol, i to was leaning towards ink warfare, and i am not really that into pun but i thought id give them a go. thanks for your input, do you have any suggestion about the branding side if i was to choose ink warfare?
 
My concern would be that the majority of the words associated with the armed forces carry violent or negative connotations (says a man who's business is called Bleed Ink. lol).
 
Some tips here - Choosing a business name - things to consider | After Hours Creative

I have had a really good response to my company name (After Hours Creative) and branding so i'll share a little bit about it.

When choosing a name i avoided anything to do with my personal name, with a more generic name i have the option of selling the company without the new owner having to spend money on rebranding. The name also gave me some visual imagery to work with, i do a lot of graphics with moon shots and i have a large crescent moon lightbox which i take to various places and photograph (for promotional mousemats, cards, mugs etc). The lightbox moon also attracts a fair bit of attention with 250 LED lights powering it. The name itself often intrigues people, i get a lot of people trying to be funny asking what ways i get "creative after hours" lol and a lot of people ask what it is we actually do after seeing the name somewhere.. including the lady at the bank who went on to place an order for her husband's business. I am also known as the "vampire guy" at one company.. i don't care, at least they remember me:icon_biggrin: Definitely don't rush in to choosing a name, by all means add in a personal aspect but be careful it isn't detrimental. You want the name to be memorable, to differentiate you and you want it to appeal to your target audience.
 
I am actually currently struggling with the same issue. I just don't have any ideas to choose from...so be thankful you at least have a few to pick from! haha

I actually totally love Ink Warfare!!! I don't think it screams military, but if someone were to ask you about your history, it would make total sense. That is most definitely my pick! :)
 
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