Naming – Storytelling – Branding

A brand is a name, a story, and an image that work together. Naming provides the name, storytelling provides the narrative, and branding provides the graphic and/or visual identity that makes it all recognizable. At vrai studio, naming, storytelling, and branding (or rebranding) are approached as a single project, led by the same creative team, from the initial brief through to the final deliverables.

A name with meaning: Olearius. Derived from the Latin “oleum” (oil) with the suffix “-arius” (one who does), Olearius means “oil maker,” “manufacturer,” or “merchant” of olive oil.

Naming

Naming involves creating or refining the name of a brand, product, or product line. It is a challenging process: a name must be memorable, easy to pronounce, legally available, consistent with the industry, and capable of supporting a strong visual identity over the long term.

Our approach to naming is based on a deep understanding of the client’s business, history, and positioning. For a company being taken over or passed on, naming may involve retaining a traditional name while breathing new life into it—or, conversely, creating a new name that marks a deliberate break with the past. In both cases, the naming process at vrai studio inextricably linked to artistic direction: a name is also chosen for its ability to become a logo, a typeface, or a visual identity.

In practice, a naming project unfolds in several phases. The audit phase involves understanding the client’s challenges so that the name is exactly what they had in mind. This is followed by an extensive brainstorming session (often resulting in about a hundred proposed names) and a selection phase prior to the final presentation (including a quick prior-use search). Later, once the client has narrowed down the list of names, we’ll need to work with an attorney specializing in intellectual property to validate the chosen name and verify its full or partial availability.

Telling a story, bringing a brand to life, making it credible and in tune with its creator—this is one of the tasks we enjoy most, because storytelling means imagining and creating with words, which is inseparable from the work of a brand’s artistic direction.

Storytelling

Storytelling, or brand storytelling, is the way a company tells the story of who it is, where it comes from, what it makes, and why. It is this narrative that transforms expertise into a story that resonates with customers—and, above all, with its target audience.

A good brand story isn’t limited to the text on an “About” page. It permeates all forms of communication: the tone of packaging, photo captions, sales presentations, and social media. At vrai studio, our storytelling always starts with reality: the history of a family-owned business, the craft of an artisan, the origins of a trade, and the passing of knowledge from one generation to the next. vrai studio what actually exists, without artifice, rather than inventing a narrative that’s merely superimposed on the brand.

This project also draws on photography and art direction: a brand story can be conveyed just as effectively through an image as through text. That is why storytelling is planned from the outset in tandem with art direction, graphic design, photography, and visual identity—rather than as a separate step entrusted to a different service provider.