Nov 24Member-onlyWhat We Talk About When We Talk About “Milk”Who needs mammals? — One of the most beloved and longest-running advertising campaigns in U.S. history made its debut 30 years ago with a short, conversational tagline: “Got milk?” The ads were notable for what they didn’t depict: no brand name, no product. …Milk6 min readMilk6 min read
Nov 7Member-onlyThose Crazy Drug NamesEveryone complains about them. Is there a remedy? — Here are two things people are likely to say when I tell them I create names for a living: “Wow, really? Sounds like a lot of fun!” “Do you make up those crazy drug names?” To #1, I reply honestly that, like most professions, name development is often fun and…Names5 min readNames5 min read
Oct 25Member-onlyNaming Your CharactersDon’t overlook the story potential in your characters’ names. When Ex Machina, a feature film about artificial intelligence written and directed by Alex Garland, was released in 2015, reviewers called it a “futuristic shocker” and a “dazzling sci-fi thriller,” praising its sleek design — the film won the Academy Award…Names5 min readNames5 min read
Oct 17Member-onlyLet’s Get One Thing Straight About the Chevrolet NovaThe name has never meant “no go.” — It happened again yesterday: A person I follow on Bluesky — a smart writer whose comments I usually trust— marveled at the sheer boneheadness of General Motors to have sold an automobile called the Chevrolet Nova in Mexico and South America. …Names4 min readNames4 min read
Oct 4Member-onlyWhat Makes a New Word Successful?Most new words live tragically — or comically — short lives, while others are surprising survivors. — As slang terms go, nerf is old enough to qualify for Social Security benefits. Its first appearance in print was documented in 1953, when it was used by auto racers to mean “to nudge something with a bumper in passing and knock it off course.” In 1970, NERF — that’s…Words7 min readWords7 min read
Sep 20Member-onlySix Things I’ve Learned from Watching Film NoirNumber one: Everyone looks better in a hat. — When movie theaters shut down in the early weeks of the Covid pandemic, I created my own home-based film festival. The festival had a theme: Together with a few like-minded friends, I began streaming film noir — the dark, dangerous, fatalistic movies that emerged in the troubled aftermath of World…Movies7 min readMovies7 min read
Sep 7Member-onlyThe Story I Wasn’t Supposed to Read“The Diving Fool” wasn’t written for readers like me. I loved it anyway. — When I was 10 or so, I chanced upon a short story that changed my life, at least for a while. …Reading5 min readReading5 min read
Aug 15Member-onlyLinkedIn Is Actually Fun NowI’m finding something there I’m missing on other platforms: community. — I joined LinkedIn in March 2004, two years after the company’s launch, out of a sense of duty. I was an independent contractor who wasn’t looking for employment, but joining LinkedIn was what every responsible professional person did. If you wanted to be visible to colleagues and (in my case)…LinkedIn3 min readLinkedIn3 min read
Aug 3Member-onlyGoing to BlazesEx-Twitter’s new tagline is a flaming disaster. Maybe that’s not an accident. — Whenever I come across a bit of branding language that strikes me as odd or wrongheaded, I make an effort to look at it from the brand’s perspective instead of from my own. Sure, I’ve been paid to create distinctive names and taglines for my clients for some 25 years…Branding4 min readBranding4 min read
Jul 24Member-onlyWhat I’ll Miss About TwitterWhen it was good, it fulfilled the promise of the internet. — Since Elon Musk took over the company in November 2022, Twitter has been disintegrating in stages — and by “disintegrating” I mean “losing its integrity” as well as “falling apart.” The latest fragment to crumble has been the bluebird logo, replaced by Musk’s favorite letter, X. (See: SpaceX, Tesla’s model…Twitter6 min readTwitter6 min read