Naming typefaces... personal preferences?

Adam Ladd
Adam Ladd Posts: 263
edited February 2021 in Type Business
What kind of typeface names do you like? (Understanding there are variables to consider, e.g. inspiration, marketability, design intent, length, memorability, etc.)

Do you lean towards those that are more literal and common words, or perhaps something more abstract and made- (mashed-) up?

I've done a variety and just curious what resonates with others. I also consider how typically time and repetition helps something grow on you and feel familiar.

Comments

  • Hrant Հրանդ Փափազեան Papazian
    Hrant Հրանդ Փափազեան Papazian Posts: 2,044
    edited February 2021
    It depends on the typeface. I believe the main thing is to spark the imagination, through both euphony and meaning. I personally have a preference for actual words that are rarely used. I have a *bunch* of those saved up.  :-)  Bonus: if the first letter looks interesting when set in the font.
  • Florian Pircher
    Florian Pircher Posts: 176
    One of my favorite type names of recent times is Agmena. It’s short, pronounceable, looks good when set in itself and when searching for it online you’ll only find the type and nothing else.

    So, conceptually I prefer abstract names. In practice, if I like the typeface I also like the name.
  • ivan louette
    ivan louette Posts: 327
    There are thousands of beautiful vernacular and latin names in botany and biology. And to stimulate your mind you can also practice anagrams of any existing word : the best for that is proceeding manually with separated letters on paper sheets.
  • Andreas Stötzner
    Andreas Stötzner Posts: 792
    Short names are handy, but always check if it is used elsewhere. Fantasy names are favourable because they are unique and unused. Village names of whatever country are an inexhaustible reservoir of wonderful words …
    I once named a typeface Abendschroth which is ludicrous, senseless and sounds very German, it turned out to hit the Anglo-Saxon market like few others ;)
    Be creative.

  • George Thomas
    George Thomas Posts: 645
    Andreas Stötzner said:
    Village names of whatever country are an inexhaustible reservoir of wonderful words …

    Surnames are a good source also. Whatever name is picked though should not sound like a medicine or be obscene in any language.

  • Hrant Հրանդ Փափազեան Papazian
    Hrant Հրանդ Փափազեան Papazian Posts: 2,044
    George Thomas said:
    should not sound like a medicine
    Unless it's a Helvetica revival.
  • Ray Larabie
    Ray Larabie Posts: 1,432
    edited February 2021
    George Thomas said:
    should not sound like a medicine
    I often go for pharmaceutical sounding names to emphasize a technical look.
    • Alepholon - stark 80's sci-fi and sounds like an ointment
    • Betaphid - posthuman, stark techno
    • Conthrax - ultramodern. The name is Contac C meets anthrax. Contac was chosen because I wanted people to think of capsules...a  rounded medical/scientific kind of feel. And the anthrax to make it edgy. Soft + edgy mix.
    • DDT - a pesticide rather than a pharma but on the same lines. A softer Eurostile
    • GGX88 - a genuine Helvetica revival for ya, Hrant
    • Hybrea - a cold pharma look and parody of typeface names of the 2000s
    • Para Aminobenzoic - psychedelic MICR
    • PCTL 9600/PCTL 4800 - DIN-like technical
    • Polyflec - Cold and technical
    • Regra - Square, cold technical and also poking fun at 2000's typeface names with synonyns for neutral that end with an a. Regular+a. Sounds a bit like pharma
    • Rexlia - a boxy military techno...name was built from acual phamaceutical names
    • Snowa - not phamaceutical but another parody of 2000's typeface names. It's a Xmas font.
    • Synthemesc - Clockwork Orange Korova Milkbar lettering so of course it had to be pharma
    • Venacti - another technical and based on real pharma names
    • Veriox - chemistry inspired type and pharma style name
    • Zelega Zenega - Not actually pharma inspired but sounds a bit like AstraZeneca
  • James Puckett
    James Puckett Posts: 1,993
    edited February 2021
    I never thought about it this way, but Ray you deserve credit for cooking up hundreds of good typeface names. You and Rian Hughes!
  • Hrant Հրանդ Փափազեան Papazian
    Hrant Հրանդ Փափազեան Papazian Posts: 2,044
    No fair, he actually releases a lot of fonts which is why he can show off the cool names he's thought up!
  • Claudio Piccinini
    Claudio Piccinini Posts: 681
    Mark Simonson said:
    Beyond that, I try to find a name with connotations and associations that fit the style of the face and/or my concept of it and contains letters that do a good job of displaying the style and character of the face (ideally in both all caps and title case).
    For me, it’s especially these aspects highlighted by Mark.
    The idea for the name, in my case, comes almost always at the same time of the design inspiration. To the point it’s hard to change it afterwards if I can’t use the name. For me it’s part of the creative incipit, so to speak.

