Not so long ago, I was discussing about how difficult it is finding a unique company name to be registered as a domain name. The comments left in the post had people debating about names not being unique enough to many who only want to register .com Top Level Domains (TLDs).
Then recently, I just came across Darren’s current problem of Looking for a Company Name. In the earliest part of the comments, I already noticed that Darren too admitted that most of the names he thought of were already taken.
I, myself am also hunting for a company name but so far the ones that are simple, make sense, though still creative are already taken. If possible, I’d rather have a .com or worst, a .net than any other TLDs. The last option for me would be to get a .com.my later on.
And to be honest, I don’t see a benefit in paying more just to have .my imprinted on my domain name. The whole reason of it is just so locals know it’s a Malaysian website. But if I did a survey on the not-so tech savvy and non-tech savvy, I get the feeling many wouldn’t realize the .my behind represents Malaysia.
Anyway, I’m currently still thinking of names I could use for a web development business. When that’s done, part of the big headache in starting an online business I would say is done. Right now, I’m pretty suck on to something like ‘illumination’ but it looks like it’s way too generic. Does anyone have any other suggestion closely related to that?
Other than the crucial name of your business, everyone wishes to build a brand around their business. The name of the company or the owner is one of the brand foundations but the other part that needs to be enforced in a brand, is its logo. A memorable iconic figure whether built around an abstract or comedic figure could make a huge impact on your brand.
The hardest part of coming up with a logo is making sure that it doesn’t follow another that already exists. The BusinessLogs wrote earlier this month about The Importance of Branding. In its lesson, it used Instablogs as an example of how closely related the designer made a logo to an original.
The other scary part of reading the entry was how some professional type designers even criticized the font used. Imagine that a type designer could tell you exactly why your text or font isn’t working for you as a brand. Guess this is why there are designers labeled as professionals.
I remembered a short discussion we were having at the Low Yat forums about a member looking someone to help design a logo for his brother’s company. There were a lot of relevant questions posted;
- What business is your brother in?
- Does he only want a logo or a full stationary set?
- How much does a logo design cost?
- What is your brother’s budget?
- ..and etc.
The question of pricing the logo design was the hottest debate in that forum thread. We were saying that prices vary according to the company or people you approach to do the design for you. Then we also explained that the price of a logo shouldn’t be the client’s importance just yet because after all, the logo is part of the brand foundation.
My advise in that thread was to ask his brother to plan his budget properly. Since we see some companies altering their brand logos, like Telekom now being known as TM, there’ll be room in the future to invest tens of thousands just for a unique logo. The largest setback when rebuilding the brand to me is making sure the new logo doesn’t stray too far from the original.
Like building a company, the name and the logo of the brand you’re trying to spread worldwide needs to be built on a solid foundation then continued to be worked on into the future.