Articles » What’s In A Software Name?
I stumble upon many software packages with silly names. In my opinion the name is the single most important attribute of a software package. Despite its brand value the name should be clear, legible, and easy to use. The name should signify the type of usage. In layman’s terms the name should say it all. Names like ‘Child Control’, ‘Ape Ripper’ and ‘IsItUp’ would possibly confuse the user on the corresponding software package’s typical usage.
Factors like legibility, etymology, syllable structure, familiarity, significance to real-life objects and events; easy pronunciation, the letter count and the shape of the name when printed on paper are often overlooked by many software professionals. Most software names are coined just by looking at few of the above mentioned factors and the trademark value. Although trademark/brand1 value is very important in the highly competitive modern day world, it should not be given 99 percent weight when naming a software package.
However, careful craftsmanship can lead to a unique name even if the words constituting the name are unrelated and out-of-context. The Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird are best examples for unique names that have super-brand attributes. But constructing such names are often time consuming and tricky. It leads to a lot of iterations in changing the name which is not healthy for the brand’s wellbeing.The bottom line is that software packages must be named judiciously. The name must be non-ambiguous. It should be a description of the software package’s usage. The name should bear the characteristics of the software. If a puzzled user asks the question ‘what does your software do?’ after seeing the name, then it’s time to consider re-naming.
- 1 – the difference between trademark and brand from alibaba.com:
- A trademark protects any sign or symbol that allows your customers to tell you apart from your competitors. You can register a name, logo, slogan, domain name, shape, color or sound.
- The brand name is a company-specific name for a particular product or service, usually used to differentiate that product or service from competitor offerings. French: nom de marque.
2 – The Name Cartoon source: http://wesclark.com/ubn/name_cartoon.jpg