the wingman project
I.02 · NAMINGPROOF COPY · RED INK THROUGHOUT

Northstar.Kestrel.Parley.Lantern.Foundry.

We name your company, your product, your line, your campaign.

Without a thousand bad puns. Without an “ideation phase” that outlives your patience. Without a shortlist of forty-seven names you’ll hate by the second read.

name/ neɪm /n. a word you cannot take back
start the brief →filed · la · mmxxvi

THE FIRSTBRAND DECISION.And the hardest one to change.

SHORTPRONOUNCEABLELEGALLY CLEARSTILL TRUE IN THREE YEARS

Good names hold all four, not just on launch day. Everything below is how we make one survive.

ROUND I THE BRIEF

NAMING BRIEF · ONE PAGE, SIGNED BEFORE A SINGLE WORD IS WRITTEN
HAS TO DO
The work of the whole brand, in one word. We write it down before we chase it.
CAN’T DO
Pun. Apologize. Expire. The forbidden list goes on paper first.
FIGHTING FOR
The trademark classes that matter to you, named upfront, so clearance is a strategy, not a surprise.

ROUND II GENERATE

100+ candidates. Five directions.

LITERALLetterpressSays exactly what it is. No decoding, no apology.
METAPHORICALLanternBorrows an image and makes it carry the promise.
INVENTEDSolvaneA coined word. Never said aloud before you.
FOUNDER-NAMEDMercer & Co.A person stands behind the promise, by name.
ABSTRACTAROSound first. Meaning grows into it.

ROUND III CUT

Ninety-seven names you will never see.

An engagement that hands you three finalists has already cut a hundred. The quality of the work is in what didn’t make it.

fig. 1 · the cutting room floor97 cut · 3 aliveVellumtoo quietBeacon & Co.says nothingQuarter Moontoo cuteCopperlinemark contestedHearsaydies in a phone callStonefruitdomain squattedBellwetherCUTcut at the wireMarginalianobody can spell itPlain SpeechapologizesGoldleafowned, class 25The Last Wordtoo proudBackbonetaken everywherefailed the briefdied in reviewfailed the gauntletCUTcut at the wireevery mark is a reason.
fig. 1 · the floor97 cutVellumtoo quietBeacon & Co.says nothingHearsaydies in a phone callStonefruitdomain squattedQuarter Moontoo cuteBellwetherCUTcut at the wireMarginalianobody can spell itfailed the brieffailed the gauntletdied in reviewCUTcut at the wire
  • Foundry North
  • Vellum
  • Beacon & Co.
  • The Standing Desk
  • Copperline
  • Ash & Alder
  • Quarter Moon
  • Plain Speech
  • The Long Table
  • Marginalia
  • Eighth Wonder
  • Stonefruit
  • True North Goods
  • The Quiet Part
  • Inkwell Union
  • Saltworks
  • Open Ledger
  • The Other Half
  • Bellwether
  • Common Thread
  • Hearsay
  • The Middle Seat
  • Goldleaf
  • Second Nature
  • Plumb & Level
  • The Short List
  • Wintergreen
  • Backbone
  • Fine Print
  • The Understudy
  • Crosshair
  • Old Growth
  • The Last Word
  • Penny Arcade
  • Slow Burn
  • Half-Sheet
  • …and the rest, gone the same way.

100+20103

ROUND IV CLEAR

Five gates. Every candidate walks them.

Trademarks and domains are checked at each round, so nothing on the shortlist can’t ship, and nothing you fall in love with gets taken away later.

fig. 2 · the gauntlet, run at every roundin 100+ · out 3 100+ INname?ISAYS SOMETHINGIISOUNDS RIGHTIIISPELLS EASYIVMARK CLEARSRVDOMAIN LIVES→ 20→ 10→ 3the floor: ninety-seven names end here, on purpose010203three walk out. cleared.
fig. 2 · the gauntletin 100+ · out 3 100+ IN97 CUTISAYS SOMETHINGIISOUNDS RIGHTIIISPELLS EASYRIVMARK CLEARSVDOMAIN LIVES→ 20→ 10→ 3010203three walk out. cleared.
  1. ISAYS SOMETHINGIt still means something three years from now, not just on launch day.
  2. IISOUNDS RIGHTPronounceable on the first try: in a phone call, on a stage, out loud.
  3. IIISPELLS EASYShort. Spellable after hearing it once. No silent letters doing penance.
  4. IVMARK CLEARSTrademarks checked at every round, never only at the end.
  5. VDOMAIN LIVESDomains checked alongside, so nothing shortlisted can’t ship.

ROUND V PRESENT

Final three. Each with its rationale, its clearance, its domain, and one carrying our recommendation.

02

PARAGON CO.

Classical, confident, pairs with anything. Best for a line extension across tiers.

MARK · Cleared in 25, 35. Contested in 18.DOMAIN · paragon.co · pending escrow.

03

NORTH TRADER

Literal-metaphorical hybrid. Scales from SKU to storefront to seasonal capsule.

MARK · Clean in all target classes.DOMAIN · northtrader.com · available.

And then there is the first name on the page.

CANDIDATE 01 · THE RECOMMENDATION

fig. 3 · the crowningcandidate 01 of 03 · recommendedcap heightbaseline01HOLLOW & GRAINMARK: CLEARED IN CLASSES 25 · 29 · 35DOMAIN: HOLLOWANDGRAIN.COM · IN HANDRATIONALE: WRITTEN DOWN · BOARD-READYmaterial, quiet, instantly readable as craft: works across digital, print, and a chisel.APPROVED
fig. 3 · the crowning01 of 03capbaseHOLLOW &baseGRAINMARK: CLEARED IN 25 · 29 · 35DOMAIN: HOLLOWANDGRAIN.COM · IN HANDRATIONALE: BOARD-READYmaterial, quiet, readable as craft.digital, print, and a chisel.APPROVED

Presented with the reasoning written down, so the room argues about the decision, not the taste.

WHAT YOU GET

  • AA named thing.company · product · line · campaign
  • BTrademark clearance notes.class by class, round by round
  • CAvailable domains, in hand.not “probably gettable.” in hand.
  • DA rationale document.for your board, your investors, your team

WHAT YOU DON’T DO

  • You don’t brainstorm with us.
  • You don’t argue about fonts.
  • You don’t see the 97 names we cut.

The arguing, the clearing, the cutting: that part is the job. Ours.

Have something that needs a name?

Bring us the ambiguity. We’ll bring back three candidates: cleared, in hand, with the reasoning written down.

Start the brief

the wingman project · think · I.02 · naming