A client approached me this week requesting my assistance with establishing a strong brand identity for their new business venture, they were at the very early stages of the process - they had a great idea for a new business but was struggling to find a name. In this blog, I will cover some considerations when creating a company name.

Trademark
The first step to choosing a company name is to look at the nature of the service you are providing and use that as a way to come up with conceptual themes. For example, if you are starting something in the financial sector, the themes you might think of could include simplicity or value for money. Once you have a long list of potential names now is the time to do a trademark search to make sure that no one else “owns” that name. If you don’t do this then you might find out that another company owns it after you have launched your product or service. This is disastrous, since the company that owns the name can get a court injunction that can stop you from trading. You can get advice about this from a trademark attorney who specialises in searching for trademarks against your chosen name. It can take months and entrepreneurs should factor this in when planning their business.

Web presence
It is likely that at some point you will want to establish a web presence such as a website. Obviously it goes without saying that you should be aiming to be on the first page of results produced by internet search engines such as Google, and to do this we have to look at something called SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).
Many people will already be aware of something called “meta tags” which are used behind the scenes to inform the search engines about your website.
It is actually very beneficial to use your company’s product or service as your web address, as search engines place a lot of importance on the domain name to establish what your site is about.

Using your own name
If you are considering using your own name for your business, the things to bear in mind here are that you are not only giving your name, but possibly your identity as well.
You have to be sure you don’t muddy your name because it will be the first thing customers see. It can also have implications if you want to sell your business in the future. You’ll need to make sure that there are caveats in place so that your name does not become associated with something you would not be happy with.
Remember, some of the most successful brands in recent memory have not included the name of the entrepreneur behind them, for example Richard Branson’s Virgin and Anita Roddick’s Body Shop.

Where to get inspiration
The cardinal rule is that the name should reflect the brand’s strategy. It is recommended that you don’t come up with your company name before you have your strategy, target market and business proposition clear in your mind. The quality of what you can offer will be more important than a name or fancy website. Although both those things are extremely important, your success comes from what it is that you can offer that’s new, not your brand. This has worked well for document management firm Xerox. They can also be easier to trademark. Once you have gone through all the steps noted above and have found a name that is not owned by someone else, you also need to do a rigorous linguistic and colloquialism check. This is especially important if you plan to move into foreign markets. There is a classic cautionary tale about the pitfalls of doing business in foreign markets that can be found in hundreds of books about marketing, is of General Motors launching the Chevrolet Nova in South America. Apparently they were unaware that Nova in Spanish means “it won’t go”.

Modifier keys allow you to make changes 'on the fly'- enabling you to perform actions while you don't necessarily have the correct tool selected.
This is achieved by de-pressing using a key on the keyboard while holding down the mouse button. Some Modifier keys are universal and work at any time, like holding the spacebar down to move around the work area with ease. Other universal keys include shift key which constrains the proportions and the option and ALT keys which centre shapes outwards from the point of creation.
Hint: You can press Control and click anywhere to deselect whatever tool you have selected.

Polygon Tool –
Up and Down keys change the number of sides (to create a triangle for example)
Rounded edge rectangle -
Up and Down keys change the corner radius
Star Tool –
Ctrl key pulls out the points of the inner and outer radius
Option key aligns the shoulders (best seen demonstrated on a 5 point star)
Arc Tool –
hold shift to change angle (F key flips the arc)
Spiral Tool –
Up and Down keys add and take away extra sections to the spiral
Rectangle grid –
Up and down keys add and delete rows
Left and right keys add and delete columns
V key skews to the top
C Key skews to the right
F & X keys do the opposite
Polar grid Tool (eg. For radar map)-
Same keys as above
Pencil Tool-
(Better for a smoother ‘freehand’ doodling motion than the pen tool).
If you double click the pencil tool you will get the available options.
‘Fidelity’ is how close to your actual path you would like the points/path to be plotted.
‘Edit selected path’ allows you to change the path by drawing over it to redefine it. ‘Keep selected’ turned off: you can still edit a path if you select it. Control click to deselect and draw a new shape.