    The name expresses all that I wish to convey with the design, and of course it is great if when it is set it displays the character of the typeface/family at its best.
  • Claudio Piccinini
    Claudio Piccinini Posts: 681
    Ray Larabie said:
    @James Puckett If so, I also deserve punishment for Vipnagorgialla, Cutiful, Mlurmlry, Pants Patrol, Pop-Up Fontio, Po Beef, Electorate Boogaloo 3, That Secret Feeling, Frozen Dog Treats (later Frozdotre which is even worse) Welfare Brat, Yawnovision and Zodillinstrisstirust (later shortened) and many many more!
    What is “Cutiful” about? 😅
  • Paul Miller
    Paul Miller Posts: 273
    edited February 2021
    I sometimes use surnames, but not always.
    Munson was named after Audrey Munson.
    Cadman was for a friend of mine who spends a lot of his time at work using CAD systems.
    Bainsley is the name of a character in a film.  She is a virtual prostitute in the sci-fi film 'The Zero Theorem'.
    Typey McTypeface was err ... well, why not.
    Balgruf was named after Jarl Balgruuf of Whiterun in the computer game Skyrim but the name was deliberately misspelled to avoid any copyright infringement.
    My latest project is not out yet but it will be called 'Sans Mateo' and it is sort of called after the town of San Mateo, a very nice town but in recent years it is being spoiled by large housing developments and new shopping malls.

    All available here for free.
  • Ray Larabie
    Ray Larabie Posts: 1,432
    @Claudio Piccinini
    Cutiful is an ugly constructed script which is neither cute nor beautiful that now resides in the public domain.
  • Andreas Stötzner
    Andreas Stötzner Posts: 792
    I’d wish I had a suitable font idea for Rollo Beeminster or Aunt Agatha. Not to speak of Plumbo Jumbo.
  • Paul Miller
    Paul Miller Posts: 273
    @Andreas Stötzner , to me Aunt Agatha sounds like a very fat Bodoni style with a lot of contrast and many unnecessary flourishes and swashes.

  • Andreas Stötzner
    Andreas Stötzner Posts: 792
    Paul, maybe you think of Aunt Augusta, but is a similar kind of a concept ;)
    Your briefing for the typeface sounds promising to me, will you do it?
  • Laurensius Adi
    Laurensius Adi Posts: 45
    You can use people names, like George Neue by Boulevard.
    Simple English words also works like Banana Grotesk by MonkeyType, or Monument Grotesk by Dinamo.

    Try this tool to brainstorm https://dinamo-namecrawler.com/
    and this site to check availability https://namecheck.fontdata.com/


  • Hrant Հրանդ Փափազեան Papazian
    Hrant Հրանդ Փափազեան Papazian Posts: 2,044
    The Dinamo tool is too focused on letter presence.
  • Paul Miller
    Paul Miller Posts: 273
    Andreas Stötzner said:
    Paul, maybe you think of Aunt Augusta, but is a similar kind of a concept ;)
    Your briefing for the typeface sounds promising to me, will you do it?
    Maybe when I get some time to spare but don't hold your breath ! :D

  • John Hudson
    John Hudson Posts: 3,190
    Recently, I have favoured place names. 
  • peggo (Pedro González)
    peggo (Pedro González) Posts: 60
    This is more complex than parents deciding a name for their born child, kinda strategic topic closer to branding matter (but funnier to me), in my case due to the commercial context I put my fonts I think as a client who's trying to see an attractive name or something that caught my attention and many times resembles me a concept and be short as "Niva" I tried to use a word similar to new, neo, nova, neue but a little bit different, "Legan" was coming out from the word "E(legan)t" which is an idea about Roman Capitals gives me, "Rationell" from Rational fonts, "Geometrica" in fact is a word very close to the "Geometric" English understandable word and so on.

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