naming a new education initiative in India.
We have mixed emotions when a new naming brief comes in. It’s going to be exciting, but it’s not going to be easy. Fortunately, when Melbourne agency For Studio asked us to put our naming hats on, we passed the exam.
Naming is fraught. More so than ever. Most of the good ones are already snaffled. The Chinese are apparently slowly but surely trademarking every word in the English language. There are so many brands and sub-brands and sub-sub-brands out there now, that every possible avenue seems to have been already explored and plundered. The days of securing a name like Orange or Virgin are well and truly over.
Clients have very strong ideas about what they want or don’t want … but often they aren’t sure what these are until they see what you’ve come up with. The whole process is horribly subjective. We can generate literally 100s of names and none of them will make the grade. You just have to accept that and get on with it …
But when one of your names actually does make it out into the big, wide world, it’s a wonderful feeling. Even more so when it’s for a worthwhile educational initiative.
This has to be one of our most international projects to date. Commissioned by Australian agency For Studio, our name was part of their brand identity for an innovative, tech-leaning series of schools in Chennai, India.
The school has a 70%/30% split across STEAM learning and the traditional Indian syllabus, and For Studio did a great job of reflecting this approach across the identity they developed. There’s a full case study on For’s website here.
The name we finally came up with (slightly nodding to Maureen Lipman and classic 1970s BT advertising) was Ology Tech. This seemed to fit with the scientific bent of the school in a way that felt modern, friendly and memorable. It was also adapted for a pre-school variant — Olo Kinder — which focuses on learning through play.
For a naming job, we’re pleased to say this one went remarkably smoothly. Thanks for this must go to Justin and Amanda at For Studio, who were encouraging and supportive throughout.