You’ve worked with a few clients and want to do more of the same, so use the experience wisely. Make sure all your current and past clients are pleased with your work. Happy clients will show off their new site or brochure to colleagues or other businesses. If you’ve developed a particularly strong relationship, ask for a testimonial for your website – potential clients will be interested to hear how past work was received.
Sometimes, clients will seem thin on the ground, so keep looking out for opportunities to get your work out there: local galleries, links from design portals (www.pixelsurgeon.com, www.bd4d.com or www.wellvetted.com) or the Computer Arts Exposure pages, for starters. Make use of all connections where you can. Local councils usually encourage ‘creative clustering’. Basically, this is putting local creative companies in touch with each other so they can exchange advice about marketing and promoting their work. There will be times when you feel that no one will pay for skills, but remember this; as much as you need clients to earn a living, companies need designers.
We live in a visual, audio, interactive culture where letterheads, business cards, brochures, catalogues, Websites and CD-ROMs are necessities for any company. It’s just a matter of putting yourself in the client’s shoes and giving them what they want.

Of course, you won’t always be able to meet the client in person- it depends on how they prefer to communicate and where they are based. Be open and ask about this at an early stage.
Some clients prefer to email so they can keep a record of communication; others will be really bad at responding to emails. Remember that the client may also be very busy, but there’s no harm in chasing emails with a call; they will probably be happy to know you’re on the case. If you have queries that need answers, ask the client as soon as you can and give them a few days to respond. If you’re concerned about badgering them, ask if there’s anyone else in the company you can ask. At various stages, you’ll want to show your clients where you are in the process. Again, it’s not clear-cut; do they prefer email attachments, printouts, Web links or presentations? Make all of your communication easy and accessible for clients.

One of the main issues that clients have in working with new designers is unfamiliar tettitory. They need to feel confident that you understand the company strategy, o that any design work you do will be 100 percent in tune with their way of thinking. Human contact overcomes this. Make a call at an early stage, even if it’s just to check an address. If you can get past the receptionist and straight to the relevant person, that’s better. Leave your name, too, so that next time they hear your from you they’ll make the connection.
Once you’ve got the client and their project, don’t hide behind emails. Use the phone and get out to meet the client. Find out about how the company works and run through initial ideas on paper. Where appropriate, photos or video are a great way to take ‘notes’ of the company’s visual identity. This helps to consolidate the project in your mind and install confidence in the client.

Make an informed judgement on the clients need for your skills, how to present it and who you want to pitch it to. If a company knows it needs a job done, it will often throw it open to application. You'll find out about these jobs as your contact list grows, but websites such as www.k10k.net or www.noagenciesplease.co.uk are a good place to scout.
Never fear the competition posed by other designers - make the most of the added pressure to push your work further.
Remember that it’s the client you’re trying to impress, so give them what they are looking for in the job application. If they want a one-paragraph description of your ideas, making an interactive Flash movie will only suggest that you can’t communicate succinctly.

The all important question when starting out in freelance is how to establish a good base of clients. Here's the good news- unless you live in a desert there are literally hundreds of companies in your locality. Use a web directory such as yell.com to find lists of relevant companies- publishers or record companies, for example- then find their sites.

Their site will give you an idea of the kind of creative they might need. Check out their design, use of illustration, and the state of their logo and website. If you’re looking for work with a local design studio you can use the same technique. Of course just identifying a possible design job isn't enough as you can't assume that companies have the desire or budget to re-think their website, logo or brochure layouts.

The key to success is to look at look at it from your clients perspective. They may have been generating profit using the same company brand for years, without considering that the redesign you consider could double it. So what can you do convince them?
Over the “How to handle clients” titled blogs I will provide some essential advice for building client relationships- from pitching to communication.