Naming: Memorable Without Being Cute — Guide #2

Naming: Memorable Without Being Cute — Guide #2. The goal isn’t clever—it’s clarity people can repeat after hearing it once.

Design’s job is recognition and readability at speed across surfaces you don’t control.

Steps

  1. List three proof points — Social, data, demos. Proof turns belief into trust.
  2. Design constraints before concepts — Constraints produce coherence; they are not creative jail.
  3. State the promise in plain words — Avoid poetry; say the outcome a buyer can point to later.
  4. Define the audience and their stakes — Name who loses what if nothing changes; real stakes sharpen choices.
  5. Document decisions in one page — People use what they can read in two minutes.

Why this matters: Social, data, demos. Proof turns belief into trust. In branding, consistency is a function of decisions captured and reused.

Why this matters: Constraints produce coherence; they are not creative jail. In branding, consistency is a function of decisions captured and reused.

Why this matters: Avoid poetry; say the outcome a buyer can point to later. In branding, consistency is a function of decisions captured and reused.

Why this matters: Name who loses what if nothing changes; real stakes sharpen choices. In branding, consistency is a function of decisions captured and reused.

Why this matters: People use what they can read in two minutes. In branding, consistency is a function of decisions captured and reused.

Toolkit

How to use it: CSS variables / design tokens for color and spacing across apps. Save the final in a shared doc; link from tickets so execution matches intent.

How to use it: From formal to playful with examples for each channel. Save the final in a shared doc; link from tickets so execution matches intent.

How to use it: For [audience] who struggle with [problem], we deliver [outcome], proven by [proof]. Save the final in a shared doc; link from tickets so execution matches intent.

Example

A founder started writing one LinkedIn tip daily; inbound doubled in 90 days without ads.


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