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I came across NameLab.com on accident yesterday by just typing in potential good names for a domain marketplace. I found NameLab super fascinating because they have been around since 1981 and are behind naming some megabrands.
On their homepage there is a section that reads, "Some names we're especially proud of...." and they examples of names they crafted including:
The big point that I am trying to make is that we are not just in the domain business, we are in the branding business! Branding goes beyond just domains.
A big part of branding is the science of linguistics. Linguistics or the study of language (compared to studying a specific foreign language like French or Mandarin) is the general study of human language. The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker was a fun and recommended read in my college linguistics class.
On the NameLab Approach page, they do get a little technical using terms like "Morphemes" "Neologisms" and what they call "Speechstream Visibility."
A real world application of linguistics at play is described when NameLab advised Compak to change to Compaq
From NameLab:
On their homepage there is a section that reads, "Some names we're especially proud of...." and they examples of names they crafted including:
- AutoZone
- Luxor Las Vegas
- Olive Garden
- Acuvue Brand Contact Lenses
- Duralast
- Acura
- Renova
- CompUSA
- Compaq
- LifeScan
The big point that I am trying to make is that we are not just in the domain business, we are in the branding business! Branding goes beyond just domains.
A big part of branding is the science of linguistics. Linguistics or the study of language (compared to studying a specific foreign language like French or Mandarin) is the general study of human language. The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker was a fun and recommended read in my college linguistics class.
On the NameLab Approach page, they do get a little technical using terms like "Morphemes" "Neologisms" and what they call "Speechstream Visibility."
A real world application of linguistics at play is described when NameLab advised Compak to change to Compaq
From NameLab:
Originally Compak, we increased the brand’s notational visibility by changing the last consonant “k” to “q”…the first such brand name in the commercial lexicon to terminate in a “q”. As a result, the name pops in print. Because “k” and “q” are phonetically identical (they sound the same), there was little risk of diminished speechstream visibility or phonetic transparency.
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