Naming and branding a software company in Seattle was one of DK’s best projects, in those days. We had been making things for people who approached us about how to use our process to help them figure things out. That is the heart of Design Kompany’s service. Getting specific and unique angles on who it is you are and what it is you offer for your customers.
In this case, one of the things we got to do was come up with a new name. It was clear that the original name wasn’t working easily for the sales team, so we were invited to help think with them a bit. This is where DK shines.
Brainstorming and activities we tried out as a team led to a lot of clarification for the core members of Matchbox Mobile’s team at that time. (It was 2008, in Seattle.)
‘Our new name and brand reflects how we’ve grown over the past three years from a research focused company to what we’re all about today: creating truly unique custom mobile solutions for our clients. You guys really helped us out with finding our niche.’ —Richard Stott, Matchbox Mobile, Brighton & Seattle 2008
Design Kompany’s style is often described as ‘classic.’ This is clear when we see the ways in which designs like this one, from 2008, still feel relevant in today’s visually overwhelming world. We used a six-step process, one that DK developed in-house over the years.
Meeting regularly, talking about everything from audience to favorite books to ‘what it is we do and why it matters, to whom, and what that means to us’ as a team. All of this fed us the information we needed to understand, deeply not superficially, the culture and personality of this small team. What I remember is that each time someone hit their own moment of insight, we knew we were getting closer.
The design journey is like this. You’re moving through unknown terrain, but there are guideposts and you learn how to see them, as you go. Design is a set of unconverings, of finding your way towards what’s really real, about the core value proposition. A great brand identity design simply validates this because we’ll find it out, as we go on the journey, together. Design Kompany works well with people in software because, I think, we understand the meaningful approach of agile design, and of lightness in the approach at the start. Asking questions, discerning the next steps, and building as we go based on the newly uncovered inputs. This is how we work, too. Iteratively.
Until we spot it, the magic concept, what about a name like ‘Matchbox?’, for example, that fit with all you told us you do for your customers?… and then zoom to a finish line, from there.